Todd McFarlane Quotes

My work... is my legacy.

I want to add to my legacy because, in the end, that's going to be the most valuable for my career.

I used to say if there was anything I would really want to have as I kind of get older in my career, it would be wonderful to have relevance to somebody in some way so that I could continue to work on some level.

It always makes me sad when someone comments on how much they love my work- from 15 years ago! I don't want to be just another old school guy that fell off.

You want to be appreciated for all your work as opposed to one performance, but I'll always be 'that bloke from 'Lock, Stock'.' You've got to embrace it.

At the end of the day, my career is not going to be judged by one or two or three moments in time. It'll be judged by the longevity of it.

And who cares, five years down the road, what most movies made or didn't make? If it's good, it stands up.

I've spent various periods of my career being thought of as various things, various degrees of substance and ideas.

Today's youth cannot miss something they have never known, but I fear that there are no current fictional characters whose impact and influence will last with such abiding affection into their 'sore and yellow' as this splendid man's creations have in mine!

Right now, I love the fact that I have so many opportunities, but I know this privileged position cannot last. That doesn't mean that I'll stop working. I picture myself as an old actress doing cameos in films with people saying: 'Isn't that that Bening woman?'

If something becomes old-fashioned, it was no good to start with. Think about it. Michelangelo is not old-fashioned.

I hope that I'm not simply defined by 'The X-Files,' and I hope I have more work that is important to do.

I can understand why people get annoyed at being remembered for one thing, but a lot of actors aren't remembered for anything. I don't mind that.

Some of the most famous books are the least worth reading. Their fame was due to their having done something that needed to be doing in their day. The work is done and the virtue of the book has expired.

I don't want to be an action star; action star's life is so short. I want my life to get longer. I want my career to get longer.

All things take time. A lot of my films still run on cable and are in video stores, and there's a whole generation that doesn't know who I am. So, it's a dichotomy. In some people's minds I may never grow up.

You're presuming too much by using the word legacy - presuming that someone is going to care.

I wanted to have a career that would last a hundred years if possible.

It would be sad if my best work had been 20 years ago and now I only had memories.

That's the thing about music: It's forever. Hopefully, you captured a moment musically that has a timeless quality people will find relevant to their lives at any point. That's the whole idea about what I love about art and music.

I look at the people's careers who I want to emulate, like Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters... They've all found the key to longevity in this business, and that is diversifying, doing as many things as possible to keep yourself relevant, and so hopefully I'm on the same track as all those amazing women.

It's not about an opening weekend. It's about a career, building a set of films you're proud of. Period.

There's a reason you can still read Thucydides, and it still makes sense to you thousands of years later.

I think, at some point, all of us - I'm gonna speak personally, not for everybody else - you're gonna feel like a one-trick pony, and you might even be a one-trick pony. But at some point, if it's a really good trick, everybody's still gonna appreciate it.

I remember immediately - immediately - feeling like, 'I don't want to play 'We Are Young' when I'm 35. I don't want to be defined by this.'