Amitabh Bachchan Quotes

As an actor, you always think that whatever job you have is going to be your last. In some way, shape or form, you think you're going to screw it up and you're never going to work again.

People speak of the fear of the blank canvas as though it is a temporary hesitation, a trembling moment of self-doubt. For me it was more like being abducted from my bed by a clown, thrust into a circus arena with a wicker chair, and told to tame a pissed-off lion in front of an expectant crowd.

It's a phobia I have. I never assume I'm going to be able to write another album after I finish one.

When I leave a recording session, there is usually a lot of paranoia or superstition on my part, like I'm afraid to hear what we've done.

Every single time I step into the studio, I say, 'Can I still do this? Do I still have it? Have I ever had it?' I suppose there's a good amount of self-loathing that goes into any form of artisanship.

I think I failed miserably on NewsRadio. I was very nervous because of the caliber of the cast - especially Dave Foley - so I think I did a terrible job.

I love pressure in a different sort of way; I enjoy the pressure of getting out and performing for the public. Being compared and judged doesn't seem quite right to me.

I'm so hard on myself. I play these sketches in my computer for friends and they say 'Gee whiz, the vocal's beautiful.' I hear, 'It needs to be better.'

Writers, at least writers of fiction, are always full of anxiety and worry.

When you're playing such brilliant music every day, then the last thing you ever want to do is try to write something of your own that's crude and not as good.

Every time I start a film I feel like I'm starting the first time, ever.

I live in constant fear of being fired or dropped for that dark part of my work I can't control.

Each project, I suffer like I'm starting over again in life. There's a lot of healthy insecurity that fuels this stuff.

Show business is, essentially, a fear-based industry.

I'm kind of an insecure artist. I hop from piece to piece. I always think my life depends on every painting. Every painting is my first painting.

A lot of actors, and artists in general, never feel secure in love. They always feel everything's going to be taken away from them, professionally and personally; they're extremely emotional and volatile.

You know the actor's nightmare is getting up onstage and not being prepared? I think the writer's nightmare is giving a reading and somebody standing up and saying, 'That's not your story.'

There's one thing now that I experience every day when I'm making a film. I get up and think to myself, 'Am I going to be able to do it today?' I figure as long as I have that fear, I'll be alright.

I get nervous before openings or premieres or when someone's reading a new script, and I get nervous when my daughter isn't in my immediate field of vision.

When you start working on screen, a lot of the time it can feel like you're just trying to make sure that you're not bad.

At every premiere, I stand in the back, I never sit, worrying. And then maybe I hear them laugh or whatever, and the muscles unclench a little. But always, I feel like it's a fluke, that I'll never be able to do it again.

Every time I do something, I worry it's my last job.

I hate bad reviews, so yeah, every now and then I think, 'Boy I hope everybody really likes this and thinks this theme is good.' You can't help but do that. I think we all are, or at least I am, reduced to a schoolboy seeking approval.

I get nervous before every shoot. I'm really jealous of the people that can just rest on their laurels and say, 'I'm good; this is it.'

I went from being one of the best players, batting .550, to not being able to do it mentally, hitting .200. I thought I was mentally tough. But I couldn't hit the ball.