I`m ambivalent about Patton (1970). I`m kind of a half-assed pacifist and I must tell you, you know, your philosophy is as strong as your feelings on a particular day. If you`re feeling good and you`ve accomplished something, you can back your philosophies to the hilt. And I don`t know what happened, but I decided I`m not going to glorify this thing. I wasn`t going to glorify war . . . I was a schmuck, because if I did "Patton" half as good as Mr. Scott [George C. Scott], I might have walked into The Godfather (1972). So that was a big mistake.

When old actors come up to me and say, "I don`t know if I should do this role. It might be bad for my image", I say, "That`s tough that you only have one image. My heart bleeds for you!" We are supposed to create raw people, explore life and communicate at the highest level; be it pain, joy or what have you. That`s what I believe. I guess you could say it does become a philosophy, a way of life.

The most important thing is to be whatever you are without shame.

[on Marlon Brando] He was in a unique position. He could have done anything. But he didn`t choose to.

When you lose your curiosity, you`re dead. I don`t care if you live to be 117. You`re dead.

You get the Oscar and you get better scripts, better actors and better directors to work for and of course your salary goes up until you make your first mistake and then you have to start from the beginning again.

The first thing that you should do when you win an Oscar is thank God. The second thing you should do is forget it.

[on acting] It sounds pompous but it`s the nearest thing I can do to being God. I`m trying to create human beings and so does He.

I tell young actors today to join the Merchant Marines for a year, and I tell young women to volunteer in a hospital emergency ward if they can. You get to see different people, cultures, dress - it`s a marvelous education for an actor.

My career has been 65% virgin and 35% whore. I`ve refused roles many times because I`d have to lose my integrity, my dreams of doing something worthwhile with regard to character. That`s the virgin part of me.

Method acting is anything that gets you involved personally in the part, so that you can communicate in human terms with an audience. Despite all the obstacles, the American actor has changed the acting world.

[on Hollywood] A community of lonely people searching for even the most basic kind of stimulation in their otherwise mundane lives.

[on success] Successful people have control over the time in their life. A shoemaker who owns his own shop gets up one morning and says, "I`m not opening". That`s a successful guy.