David Mamet

People ask me, 'What do you do?' And I tell them I'm a writer, but always with the silent reservation, 'I am, of course, not really a writer. Hemingway was a writer.' ”

I'm afraid of only two things: being lazy and being cowardly. ”

My tendency as an actor was to correct people, was to say, 'What if we tried it this way, what about if we tried that way?' That's terrible habit for an actor, but that's a good habit for director. So I became a director. ”

A good film script should be able to do completely without dialogue. ”

I hate vacations. There's nothing to do. ”

I love all insider memoirs. It doesn't matter whether it's truck-drivers or doctors. I think everybody likes to go backstage, find out what people think and what they talk about and what specialised job they have. ”

I love working on a typewriter - the rhythm, the sound; it's like playing the piano, which I do, too. ”

In Chicago, we love our crooks! ”

I love the British. ”

You know, young actors say all the time, 'Should I use my own life experience?' And my response is, 'What choice do you have?' ”