You need some insecurity if you're an actor. It keeps the pot boiling. I haven't yet started to think about retiring. I was shocked when I heard about Paul Newman retiring at age 82. Most actors just fade away like old soldiers.
Interpretation
Insecurity can drive creativity in acting and keep an actor engaged in their craft.
Al Pacino's quote reflects on the role of insecurity in the life of an actor, suggesting that it fuels their passion and creativity. He contrasts this with the idea of retirement, expressing his disbelief and discontent at the thought of fading away from the profession, akin to 'old soldiers' who no longer actively engage in their duties.
In practice
In a motivational speech about pursuing a career in the arts, one could use this quote to emphasize the importance of embracing insecurity.
I don’t understand the hatred and fear of gays and bisexuals and lesbians… it’s a concept I honestly cannot grasp. To me, it’s not who you love… a man, a woman, what have you… it’s the fact that you love. That is all that truly matters.
We start to realize that there are anodynes in life that help us through the day. I don't care if it's a walk in the park, a look out the window, a good bubble bath - whatever. Even a meal you like, or a friend you want to call. That helps us solve all this stuff in our head.
I'm an actor, not a star. Stars are people who live in Hollywood and have heart-shaped swimming pools.
On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is -- can you win or lose like a man?
There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.
I'd love to be an artist always, but if no one wants me, I'd love to write songs for other people, be a manager, nurture new talent.
The person whose work introduced me to the craft was Lorraine Hansberry. The person who taught me to love the craft was Tennessee Williams. The person who really taught me the power of the craft was August Wilson, and the person who taught me the political heft of the craft was Arthur Miller.
Man cannot do without beauty, and this is what our era pretends to want to disregard.
It is the task of the translator to release in his own language that pure language that is under the spell of another, to liberate the language imprisoned in a work in his re-creation of that work.
Conflict and character are the heart of good fiction, and good mystery has both of those in spades.
When you play a sax, that saxophone is irreverent. It's noisy; it's a trickster... you cannot hide the saxophone in your hands, so it's a good teacher.
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