Armand Assante

I never pursued a career relentlessly.

It's a blessing and a curse. But it's not always the best situation to be in. As a profession, I don't recommend acting at all.

I've got the best deal on Earth. Where else can I sin and know that I'm forgiven for it?

My dream as a youngster was to be like Olivier. To be a great stage actor. To be a great Shakespearean actor. To me that is the Olympics of acting.

I don't champion the idea of being in a Hollywood movie. I never had fun in one of them.

You love what you do, you are cursed with it, and then you get known for being cursed with it.

I've brought my daughters all over the world-they travel with me. I drag them out of school just to keep the relationship. When I'm home I'm a big-time daddy.

I live a very quiet life, although I'm very urban and a diehard New Yorker.

Acting is a total physical, emotional sensation.

I stopped courting Hollywood a long time ago.

The Italian gangster thing has become a form of the modern-day Western.

I've worked for 27 years nonstop in theater and films. That's a lot of work.