John Nicholson quotes: here’s what the legendary actor and filmmaker has said about his career, money, and life in general.
“It’s very easy to go down, so always live up. Incline yourself upward.”
“There’s no point dwelling on what might or could have been. You just have to go forward.”
“The only way to break a bad habit was to replace it with a better habit.”
“The minute that you’re not learning, I believe, you’re dead.”
“When you look at life retrospectively you rarely regret anything that you did, but you might regret things that you didn’t do.”
“I sort of understood that when I first started: that you shouldn’t repeat a success. Very often you’re going to, and maybe the first time you do, it works. And you love it. But then you’re trapped.”
“I take responsibility for my successes as well as my failures. But when I look at my professional mistakes, I’m always left with the feeling that maybe I should have done more.”
“I’ve never lost a friend over work. I come from a small-town environment and I remember my childhood impressions that, if you were a conniver or a fink or whatever, everybody knew about it and you were a louse for the rest of your life. So I never lost those values in some way.”
“I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”
“I usually don’t get too bogged down with my personal problems because that’s a one-way street if you get yourself into a negative frame of mind and only see the dark side of life.”
“A lot of people can’t remember things because they weren’t actually there to begin with. They don’t take it all in.”
“I used to think that one of the great signs of security was the ability to just walk away.”
“I have never lied to you, I have always told you some version of the truth.”
“There’s only two people in your life you should lie to: the police and your girlfriend. Everybody else you tell the truth to.”
“I love women who have a strong sense of themselves because I know I have a pretty good idea of what I want out of life and I like to be around other people who are also pretty secure. It just makes things easier.”
“What’s beautiful is all that counts, pal. That’s all that counts.”
“I am a person who is trained to look other people in the eye. But I can’t look into the eyes of everyone who wants to look into mine; I can’t emotionally cope with that kind of volume. Sunglasses are part of my armor.”
“With my sunglasses on, I’m Jack Nicholson. Without them, I’m fat and 60.”
“I’m definitely still wild at heart.”
“I’ve always had an urge to feed my need to have fun and feel free. I don’t see any interesting alternatives.”
“I always knew there wasn’t going to be anybody to help me and emotionally support me; that whatever I did I’d have to do on my own.”
“In this industry, there are only two ways up the ladder: rung by rung, or claw your way to the top. It’s sure been tough on my nails.”
“I wanted to be the best actor possible. I worked very hard at the craft of it.”
“I have mainly been interested in acting. I think it’s a great job, a fine way to live your life.”
“I know I can act. There aren’t too many other jobs I know how to do.”
“If you get an impulse in a scene, no matter how wrong it seems, follow the impulse. It might be something and if it ain’t? Take two!”
“A star on a movie set is like a time bomb. That bomb has got to be defused so people can approach it without fear.”
“You can follow the action, which gets you good pictures. You can follow your instincts, which will probably get you in trouble. Or, you can follow the money, which nine times out of 10 will get you closer to the truth.”
“Because you know, down deep in my heart, when all is said and done, I still live under the illusion that basically people think of me as an up-and-coming young actor.”
“Acting is everybody’s favorite second job.”
“But I also believe that a lot of the improvements in my character have come through aging and the diminishing of powers. It’s all a balancing act; you just have to get used to the ride.”
“If you think you’re attractive, you’re always attractive.”
“I hate advice unless I’m giving it. I hate giving advice, because people won’t take it.”
“Million bucks won’t see you through a major health crisis.”
“I’m fairly well off. I can’t poor-mouth that away from people’s sensibilities about me, which is something I worry about as an actor. But it would be real stupid of me to do something for the money.”
“Financially, I’ve lost money and made money, but I know my way around financially.”
“I don’t think many people have a very good understanding of leisure and the importance it plays in our lives.”
“All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”
“Beer, it’s the best damn drink in the world.”
“Well, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I haven’t been a rogue most of my life.”
“We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round.”
“My only emotion is gratitude, literally, for my life.”
“My motto is: more good times.”
“I just want to do something good before I die. Isn’t that what we all want?”
“You can’t handle the truth!”
