When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself.
Peter O'TooleRead
I put steam on the table by being an actor. That is how I live. The longer I live, the more expensive it becomes. So I do my work. And I can't be immensely picky. How many beautiful scripts come in one's lifetime? I have had more than anybody, practically.
Interpretation
The quote reflects the struggles and realities of an actor's life, emphasizing the rarity of great opportunities in the industry.
Peter O'Toole expresses the notion that an actor's career is fueled by passion and necessity, indicating that as time goes on, the demands and costs of living intensify. He recognizes the scarcity of exceptional scripts and emphasizes the importance of consistent work and dedication, even if opportunities or choices may be limited.
In practice
In a discussion about pursuing passion despite obstacles.
When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself.
No one should ever know where conduct ends and acting begins. Conduct unbecoming. That's what acting is.
A few years back I was asked if I would go and meet a director and his various acolytes, and it occurred to me halfway through the meeting that what I was doing was auditioning. And I thought, 'Well, hang on buddy. I've done half a century of this.'
I have no intention of uttering my last words on the stage. Room service and a couple of depraved young women will do me quite nicely for an exit.
Acting is just being a man. Being human. Not forcing it.
It is time for me to chuck in the sponge. To retire from films and stage. The heart for it has gone out of me: it won't come back.
What I dream of is an art of balance, of purity and serenity devoid of troubling or depressing subject matter - a soothing, calming influence on the mind, rather like a good armchair which provides relaxation from physical fatigue.
Art resides in the quality of doing, process is not magic.
A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it.
I had rescued the moment by using my camera and in that way had found how to stop time and hold it. No one could take that image away from me because I owned it.
I just wrote one song at a time. Kinda like an alcoholic. One day at a time.
As an actor you become that lighting rod between the person who made the play and the audience.
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