Mandy Patinkin Quotes

I'm not a diva, I'm not an egotistical guy that comes and thinks he's bigger than anyone.

I don't have that much of an ego where it's like "How dare you, you can't do something without me."

It was actually the opposite of what a director once said to me. He said, 'Remember, everyone is here to serve you.' And as he walked away, I thought to myself, 'It's exactly the opposite: I'm here to serve everyone.

Money and fame made me believe I was entitled. I was wrong and foolish.

I would really love to work with Paul McCartney. Isn't that arrogant?

We’ve been an arrogant country.

So often, in my life, when you play a joke on another actor, you say, 'Hello? Steven Spielberg? It's for you.' What's it feel like? It's bizarre. He feels like he's a friend. He feels like he's some kid in the neighborhood who has a camera and makes films, now and then, and says, 'Would you come 'round and play?' It doesn't feel grand at all.

Specifically with directors I'd worked with, and even some that I haven't, they were all incredibly generous with me, having really long conversations about what they felt was useful as tips.

I have no business carrying myself like some diva.

Seriously, who doesn't want to slap a 27-year-old movie star?

Working with the Coens was a dream come true.

I've worked with some actors who have such thick skins and think they are so extraordinary. I'll think, 'Have you stopped learning?' They stop listening to directors or other actors and do the same thing again and again.

There is nothing more unpleasant than watching someone on a TV or movie set act like they are entitled to a particular kind of treatment just because they have been doing it for longer. We are all in the same boat - one job at a time.

Certainly, you envy the guys that have done all kinds of things, a variety of good scripts and good directors. Then again, having worked with Cassavetes has satisfied a big part of that.

The worst thing you can have as an actor is too big an ego. It just kills creativity.

I am not some goddess that dropped down from the sky to sing pop music; I am not some extra-incredible human person that needs to be told how wonderful they are all day and kissed.

I don't think I'm supposed to boss other people around just because I'm a so-called celebrity or star. I hate that when people act that way. No one deserves it. I've seen it happen. I don't call those people out - they know who they are. Some enjoy that reputation.

I think everything you do, whether it's low budget things when you're first starting out or full feature films or when you're working with Hollywood, you're always learning, all the time.

Refs need to get over themselves.

I want to work with as many directors as possible because with each director, you learn something new.

People should just get over themselves.

If you think you're higher than UFC, if you think you're better than all the other fighters, then maybe you should get pulled.

Every player thinks he's Maradona when he joins a big club. That happens to all of us, but then you start to notice it in the younger players. You see kids who think they're rock stars, wearing extravagant clothes and driving fancy cars... and sometimes you have to take them aside and have a word.

I have worked with good directors, and I consider myself very lucky because I think that it is very important.

I feel the first ten years of my career I really didn't care what the director said because I felt so arrogant. I was so certain about what should happen. But then I became a good listener.