Mainly, I thought of Barney as a kid. You can always look into the faces of kids and see what they're thinking, if they're happy or sad. That's what I tried to do with Barney.

That's right, karate... made my whole body a weapon.

I don't know what to say. I've always been a prepared loser.

When you work with words, words are your work.

Mainly, I thought of Barney Fife as a kid. You can always look into the faces of kids and see what they're thinking, if they're happy or sad. That's what I tried to do with Barney.

I don't think actors get good training today. I put my training to use in everything I do.

My idol was Jack Benny and he was the master of subtlety and timing.

I don't think just funny is enough on Broadway.

I felt like a loser. I was unhappy as a child most of the time. We were terribly poor and I hated my size.

What will undo any boundary is the awareness that it is our vision, and not what we are viewing, that is limited.

It's the people that ultimately are less talented or have less confidence in what they're doing that then try to micro-manage, which lends itself to a less than ideal film.

the only people worth writing about are those about whom the last word cannot be said.

It took a long time to get to the place in my career where I could pick and choose what I wanted to do.

More than periods where I don't write anything, I have periods where I just write junk and I know I'm writing junk but I can't stop.

My stepfather introduced me to The London Library when I was about 18; the clientele has definitely changed since then, but it is still a wonderful oasis in the middle of London.

I will love you forever, he thought. I am lying, he thought, and this time he was right

Please is frail like a dewdrop, while it laughs it dies. But sorrow is strong and abiding. Let sorrowful love wake in your eyes.

Who has smelled the woodsmoke at twilight, who has seen the campfire burning, who is quick to read the noises of the night?

The minute you start feeling like you've got it down, you know what you're doing, you're dead in the water.