I've always been skeptical of people who say they lose themselves in a part. Someone once came up to Spencer Tracy and asked, 'Aren't you tired of always playing Tracy?' Tracy replied, 'What am I supposed to do, play Bogart?' You have to develop a style that suits you and pursue it, not just develop a bag of tricks.
Attribution disputed; shown as originally published.
Defining a unique style can be difficult for emerging artists.
When I got back from the war in 1946 people didn't want the Mr. Smith kind of movie any more, and I refused to make war pictures.
I've sort of gotten into the habit of looking for the vulnerable guy, the guy who makes mistakes, the guy who can't figure things out all the time but keeps at…
Hollywood dishes out too much praise for small things I won't let it get me, but too much praise can turn a fellow's head if he doesn't watch his step.
I was born at the age of twelve on a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lot.
I would rather dance as a ballerina, though faultily, than as a flawless clown.
Great artists have no country.