Michael Palin Quotes

Nobody sane wants just to be famous.

Fame just ain't a natural situation. But I shouldn't have worried because everyone thought I was a bit famous even before I'd done anything; people just assumed I was famous.

Celebrity is the advantage of being known to people who we don't know, and who don't know us.

The strangest part about being famous is you don't get to give first impressions anymore. Everyone already has an impression of you before you meet them.

A famous person to themselves, they don't get up in the morning and think, I'm famous. I'm not famous to me. Famous is a perception.

You don't have to have an attitude if you're famous.

Fame obviously has become a premium in everybody's life. Everybody thinks they deserve it, everybody thinks they want it and most people really don't enjoy it once they get it.

I love being famous. It validates that I have something to say.

I have no interest in being famous for the sake of being famous.

The nice thing about being a celebrity is that, if you bore people, they think it's their fault.

I had my Aunt Rosie, who was famous and then not, so I got a lesson in fame early on. And I understood how little it has to do with you. And also how you could use it.

He [Marquis de Lafayette] has a canine appetite for popularity and fame.

Fame is a very unnatural human condition.

When the success of 'Crazy Rich' hit, it's like everybody knows exactly who you are, and the way that they speak to you is different. I've stayed the same throughout. It's just people's perception of you changes.

Celebrity is quite a fraught word. It is not something I aspire to, but I can certainly see why it could be.

My pastor said, Just because you were a celebrity doesn't mean you're supposed to be a celebrity now.

I love being famous. It's almost like being white.

Fame comes with its own standard. A guy who twitches his lips is just another guy with a lip twitch - unless he's Humphrey Bogart.

Once you start telling people you're famous, they believe you.

I have never wanted to be famous, as such - fame is a by-product.

I wanted to be famous. I wanted people to talk about me.

When I came into office, people said, 'Billionaire? How do they live? What do they eat? How do they sleep?' Today, they see me on the subway coming uptown. A couple of people say hi, some people smile and nod. Some people just sleep. It's not an issue.

Because of the incredible reputation I have, people find me exciting to watch on film.

Fact is, famous people say fame stinks because they love it so - like a secret restaurant or holiday island they don't want the hoi polloi to get their grubby paws on.

I don't think fame is that important to me.