Bruce Robinson

“I'm not a religious person, but I prefer God to money.”

“Mostly in movies an actor has to come to a mark, an X, and deliver his line - but that's so artificial, that's not how people really behave.”

“I read 'The Rum Diary,' and I didn't really like it very much.”

“If you are a junkyard dog, you assume that that's what life is: chained up, barking all day.”

“Well, I had the most appalling childhood.”

“I wake up most days with a vague feeling of doom - 'Dear God. Here I am again.' Then, when I read about politicians in the newspaper, the vengefulness starts. By mid-morning, the anxiety is kicking in.”

“Bernard Shaw said that when you copy yourself, you know you've got style. And I feel that if you can write like you write, then you are true to yourself. And it's not an easy thing to do - it's a disgustingly difficult thing to do.”

“I think you're a good person or a todd by the age of eight.”

“Isn't that the definition of a star? Someone who can get a film made?”

“My problem with being an actor was that I was far too shy to actually do it.”

“When I was writing 'Withnail,' I was so busted flat that I had one lightbulb that I would carry around the house with me. I mean, really. No furniture, no money, and I was hoping to be an actor, but I could never get a job.”

“He didn't like religion, hadn't liked it for years, but he adored churches, loved them like old scientific instruments whose time is long past but are nevertheless fascinating and strange.”

“My early life has given me a great deal to draw on, certainly - but would I have swapped a happy childhood for the writing? Yes.”

“Those with the money are eccentric. Those without, insane.”

“I've always felt that in a comedy script the stage directions should also have a comedic value.”

“I like situational comedy when people are being completely serious and yet you can find something extremely funny, not jokes.”

“I've always been that contemptible thing, a luxury communist.”