Alan Arkin

The years I spent paying my dues are in the background, and so are my concerns about whether my performance is good or bad. ”

But one of the things I learned from improvising is that all of life is an improvisation, whether you like it or not. Some of the greatest scientific discoveries of the 20th century came out of people dropping things. ”

I get a little upset, yeah, if a year goes by and I don't get a script. Thank God I have other interests that keep me from becoming a nervous wreck. ”

I don't know what I'm proudest of. The fact that my kids still talk to me. ”

No matter how much time you spend reading books or following your intuition, you're gonna screw it up. Fifty times. You can't do parenting right. ”

I had to jump around in the arts for a while just to survive. I earned a little money here and there, playing the guitar at union meetings, functions. I sold some science-fiction stories. I knew there was absolutely no question of me not being connected with the arts, but I couldn't find any acting jobs. ”

I know that if I can't move people, then I have no business being an actor. ”

Things have got to add up to 100 points. The script is part of it, the character is part of it, the people I'm working with is the third part of it - and any combination of the three has got to add up to 100 points. ”

The last time I heard real screaming in the theatre was when I went to see a movie I did years ago, called 'Wait Until Dark.' Now, my mother was the least emotional person on the planet, but when I got killed in the movie, she stood up and screamed, 'That's my son!' At Radio City Music Hall in New York! ”

I love doing kids' shows, and I love working with kids. I've done a lot of it. A lot of people don't like working with children, but I love it. ”