Ron Silver

“The twentieth century has exhibited a barbarism and lack of respect for human life on a massive scale just about unknown before.”

“I was immature the way I handled the business. I saw myself as a tribune of the people.”

“I do believe all actors are smart.”

“Nothing gets a bigger laugh than when you refer to things like ethics or human rights.”

“Involvement in public affairs is a legitimate use of celebrity.”

“If I don't see my kids for six days, I start to get withdrawal pains.”

“Acting is not about knowing all this stuff; it's about character.”

“I kind of have a dilettantish spirit about me.”

“Artists speak the truth to the public without fear of retribution or damage to their careers.”

“I had no desire from an early age to be on the stage.”

“I can't talk about foreign policy like anyone who's spent their life reading and learning foreign policy. But as a citizen in a democracy, it's very important that I participate in that.”

“I just don't get invited to the same dinner parties I used to like to go to.”

“I've seen people with a tremendous amount of educational background in the field not turn out to be terribly good actors, and I've seen people with no education in the field turn out to be people that I admire quite a bit.”

“Two, I actually learned a lot of things that served me very well when it came to repeating performances on stage, because it is a craft and you do need a technique for it.”

“I still think I'm going to do something else when I grow up.”

“In Europe, people in the arts are considered part of the intelligentsia; they are considered part of the elite.”

“I think you have an obligation to be an optimist. Because if you're not, nothing will change.”

“For about the first ten years of my career, I wasn't terribly motivated.”

“I'm a 9/11 Republican.”

“It made me think about a whole area of human activity that was not really a concern to me before that, because I was involved in reading Chinese history, or languages, or whatever.”