Life turned out much better than I thought. I knew after a little while that I could act.

The good parts are the people who don`t make do. They`re the interesting people. Lear doesn`t make do.

We were doing it under the most extraordinary circumstances, but the first out of the tent in the morning would be David Lean. He said to me on the very first day of shooting, Pete, this is the beginning of a great adventure.

My dear sir, it haunted me for the rest of my life.

It`s my job, it`s what I do, it`s what I`m on earth to do and it`s who I am.

Where do I begin? I loved working with Kate Hepburn, which was one of the highlights of my life; Working with Richard Burton in Beckett was another great joy.

I tell my children to avoid theatre and go into cinema and TV.

I love working with young people, which is to me a big kick.

I wouldn`t mind being a lord.

Writing is a kind of performing art, and I can`t sit down to write unless I`m dressed. I don`t mean dressed in a suit, but dressed well and comfortably and I have to be shaved and bathed.

There is a legend. And to protest is daft.

I`m a working stiff, baby, just like everybody else.

I became a professional cricket teacher about 20 years ago. I had a son born to me when I was 50, and I thought, he needs someone to bowl to him.

If I`m not at my study by 10:00, 10:30, forget it, I can`t write a word.

When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself.

It is the highest honour that the motion picture industry can pay to anybody. I joined people like Chaplin, so of course I`m deeply honoured.

I was apprehensive about bringing off this Homer.

I loved doing My Favorite Year, which was great fun, and The Ruling Class, which I made with all my chums.

Films were never in my budget. Didn`t occur to me till much later. I hoped for a long, good life, which I`ve had and I`m having as an actor. I didn`t expect the rest.

My own favorite is something called Rogue Male.

It`s very inconvenient because every time I finish, let`s say, a chapter of a book, I think I`m going to ring Richard and then realize: Oh, Christ, I`ve buried him. I buried him last year.

We were in the Arabian Desert for nine months. And I was having the time of my life. It could have been an archeological expedition, a military expedition.

I`m the most gregarious of men and love good company, but never less alone when alone.

I have no memories I`m prepared to share with you.

[on Sophia Loren] Sophia is gorgeous, a marvelously put together machine. But she`s a grievous card sharp; in Naples, they`re born with a pack of cards. Give her a nudge and she`s the funniest woman in the world. A helluva woman!

[on Katharine Hepburn] I worship that bloody woman. I`ve never enjoyed working with anyone so much in my whole life, not even Richard Burton. There were no problems, not a one.

[on Ursula Andress] I`ve had luck with my leading ladies. The real shocker was Ursula Andress, with whom I made "What`s New Pussycat?". She`s a bloody sex symbol and all that, and yet she`s one of the nicest people you`ll ever meet. A real mother hen, looking after everybody.

"I enjoyed it. The only thing that wasn`t enjoyable was in the green room. I said, `Can I have a drink?` `We have lemon juice, apple juice, still or sparkling.` I said, `No, I want a drink. No drink?` I said, `All right, I`m f**king off. I`ll be back.` A man with earphones said, `No! No!` Eventually this vodka was smuggled in." - On The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003) (TV)

"Books have been written about that so-called renaissance at the Royal Court Theatre. Bollocks. I watched this appalling bunch of strange young men creeping around, talking pompously."

"For a young actor it was intimidating. But! You look into the eyes and you see actors know actors. It`s like playing jazz. You really have to go there with your trumpet and compete."

"The nicest buttocks in the world are in Ireland. Irish women are always carrying water on their heads, and always carrying their husbands home from pubs. Such things are the greatest posture-builders in the world."

"The only exercise I take is walking behind the coffins of friends who took exercise."

"Always a bridesmaid never a bride my foot!" (on receiving a lifetime achievment at the 75th Academy awards March 23, 2003.)

"For me, life has either been a wake or a wedding."

Noel Coward (to O`Toole): "If you`d been any prettier, it would have been Florence of Arabia".

"I can`t stand light. I hate weather. My idea of heaven is moving from one smoke-filled room to another."