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 know it's working when I'm writing a book if I'm laughing or crying.
In our hurried world too little value is attached to the part of the connoisseur and dilettante.
As a kid, I used to dream about airplanes before I ever flew in one. I really knew, when I started photographing, I wanted it to be a way of knowing different cultures, not just in other countries but in this country, too, and I knew I wanted to enter other lives. I knew I wanted to be a voyeur.
And you know there’s nothing like writing a song about someone who’s mean to you, and just makes your life miserable…and then winning a Grammy for it.
Strangely enough, the first character in Fried Green Tomatoes was the cafe, and the town. I think a place can be as much a character in a novel as the people.
What do you think an artist is? ...he is a political being, constantly aware of the heart breaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. Painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.
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