Alan Dale Quotes & Sayings

I did a production of Macbeth in the 1960s in which I had a swordfight in the final scene. But the blade fell off my sword just as I was stabbing the guy. I ended up having to hammer him to death. — Alan Dale

When I moved to Los Angeles, aged 54, I printed out Winston Churchill's phrase, 'Never, never, never give up', and stuck it on my fridge. I had no idea what was going to happen, but I knew I had to keep on going. — Alan Dale

I came to the United States to see what would happen in 2000 after working for 20 years in Australia and asked my agent to look out for the nasty roles because I'd become famous for playing the nicest man in Australia. So I wanted to play bad guys. — Alan Dale

When you're tied to one show, you are very much at the mercy of the writers, so you can suddenly get a script where you have a heart attack and die. — Alan Dale

When you're a regular on a TV show, they give you more of a backstory, so with these recurring gigs, you have to make up your own backstory. — Alan Dale

I think the most fun I ever had was playing King Arthur in Spamalot on the West End. — Alan Dale

My wife says I'm much happier when I'm not a regular on a TV show. — Alan Dale

The guys that write Once Upon a Time were major writers on Lost, and we had lunch when I started on OUAT and the first thing I said to them was, "I spent five years on Lost, you have to tell me, was my character good or bad?" They looked at me and said, "We have no idea." That's why you have to make your own backstory. I decided Widmore was the evilest of the evil, but in the end, not even the writers knew. — Alan Dale

I was doing a late-night round as a milkman in 1978 when I heard a radio DJ announce that he was leaving. I marched straight to the radio station and told them I could do better. For some reason, they gave me a go. — Alan Dale