The poetry of heroism appeals irresistibly to those who don't go to a war, and even more to those whom the war is making enormously wealthy. It's always so.
He who has seen everything empty itself is close to knowing what everything is filled with.
A specialist is someone who does everything else worse.
We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread.
I have spent seven of the 12 years I have been married a victim of political persecution. I must be the first male spouse being held hostage by a regime. I accept this, as Pakistan has traditional elements who find it hard to reconcile with a man whose wife works and who other men salute perforce of her office.
It's not just a matter of whether you support Obama or Romney. It's who they have coming with them. I always keep my powder dry, as they say in the military.
I love working fast. I don't relish the director who wants to do 25 to 30 takes, or the actors who insist on doing 25 or 30 takes.
So I constantly play women who are damaged and out of touch, who are seeking without knowing, or knowing without the skills to transform their lives. But then, that's really the fate of many women today.
For anyone who feels they are overwhelmed by their job, or maybe they take their job too seriously or are working too hard, I say go to a safari, particularly the Okavango Delta, and just be humbled.
Composers most identified with the chamber music form are Corelli, Vivaldi, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and, of course, Bach. Of course, Bach. If there is any one composer who gives us reason and emotion, it is Bach.
I know plenty of people in China who don't like what their government does to the Falun Gong, but they don't want to entrust their data to the Falun Gong, either.
I think the future also will not belong to those who are cynical or those who stand on the sidelines.
I wasn't very good about juggling family and my career. I was interested in who was coming to the children's birthday party, what my son was writing. I was thinking about Legos.
An optimist is a fellow who believes a housefly is looking for a way to get out.
There is something to be said for people who have to work hard, be creative, produce what they have with little - or no - means. Those of us from poor homes have the advantage of thinking for ourselves and of knowing that when times get hard, things could always be worse.
I would be with those who say the hierarchy in the United States has badly mishandled this whole situation.
I can only think of one wacky best friend who I thought was awesome: Rhys Ifans in 'Notting Hill.' He really nailed the wacky best friend.
I am one of those artists who knows where their money is. I pay my bills; I take care of my mama. I handle my business. I am a businessman. I go to meetings and take care of things, so it's a lot more than just partying and turning up.
There are widows who long for friendly voices and that spirit of anxious concern which speaks of love.
Your parents are always a big influence on you. They help you make you who you are. The main thing my parents taught me is just to be a nice person - to be generous, kind and happy. I hope it comes off when I work and meet people.
Often we're recreating what we think we're supposed to be as human beings. What we've been told we're supposed to be, instead of who we authentically are. The key about the creation of full self-expression is to be authentically who you are, to project that.
He who tampers with the currency robs labor of its bread.
We may seek a fortune for no greater reason than to secure the respect and attention of people who would otherwise look straight through us.
Now, I know there are many Americans who say, 'Get out of Afghanistan. Bring 'em all home.' And there are others who say, 'Put in hundreds of thousands of more.'
I wanted to produce a book that would demonstrate not only the rich diversity of people who answered to Anders's command but also the extraordinary variety of their experiences and emotions: from death to despair, fear and longings and eventually to hope.
And I think, on the other end, there were actors who were not as good as I was, perhaps who could have hung in too, but began to blame everything on race.
One of the challenges of secularism is that it's not something outside us. In too many instances, secularism has so permeated the church that sometimes it's the frame of reference even for very good people, people who have a strong allegiance to the church.
A diva is someone who pretends to know who she is and looks fabulous doing it.
I'm not going to say, I'm an actor and I'm changing the world. Who cares?
I really haven't been cognitive of gas prices. It wasn't until I filled up my husband's Toyota Prius Hybrid that I had a moment of understanding of how people who drive gas cars feel.
Patrick Pearse - who set the events of 1916 in motion when he read the Proclamation of the Irish Republic from the steps of the General Post Office in Dublin - is not exactly an unfamiliar name to the Miramichi Irish.
The person who talks most of his own virtue is often the least virtuous.
I do think we know that a teacher who knows what he or she is doing, knows their subject matter, and knows how to impart knowledge to kids is a critical piece of closing the achievement gap.
We smile at the ignorance of the savage who cuts down the tree in order to reach its fruit; but the same blunder is made by every person who is over eager and impatient in the pursuit of pleasure.
I always try to be true to who I am and just be myself.
It's weird to have people so interested in your personal life. It's a part of the business that grosses me out. I'm always bummed out for people who just happen to be dating a celebrity, and they're also famous, and they can't live their life.
