Director Quotes

We'll all retire from life at some point. The great thing about acting is you don't necessarily have to retire.

It's simple: You get a part. You play a part. You play it well. You do your work and you go home. And what is wonderful about movies is that once they're done, they belong to the people. Once you make it, it's what they see. That's where my head is at.

I've always seen it to be a privilege to make movies. It's a really expensive, creative medium.

A man once told me that you step out of your door in the morning, and you are already in trouble. The only question is are you on top of that trouble or not?

Come on, I know bad acting when I hear it.

[Rose from "Fences"] couldn't just jump out there. Not just because of economic reasons but because how she was looked at in society at the time. There were a lot of factors that made you stay I guess.

Some said America took a step forward electing a black president. In light of the unconstitutiona l expansion of powers, lack of transparency and fueling the fires of unrest that clearly hasn't been the case. Vote based on merits, not to fill a racial quota.

The only reason I'm acting in films I direct is to get the money to make them, quite frankly, it's not what I'm interested in doing.

Cats are too independent. They piss me off. They play when they want, and then they turn their back on you. Dogs, you throw the ball, and they bring it back, tongue hanging out, tail wagging. Cats are like "Not right now, too busy." Definitely a dog man. Except when it comes to cleaning up after them! Cats win that!

People tend to relax when they're off camera. That's when they should be working the hardest.

There is nothing good or bad, except by comparison" (209) - "Effort is Everything" by Bud Selig

Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.

The last few years I've been saying I was ready to quit. It wasn't that interesting to me. Now that I'm directing, it's all new again.

I even asked [Saniyya Sidney] why she wanted to be an actor and she said, "I'm serious about this. These other little kids they want to play, and I don't have time for that."

In any profession it gets to be a grind.

Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.

That's what I tell young actors. "You don't have to compromise. Go do some theater and wait for an appropriate role."

Any good piece of material like Shakespeare ought to be open to reinterpretation.

It just happened that we did [Fences] seven years ago on Broadway. Scott Rudin brought me August Wilson's original screenplay for it, and I realized I hadn't read the play. So I read it. Then I realized that Troy (my character) was 53 - and I was 55 at the time. I realized I better hurry up! I might be too old!

Every punch that's thrown is mine. Every punch that's caught, I catch.

You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That's a part of it.

You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.

Say what you really want to say.

As an actor, you're a color of paint on someone else's palette. But as a director, it's your canvas and you make the painting you want to make.

You'll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. ... Now, I've been blessed to make hundreds of millions of dollars in my life. I can't take it with me, and neither can you. It's not how much you have but what you do with what you have.

Years ago, even prior to 9/11, I did a movie called "The Siege." I did a lot of research with the FBI and the CIA. And I was amazed at that time (I guess we might all know it now) how little information they shared with each other. So after that, I'm not surprised by anything.

I like talking. I like acting.

Don't get all sentimental on me, Makes me think I'm gonna die.

I always think it's not what we know that's terrifying; it's what we don't know. That's sort of pervasive with everything in life.

There are films that I don't like, and then someone will come up to me and say it's their favorite movie. The movies belong to the people. You make them and you put them out. For me, I love the process of making films. For me, my favorite film is always my next one.

Writing is a weapon and it’s more powerful than a fist could ever be.

It's not what you know, it's what you can prove.

I've worked in a factory. I was a garbage man. I worked in a post office. It's not that long ago. I like to think that I'm just a regular guy.

Do what you gotta do so you can do what you wanna do.

The time to worrying about flying is when you're on the ground. When you're up in the air, it's too late. No point in worrying about it then.

I worked with Sidney Lumet years ago, and we had a long rehearsal process, and he would tape out the entire set on the stage, so I stole that from him.

So you never know who you touch. You never know how or when you'll have an impact, or how important your example can be to someone else" (20).

We just had to stay out-of-the-way [in Fences]. [August Wilson] already wrote a masterpiece. And you really don't know how it's going to work until you get it in front of an audience.

I am not going to bury my son! My son is going to bury me!

Don't be afraid to fail big, to dream big.

We do what we have to so we can do what we want to.

Success? I don't know what that word means. I'm happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody's eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace. That's a good day for me.

When you don't understand something, you label it and condemn it" (94) - Danny Glover, "The Fundamental Things

Growing up I didn't watch movies.

When my oldest boy was about 14, I started to talk to him about some of the mistakes I made in life, just to put a few dents in that shiny armor.

Bad guys need love too.

If you take the time and put in the effort to write your own material and absolutely refuse to be denied the right to make your film it is difficult whatever colour you are.

The poorest people are the sweetest people.

I'm older and wiser. So and now having segued into filmmaking I'm looking at [Ridley Scott ] and what he does in an entirely different way and I have respect for what he does and how he composes shots. So that was what was completely fascinating.

Denzel Washington: I like the collaboration, I like seeing people do well, so I really plan to direct the rest of my days.

I don't concern myself with award. I'd been to the party enough times to know it really didn't matter.

To protect the sheep, you gotta catch the wolf. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf, you understand?

After directing the first film it feels kind of tricky being back to being in front of the camera, because I've always got one eye over there, kind of thinking of what they are doing, and how the shot is being composed. I think it takes a couple of films to just get back to just being an actor.

I had the kid [on "Fences" ] who understudied me so I could stand back and think about shots so he had to learn the blocking and everything. I'd come in early sometimes, and they 'd be in there rehearsing and working on their stuff. I didn't want them to feel like, "Oh these are people who can't be touched." We're all working actors; we're all trying to get better.

I know, as an actor, I don't like sharing everything with the director. And it's fine if they don't with me.

I just try to be honest and true to the character and play the part.

That's where you can find things and modulate your performance and give the other actors something fresh to respond to. We've probably all worked with actors who when it's suddenly your close up, they get sleepy. I don't like that. It's selfish acting, and I won't tolerate it.

You never know how you're going to affect people.

It's not easy for me to admit that I've been standing in the same place for 18 years.

Americans love to talk about the Constitution and how it protects the rights of every citizen and promises freedom to every citizen, but it's also a country based on racism and they don't talk about that too much and every time there's a film which deals with it there's certain parts of the country that feel uncomfortable.