Actor's Career Quotes

Before Footloose, the things I'd done weren't cute. In Diner I was an alcoholic.

Honestly, I would not advise any actor necessarily, if he was really thinking of his career, to come out.

Public perception is obviously important to an actor's career.

My role model has been Shah Rukh Khan. There is something or the other for one to learn from his career.

I love the idea of longevity in this career. But [producing] is not about, "Let me do this because this might happen 20 years down the line." Sleepwalking wasn't a vehicle for me, it was a film that pushed the ­envelope. I want to produce good stories, versus creating a niche where I can look after myself as an actor.

I went from a sitcom to a hospital drama, feature films. I've kind of been living the actor's dream. I'm not associated with one role or one medium. You're lucky if you're associated with one hit show.

The poor show of a film can be crucial in an actor's career. Maybe that is why some actors choose to act in a lot of films, so as not to be affected by a single hit or a flop.

The shelf life of a movie actor or actress is so short, it's like milk.

Before 'Race 3,' I had not done a role which required me to do action.

It's a part of most actors to want to be in an animated feature; to extend the legacy of your career.

I replaced Jim Garner in 'Maverick.' I replaced George Sanders in 'The Saint.' I've replaced everybody.

I think that all actors find they go down and then they come back up if you work on your craft. They come back up to the top and then they go back down and they come back up and they go back down.

I've been very lucky as an actor. I have worked all the time. Some shows I do, they get cancelled. Some, they're critically acclaimed, and then they get cancelled. And some, I'm in the last season of this or that. But I can't complain about my career.

I think there's something about supernatural shows that people see and just want to put me in them! I don't know. I just finished another show - 'The Nine Lives of Chloe King,' with Skyler Samuels, who was my girlfriend in 'The Gates' - and I play another supernatural character on that show.

You can be taking two steps forward as an actor, but if a movie doesn't make money, you might as well be taking two steps backwards. It's all about economics.

When I was putting the 'Best of Hollywood' book together, I sat down and added up just the list of Westerns I've done, and it came to well over 200.

To be an actor for 30-odd years trying to become recognized, and to end up playing a full prosthetic and a character 3 foot 9', or something like that, is... well, it just shows that you can get actors to do anything.

People like Johnny Depp are an exception. He is the current model of what an actor should be. His body of work speaks volumes. He was so under-rated for so long, but he will have longevity - and it is such a gratifying thrill to see he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

Some people will like it [Fifty Shades of Grey] and some won't. I have other movies coming up, this is not what my whole life turns around.

Audiences seem to have a limitless appetite for vampires and for fantasy in general. Unlike many other British actors, I haven't been building up my pension appearing in films like 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'Harry Potter,' but fantasy has now got a grip on me. I am also appearing in 'Game of Thrones' as the head of the House of Lannister.

I think the most important thing for an actor is to stay current and stay relevant, and those are probably the hardest things to do.

People call me a movie star. If you're in the business, a movie star is someone who can make a film bankable. My name and $6 million will make a $6 million movie. I'm a working actor. Because I started late, I had a very short run as a leading man, and my films didn't make money in America.

Certainly there have been better actors than me who have had no careers. Why? I don't know.

If you dissect my career as an actor, and you can pull out more than enough of those type of movies, from The Hurt Locker and The Town and so on and so forth, and that's kind of where our wheelhouse is. We love it.

There are five stages in the life of an actor: Who's Mary Astor? Get me Mary Astor. Get me a Mary Astor type. Get me a young Mary Astor. Who's Mary Astor?