I could play a lot of things. And it's hard for people and logically hard and understandably hard for people to think of me for certain roles.
The modern cineplexes are mundane, dull boxes. But 'The Majestic' pays tribute to the movie palaces that made people feel like royalty. It honors a time when pictures helped Americans get through grim periods like the blacklist and the war.
The year I got into The Actors Studio, Steve McQueen and I were the only two accepted that whole year.
I had hair down to my shoulders, a beard and mustache. I was crude and rude.
I was very thin, exceedingly thin. If you look at 'North By Northwest,' you'll get a clue.
Pictures are packaged and cast by agents.
My technique has always been to include all the periphery around me.
Of course, I remember the Disney 'Pinocchio.' I was a little kid then... It was very instructive. Little boys who don't behave wind up in lots of trouble.
I've worked with a lot of wooden actors in my day, but Pinocchio is the best.
They made a fatal mistake in doing 'Psycho' again. Why do that? Why revisit something that stands for itself?
If I were a writer, the Pulitzer Prize would be important to me. This is my profession, so an Oscar is important.
Agents have enormous power that studios relinquished to them. The studios, when I first came to Hollywood, that's where the power was.
Sergio Leone came to see me when I was doing 'Mission Impossible.' He wanted me to do 'A Fistful of Dollars.' I turned him down. I didn't want to get stuck as a stoic Western movie star.
There are not many A-list directors who get to make the movies they want to make. I know two: Woody Allen and Tim Burton. Two different textures, but both get to do what they want, and that's rare.
I don't like to sound immodest, but I believe in what I can do. Sometimes it's been frustrating because I haven't gotten to bat; if you're on the bench, and an unimaginative person doesn't see you as right for a certain role, you don't get the chance to hit the home run.
