I am all in favour of spontaneity, providing it is carefully planned and ruthlessly controlled.

Acting is half shame, half glory. Shame at exhibiting yourself, glory when you can forget yourself.

One's self-image is very important because if that's in good shape, then you can do anything, or practically anything.

Ingrid Bergman speaks five languages and can’t act in any of them.

You can be good in a good movie, you can be good in a bad movie, you can be bad in a bad movie, but never, ever, be bad in a good movie.

I never accept lengthy film roles nowadays, because I am always so afraid I will die in the middle of shooting and cause such awful problems.

Being another character is more interesting than being yourself.

I'm sure there isn't an after-life. If there were, Ivor Novello would have got a message to us.

Most of my friends seem to be either dead, extremely deaf or living on the wrong side of Kent.

When I first went to America in 1928, there were spittoons everywhere. I remember avoiding spit as it flew past me in Times Square. Very unattractive.

Usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature.

God is King of kings.

Your grief is something to be admired – the pain of severance. A scar where something used to be.

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying.

Picking the right security provider can really save your assets.

The inherent corruption of man can often bring down the best system.

I get worried for young girls sometimes; I want them to feel that they can be sassy and full and weird and geeky and smart and independent, and not so withered and shriveled.

I thought I did play one villain, Hitler, [who is] like Lecter in some ways, but he's a mythical figure, anyway.

Oooh, fashion, we are the goon squad and were coming to town, beep beep.

I don't need to put extra pressure on myself right now. The important thing is for me to stay healthy, in practice, and just keep on the hours. You just never know when it's going to happen for you.

A sufficiently great and generous trust could never be abused.