Taylor Kitsch Quotes

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it.

Poverty is uncomfortable; but nine times out of ten the best thing that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard and compelled to sink or swim.

I don't want no handouts. I want to get it out the mud.

When I first came out, I was a film student, and my mom sewed clothes. I was already doing a million things then, whatever it took to survive. If I had to braid someone's hair to get one pound for my lunch money, that's what I did.

In my early days in school, I had no shoes, no school bags. There were days I had only one meal... I walked miles and crossed rivers to school every day. Didn't have power, didn't have generators, studied with lanterns, but I never despaired.

My dad was pretty old school. I've had a job since I can remember, and it's not like he was like, 'Hey, what kind of car do you want?' My first car was a '91 Ford Crown Victoria that was $1,000. And I had to buy every car after that. I had to do it all.

I've always been a workhorse, and I've been supporting myself since I was 15.

I grew up in this poor place, with very limited circumstances, at about 16 years of age was sent by my family to work, and instead of remaining in the position into which I was sent, I somehow worked my way out of it without any help from anyone, just luck.

I did everything I could to stay in college and pay my own way, so I think that if success hadn't come so quickly, I would still be pursuing it.

I know the true meaning of getting by by the skin of my teeth; I do. It doesn't matter whether you've got money or you haven't, whether you're famous or not. This is the case for all women, actually; you have to carry on. You always have to carry on. And you can, because you have to.

I come from a simple background, so I couldn't call my father and say, 'Come pay my bills,' so I had to get out there and work.

I've always been the person to look at any turmoil as temporary. I recall times where my mom was working five and six jobs, and there's still no food in the house.

I wouldn't be where I am right now, and have the right work ethic and discipline, if it weren't for all the indie films I did. We weren't pampered and were pretty much on our own.

I'm a kid who grew up working hard.

I grew up working hard to earn everything I had.

...People need to ask, "How do I play the hand that has been dealt me?" The world is not going to give you extra return just because you want it. You have to be very shrewd and hard working to get a little extra. It's so much easier to reduce your wants. There are a lot of smart people and a lot of them cheat, so it's not easy to win.

I don't know how to get anything done except getting on my knees and pleading for help and then getting on my feet and going to work.

As far as businesses, I was always hustling. I had to pay for my own school. I got 20 bucks every week or 2 from my dad and that was it. So I had a "whatever it took" attitude.

I always knew that I would have to make it on my own somehow.

The first few years in L.A. were really tough and scary, but I had to figure things out for myself.

When you're a self-made man, you start very early in life. In my case it was at 9 years old when I started bringing income into the family. You get a drive that's a little different, maybe a little stronger, than somebody who inherited.

When I made my Broadway debut, I was still cleaning houses, something I'd done since I went out on my own at 15.

There is something to be said for people who have to work hard, be creative, produce what they have with little - or no - means. Those of us from poor homes have the advantage of thinking for ourselves and of knowing that when times get hard, things could always be worse.

I learned a lot in those first years in Miami, while struggling just for survival, by observing my father's fortitude.

I showed up in L.A. with $500 and a backpack and I stayed at a shelter, so nobody handed me anything. I worked for every single thing that I have.