Eric Idle

“I'm drawn to things that aren't particularly popular at the time. I don't know why.”

“John Cleese once told me he'd do anything for money. So I offered him a pound to shut up, and he took it.”

“If the studios paid the artists, how would they ever be able to afford the executives?”

“I think the special thing about Python is that it's a writers' commune. The writers are in charge. The writers decide what the material is.”

“At least in America, you have freedom of speech, which is a good thing. It's just a question of whether you're allowed to use it on 'Fox News'.”

“I was thrilled to win a Tony in 2005 for 'Spamalot'.”

“I love being an older comic now. It's like being an old soccer or an old baseball player. You're in the Hall of Fame and it's nice, but you're no longer that person in the limelight on the spot doing that thing.”

“I like being a foreigner. For me, to live in California is very pleasant - I'm more comfortable not feeling a part of everything, not feeling responsible for the government or the roads or the health system.”

“I never think in terms of target audience. I try to write what makes me laugh, so I'm the target audience. I guess I just hope there's another person in America like me.”

“People can tell the truth much more freely when they're apparently lying.”

“Life is a comedy when watching and a tragedy when experiencing. I try and share anything I have.”

“I won't read scripts because I have a limited amount of time. Why should I help other people do lame stuff when I can just go out and put on lame stuff of my own?”

“Nobody gets irony anymore, as we are now living in the post-ironic age. Once George Bush gets a library, our irony is dead.”

“I have been very blessed in my life and rewarded with good friends and good health. I am grateful and happy to be able to share this.”

“I will jump on anybody's private plane at the drop of a hat. I'm an old-fashioned lower-middle-class boy.”

“The dreadful thing about getting older is you cry at the drop of a hat.”

“I like the idea of being out there regularly with an audience and with a funny gang of people. That's what I grew up with - doing television, doing shows every week.”

“I do pool exercises, like weightlifting but underwater. I walk, I swim... I'm pretty fit for an old bloke.”

“A website can be very time-intensive, but I'd love to have one where people can contribute to it - like invent islands and make their own flags, and their own laws. I think that'd be kind of fun.”

“It's such fun to take a lot of people and create something silly.”