Jason Robards Quotes

I don’t want actors reasoning with me about ‘motivation’ and all that bull.

Once you’re on, nobody can say, ‘Cut it.’ You’re out there on your own, and there’s always that thrill of a real live audience.

As a baseball player, you know the commodity you’re selling, but with acting, you wonder, ‘What the hell am I doing that is so hot?’

My father has the most tremendous personality and wonderful looks – he looks like Fredric March.

To be true to a play, you can’t add something that takes away from the author’s intent.

I used to just do movies for alimony purposes, between plays.

I have six children, and we neglect our older ones more. Because we were so busy trying to make a living, we just say hello and goodbye… I’m sure those things stick with you.

I did a lot of violent junk just because I needed the money – alimony movies, you might call them – and then I decided to start turning down the junk scripts and wait for something better, no matter how long.

Theater is about life, not about television or movies.

The theater has kept me alive, and it’s allowed me to work at my craft.

I’ve played all kinds of TV roles, from cowboys to fathers of teenagers. It’s helped me a lot. Of course, I was very lucky to have had good directors.

I got hooked on ‘All Things Considered.’

We grow each day or don’t grow. Go the other way. We’re a different person all the time. The human being is something happening differently every day. That’s the challenge of doing a play: using your instrument to learn and to pull out these things.

When you act, you take on the attitudes and the emotions of others. There has to be a release. Most often done in conviviality. That’s why there are clubs like the Players, the Friars – in London, the Garrick.

An actor doesn’t change thought, theme, or mood unless the character does, and the character only does it within the words of the play.

I was a radioman first class in the Navy. I put in seven years. I was around a lot of admirals; I served on destroyers, cruisers, and a flat top for a little while.

‘Iceman’ covers a bigger scope than ‘Long Day’s Journey.’ But they’re both fabulous pieces of work. ‘Iceman’ is like a symphony. It’s got all the movements, all these different voices. ‘Long Day’s Journey’ is more like a beautiful string quartet.

It’s 90 percent rejection, being an actor.

I sort of go with the flow of what’s happening on the set.

That’s what acting is: really make-believe.

It’s part of an actor’s equipment to project a voice.

Actors usually have a lot in common with kids.

I’ve always wanted to be part of a family.

I always wanted to act. To be with my friends. To share something with the audience about the human condition.

It doesn’t do to eat too much before a performance.

Eugene O’Neil is always exploring our want to love but can’t get it out there.

I go to the theater and dream. You learn your lines, and that gives you the security to allow the imagination and heart to come out.