My first big break came when I was five years old. It's taken me more than seventy years to realise that. You see, at five I first learnt to read. It's that simple and it's that profound.

There is nothing like a challenge to bring out the best in man.

A martini. Shaken, not stirred.

I don't think I'll ever act again.

But I wouldn't call myself sadistic.

I don't know anything about baseball.

I find that fame tends to turn one from an actor and a human being into a piece of merchandise, a public institution.

The media already attempts to assassinate my character in Scotland when I'm there, so my position is much more effective if I'm outside Scotland and am part of the voice of what the Scottish National Party is about.

People used to call me Bond in the street. It was impossible to avoid crowds of people all over the place and blinding flashguns. The Beatles had to run the gauntlet as well, but at least there were four of them!

My dear girl, there are some things that just aren't done, such as drinking Dom Perignon '53 above the temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit. That's just as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs!

But as a Scot with a lifelong love of Scotland and the arts, I believe the opportunity of independence is too good to miss. Simply put there is no more creative an act than creating a new nation.

There's something fundamentally wrong with a system where there's been 17 years of a Tory Government and the people of Scotland have voted Socialist for 17 years. That hardly seems democratic.

I did many other things before I ever got into the movies. I've been in so many businesses, it's a joke. All of them totally unsuited to me. Selling used cars. Running a club in London.

[James Bond's qualities of] self-containment, his powers of decision, his ability to carry on through till the end and to survive ... I like to think I acquired them before Bond.

I've always been hopeful about Scotland's prospects. And I now believe more than ever that Scotland is within touching distance of achieving independence and equality.

I care about Bond and what happens to him. You cannot be connected with a character for this long and not have an interest. All the Bond films had their good points.

I have no shortage of material or offers, it's just a case of what you select to do. But I think it's realistic that my chances of playing Romeo are now over.

You know, the Oscar I was awarded for The Untouchables is a wonderful thing, but I can honestly say that I'd rather have won the U.S. Open Golf Tournament.

I've never kept a record of anything. I gave away everything: all the posters, the memorabilia that would have been helpful - and financially rewarding.

Ever since the introduction of psychoanalysis there have been too many terms to excuse behavior and phrases that can be [used] to explain everything.

I am not an Englishman, I was never an Englishman, and I don't ever want to be one. I am a Scotsman! I was a Scotsman and I will always be one.

I suppose I'll be able to get a drink there... I told the stewardess liquor for three... Who are the other two?...Oh, there are no other two

I don't think there is anything particularly wrong in hitting a woman, though I don't recommend you do it the same way that you hit a man.

Everything I have done or attempted to do for Scotland has always been for her benefit, never my own and I defy anyone to prove otherwise.

I'm fed up with the idiots... the ever-widening gap between people who know how to make movies and the people who green-light the movies.

I haven't found anywhere in the world where I want to be all the time. The best of my life is the moving. I look forward to going.

Either what we hold to be right and good and true IS right and good and true, for all mankind, or we're just another robber tribe.

You write your first draft with your heart and you re-write with your head. The first key to writing is to write, not to think.

I can't afford to slow down, but I suppose it really depends. As long as there's enough enthusiasm, then one wants to continue.

There are women who take it to the wire. That's what they are looking for, the ultimate confrontation. They want a smack.

I'm swimming every day and I'm even trying to get the golf swing working again - but that might take a little bit longer.

I don't understand if you get caught in a fight, but take it out on a room, how that implies some psychiatric disorder.

The knighthood I received was a fantastic honour but it's not something I've ever used and I don't think I ever will.

Laughter kills fear, and without fear there can be no faith. For without fear of the devil there is no need for God.

I admit I'm being paid well, but it's no more than I deserve. After all, I've been screwed more times than a hooker.

I unfortunately don't speak French, but my wife is now fluent in English, which really reflects rather badly on me.

I left Scotland when I was 16 because I had no qualifications for anything but the Navy, having left school at 13.

When you hear someone from the very north of Scotland speaking, I think its nice, very musical and harmonious.

A man who fears nothing is a man who loves nothing; and if you love nothing, what joy is there in your life?

May God grant us the wisdom to discover right, the will to choose it, and the strength to make it endure.

I'm an actor - it's not brain surgery. If I do my job right, people won't ask for their money back.

When he reached the New World, Cortés burned his ships. As a result his crew was well-motivated.

There's a lot of fantasy about what Scotland is, and the shortbread tins and that sort of thing.

If anything could have pulled me out of retirement it would have been an Indiana Jones film.

Only 4 percent of all the companies owned in Scotland have their head offices in Scotland.

If you fear nothing, you love nothing. If you love nothing, what joy can there be in life?

The terrible beauty is that in the brotherhood of golf we are all the same - certifiable.

Love may not make the world go round, but I must admit that it makes the ride worthwhile.

There's one major difference between James Bond and me. He is able to sort out problems!

Don't wait for it to happen, don't even want it to happen - just watch what does happen.