"It is a little disappointing to see that your legs are not as strong. But I like the idea of growing old, and the thought of approaching death is not particularly daunting to me."

"I was terrible at maths, but I could grasp science, and I used to love to read about the lives of the scientists. I wanted to be a scientist or an inventor."

"I was raised as a Catholic, but I didn't like the Catholic Church at all. I thought the nuns were mean."

"Movie-wise, there is nothing I wouldn't do again. It's not possible to make one perfect movie every time."

"I never went to a psychologist or psychiatrist in my life. Never. You know, Italians are a little prejudiced against that kind of thing."

"If I have to be remembered for something, I want it remembered that I really liked children and was a good camp counselor."

"I've been offered lots of movies. There's always some actor who's doing a project and would like to have me do it."

"The only TV I would be interested in exploring would be live television. There's no substitute for a team of artists performing at their peak live when failure is possible. It's a high-wire act. That excites me."

"An artist is someone who can hold two opposing viewpoints and still remain fully functional."

"There is no art without intention."

"The artist must say it without saying it."

"The greatest artists know how to entertain, or else nobody would read them."

"It is the nature of the artist to mind excessively what is said about him. Literature is strewn with the wreckage of men who have minded beyond reason the opinions of others."

"He asked, "What makes a man a writer?" "Well," I said, "it's simple. You either get it down on paper, or jump off a bridge."

"An intellectual says a simple thing in a hard way. An artist says a hard thing in a simple way."

"The study of beauty is a duel in which the artist cries out in terror before being vanquished."

"Music fathoms the sky."

"An artist has got to get acquainted with himself just as much as he can. It is no easy job, for it is not a present-day habit of humanity."

"An artist is a person first."

"I do not know what evil is when it comes to art. I only know what is good art and what is bad art."

"Asher Lev, an artist is a person first. He is an individual. If there is no person, there is no artist."

"Have thine own way, Lord! Have thine own way! Thou art the Potter and I am the clay."

"... an artist is a person first. He is an individual. If there is no person, there is no artist."

"Art begins . . . when someone interprets, when someone sees the world through his own eyes. Art happens when what is seen becomes mixed with the inside of the person who is seeing it."