Christopher Plummer

“I couldn't believe when I first got a fan letter from Al Pacino, it was unreal.”

“Oh, I don't have any religious beliefs.”

“In Stratford you either turn into an alcoholic or you better write.”

“Here is Mike Wallace, who is visible to the public, and I have been watching him since the early '50s. Smoking up a storm and insulting his guests and being absolutely wonderfully evil and charming too.”

“Working with Julie Andrews is like getting hit over the head with a valentine.”

“Some of the best casts I've ever worked with have been dogs.”

“They realized I was alive again, even though I was playing an old, dying sop.”

“A lot of people want to retire; I couldn't. You don't retire in our business. What, play golf and watch television? Oh, please.”

“It is a culture voice, but it is a very American culture voice, and I am very used to English culture voice. So I had to work like hell to flatten those R's.”

“I love trying to give some flesh to rather naked bones sometimes. I've always felt it my duty and to try and bring on the character's off-stage life, what happened that is not revealed.”

“I was always a happy kid. I'd play the piano fairly well. I did all sorts of things fairly well. But who the hell wants to be happy all the time? It's a miserable state to be in permanently. Can you imagine how dreary that would be?”

“I didn't have to keep a bloody journal. It's terribly boring keeping a journal anyway. I hate it. You spend more time writing down life instead of living it.”

“The part of Mike Wallace drew me to the movie because I thought, what an outrageous part to play.”

“I think anger does fuel a successful acting career. To play the great roles, you have to learn how to blaze.”

“I wasn't thrilled about 'The Sound Of Music' - not the movie itself but my role in it. Captain Von Trapp was a bore, and they tried to help by giving it a bit more cynicism, but it wasn't my favourite role. I enjoyed the music, and I loved Julie Andrews.”

“I thought, 'If I make 35, it'll be okay,' and then at 40, I got scared, and now that I'm 81, I'm scared to death.”

“I admire Ridley Scott, and I'm thrilled to be making a movie for him.”