Iconic Performances Quotes

I'm definitely inspired by Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, James Brown, Lauryn Hill.

There are lots of actresses I consider to be my icons, from Katharine Hepburn and Grace Kelly to Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep.

I always felt that Bette Davis was one of the great screen actresses who never really got her due - she won two Oscars, but the last was in 1938, and that was really before all the great work that she did.

Liz Taylor was an amazing woman and screen legend. She was an incredible friend to my brother, at his side through some of his most difficult times and of course loved by his children and our family. She will live on in our hearts forever, my prayers go out to her family.

Rock and Roll is simply an attitude. You don't have to play the greatest guitar.

I've worked with wonderful actors like Marlon Brando and Henry Fonda.

I like Jodie Foster and then Meryl Streep. They're just, like, the greatest ever.

I mean, the actors that I admired were Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, an actress named Barbara Harris. And Greta Garbo. They were great actors.

Anna Magnani, Sophia Loren, Meryl Streep - I love actresses that are strong and fragile at the same time. They bring complexity to their roles.

My heroes are Robert Duvall, Forest Whitaker, Ed Harris, Tommy Lee Jones, Anthony Hopkins and Sean Penn.

I never thought I would work with Meryl Streep. I also love Cate Blanchett.

Every film by Will Smith, Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Lena Horne, Ruby Dee, Don Cheadle will have great acting and carry good messages in the film. The films starring those actors are the films I tell young people to watch for good acting and to view for quality movies.

Viola Davis should be a household name. So should Angela Bassett.

Some of my favorite actors are Gene Wilder and Eddie Murphy back in the day - that's mainly what me and my brothers watched when we were kids.

The first rock stars were incredibly theatrical. Little Richard and Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley - they were theater artists.

Meryl Streep is exactly as awesome as you would imagine Meryl Streep to be.

I just want people to remember me like I remember Buster Keaton. When they talk about Buster Keaton or Gene Kelly, people say, 'Ah yes, they good.' Maybe one day, they remember Jackie Chan that way.

I would love to work with Anthony Hopkins; I would love to work with Meryl Streep; I would love to work with DeNiro; I would love to work with Johnny Depp; I'd love to work with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow... I think she's amazing.

I always wanted to work with Spencer Tracy, which never happened, although I knew him well. And I never worked with Cary Grant.

I still can't believe I danced with Gene Kelly. How lucky am I that I've been in movies where I've danced with two of the greatest dancers of all time - with Gene Kelly and John Travolta.

Several of the actors I've had the good fortune of working with stand out in my mind as 'ultimate'. I guess the obvious would be Tom Hanks, because he really is as fun and as genuine as he comes across in his films and interviews.

I grew up watching Marlon Brando, Christopher Walken, Robert de Niro, and Al Pacino and even Robert Duvall and was impressed by their caliber of work.

I like Bill Murray a real lot. I like Andy Kaufman.

A favorite cast? Lisa Kudrow, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, and my wife.

I grew up idolizing Madeline Kahn and Lily Tomlin and Carol Burnett, Ruth Gordon, Rosalind Russell, Amy Irving, women who were stylish and real actresses who did real work and could not be replaced with anyone else. You cannot cast anyone else in Madeline Kahn's roles.