John Hillcoat Quotes

I try to show ugliness, but with compassion for the people who commit ugly acts.

Stanley didn't shy away from true humanity or from the ugliness that all people are capable of.

Dignity does not come from avenging insults, especially from violence that can never be justified. It comes from taking responsibility and advancing our common humanity.

He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid.

I want to see these bad, bad, bad, bad men come to grips with their humanity.

I like to put my characters through a lot, so, in 'Talon,' my fans will find familiar themes of bravery and sacrifice, and what it means to be human... even if you're not human.

I really do believe that no one is too pious to fall or too far gone to be redeemed in some way. Jaime Lannister on 'Game of Thrones' did terrible things, and now I feel so bad for him because his sister won't kiss him. Isn't that weird? Does she not love him? He lost a hand! It kills me that I care.

Many people think that virtue consists of severity towards others.

I think it's more optimistic about human nature to acknowledge that people are the products of their time but then to see that they have moments of grace and dignity that everybody has.

The measure of a decent human being is how he or she treats the defenseless.

Redemption should be part of politics, because it’s part of the human pageant.

The act of feeling what you believe other people feel is morally corosive.... If we want to be good and caring people, if we want to make the world a better place, then we are better off withouit empathy.

There's gotta be a human being in everybody, regardless of what they do or what people think they did.

There is a minimum requirement of morality, of moral compass, of decency, of moral empathy. And if you are incapable of meeting that minimum requirement, you can't even talk to me about policy.

It is only our humanity that can deliver us from the brutality of our achievements.

I believe that each person is more than the worst thing they've ever done.

The truth is that goodness is hardwired in humanity.

The men on death row had been told the world would be better without them. I tried to say that this may not be where we want to be, but let's do what we can for one another.

'Ida' is about humanity, about guilt and forgiveness. It's not a film that deals with an issue as such. It's more universal.

I believe there's good in everybody.

I firmly believe there are no bad people.

I always think that, even when people behave badly, if you like something deep inside them, then there is a tiny bit of nobility - they wish they could be good.

But who prays for Satan? Who, in eighteen centuries, has had the common humanity to pray for the one sinner that needed it most?

I think that with everything I've done, in the end, whoever the central character is, they would find a way to forgive, because that's really important to me.

What is tolerance? It is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty and error; let us pardon reciprocally each other's folly - that is the first law of nature.