James Garner Quotes & Sayings

When I started working, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, in that I was just wandering around, hoping that I could succeed. Then after I got a little under my belt, it took me about 25 years to feel like I knew what I was doing. — James Garner

Yeah, I don't have a whole lot of problems. — James Garner

An hour series is a killer. It's hard on you physically. — James Garner

I've done a lot of casual work, and acting is a lot easier than laying carpets. — James Garner

I was a Depression kid, growing up in Oklahoma. — James Garner

I'm a 'bleeding-heart liberal,' one of those card-carrying Democrats that Rush Limbaugh thinks is a communist. And I'm proud of it. — James Garner

The only reason I'm an actor is that a lady pulled out of a parking space in front of a producer's office. — James Garner

When people see me in something and say, 'That's just you - that's not acting,' it's the best compliment I can get. — James Garner

In my opinion, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't qualified to be governor of California. — James Garner

Acting is just common sense. It isn't hard if you put yourself aside and just do what the writer wrote. — James Garner

I smoked marijuana for 50 yearsIt opened my mind to a lot of things, and now its active ingredient, THC, relaxes me and eases my arthritis pain. I've concluded that marijuana should be legal — James Garner

I've been on the wrong end of violence, and I've done violence myself ... I refuse to glorify violence in my movie and television roles. — James Garner

People who don't know me think I'm easy-going, but I'm a pessimist by nature and an old curmudgeon. — James Garner

There are younger directors, and anybody over 30 is ancient to them, because they're not that old. — James Garner

I never wanted to be an actor. I got stuck in it and kind of liked what I was doing. — James Garner

You put on a face for the public. The face isn't false; it's just another side of you. If it were false, you couldn't last. People want something real and natural, and if they catch you acting, you're dead. It has to look real. In order to look real, it has to be real, and I've always thought of the characters I've played as real people. — James Garner

I did a little bit of cocaine in the Eighties, courtesy of John Belushi, but fortunately I didn't like it. But I smoked marijuana for 50 years and I don't know where I'd be without it. It opened my mind and now it eases my arthritis. After decades of research I've concluded that marijuana should be legal and alcohol illegal. — James Garner

I'm working out every day. I'm in very good shape. — James Garner

Everybody wants blockbusters. I like to see a few pictures now and then that have to do with people and have relationships, and that's what I want to do films about. I don't want to see these sci-fi movies, and I don't want to do one of those. I don't understand it. — James Garner

I don't want to know what's good, or bad, or true. I let God worry about the truth. I just want to know the momentary fact about things. Life isn't good, or bad, or true. It's merely factual, it's sensual, it's alive. My idea of living sensual facts are you, a home, a country, a world, a universe, in that order. — James Garner

When I'm pushed, I shove. — James Garner

Marriage is a lot like the army, everyone complains, but you'd be surprise at the large number that re-enlist. — James Garner

I never finished the ninth grade. — James Garner

Learning is a gift, even if pain is the teacher — James Garner

I'm an actor; I hire out. — James Garner

My goal has always been longevity. Not fame and fortune, just get a job and keep it. — James Garner

I think people like to see a little larceny in their heroes. — James Garner

Even my stuntman is old. — James Garner

What was I qualified to do to make a living? Nothing. You don't need qualifications as an actor or a politician. And I didn't want to be a politician. — James Garner

I don't like the crowds, I don't like to get out of the house if I don't have to. — James Garner

Too many actors have run for office. There's one difference between me and them: I know I'm not qualified. — James Garner

There's a lot of room for error with a wound in the rear. It's a wide target. — James Garner

You can never have too many friends. — James Garner

Cause my wife gets up and goes shopping. — James Garner

With the exception of my wife and children, there's nothing I value more than my Oklahoma heritage. — James Garner

I think my attitude has always been to put food on the table. — James Garner

We know what the surface of the moon is better than we know what the surface of the sea floor is. — James Garner

I saw my wife at a pool, flipped over her, and 14 days later we were married. — James Garner

Ronald Reagan wasn't qualified to be governor, let alone president. — James Garner

I've had to work hard at that easy-going manner you see on screen. — James Garner

The greatest challenge Internet users face is information overload. — James Garner

There's one difference between me and them: I know I'm not qualified. In my opinion, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't qualified to be governor of California. Ronald Reagan wasn't qualified to be governor, let alone president. I was a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild when he was its president. My duties consisted of attending meetings and voting. The only thing I remember is that Ronnie never had an original thought and that we had to tell him what to say. That's no way to run a union, let along a state or a country. — James Garner

I don't have any theories about acting, and I don't think about how to do it, except that an actor shouldn't take himself too seriously, and shouldn't try to make acting something it isn't. — James Garner

I don't take success very well, because I know it's fleeting. And the next day, it can all fall apart. I know that, too. So I don't get too high, and I don't get too low. You get through the world a lot easier that way. — James Garner

I'm a Methodist, but not as an actor. — James Garner

It wasn't until I'd turned 50 and had been in the business 25 years that I realized I might actually have a career as an actor. — James Garner

The characters I've played, especially Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford, almost never use a gun, and they always try to use their wits instead of their fists. — James Garner

I spent most of my time playing pool instead of studying. — James Garner