Kirk Douglas Quotes & Sayings

Too often, I have not been what I wanted to be; I've succumbed to pressures. Yes, I have. The things I've done that I liked, I've always done against advice. — Kirk Douglas

It's tough to make a movie about movies ... We're all too close to it. But 'The Bad and the Beautiful' was very good. — Kirk Douglas

Cancer does give you a new rejuvenation. I know what it's like to be down. I lost a couple of good friends - Larry Hagman and Nick Ashford - who had the same type of cancer that I did, and that makes you think. — Kirk Douglas

Fame is as much about luck as it is about talent, perhaps more. — Kirk Douglas

If I thought a man had never committed a sin in his life, I don't think I'd want to talk with him. A man with flaws is more interesting. — Kirk Douglas

I went to Hollywood to test for Martha Ivers and I thought I was going to play the part that Van Heflin played.But they wanted me to play the part of Barbara Stanwyck's husband, so I played that. Then when I finished the movie, I went back to Broadway and did another flop. — Kirk Douglas

When you reach 95, after you get over your surprise, you start looking back. — Kirk Douglas

When you get to my age, you find that most of your dear friends are gone. — Kirk Douglas

Now, what does an actor who can't talk do? Wait for silent pictures to come back? — Kirk Douglas

Fear is a terrible thing. It makes you do awful things. — Kirk Douglas

If I can get enough signatures, to present an apology to slavery, I will present it to the President. The House of Representatives has already passed the resolution for the apology, but it has to pass the Senate. I think, in spite of all our problems, I think we're in the right direction. — Kirk Douglas

I have a great respect for actors like Clint Eastwood, who's a wonderful director. I think two pictures that I directed were not successful, so I decided not to make any more. — Kirk Douglas

Virtue is not photogenic. — Kirk Douglas

I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up. — Kirk Douglas

I never had any desire to be a film actor. I never thought I was the good-looking movie type, which I assumed they wanted. — Kirk Douglas

Acting is make-believe. I never believe I'm the character; I want you to believe. — Kirk Douglas

Why can't a woman be more like a dog, huh? So sweet, loving, attentive. — Kirk Douglas

I was not a very good Jew. I never practised what Judaism tells you to do, to teach your kids all about Judaism. — Kirk Douglas

Michael [Douglas] was just leaving the TV series The Streets of San Francisco and he said, 'Dad, let me try it.' I thought, 'Well, if I couldn't make it ... ' So, I gave it to him and he got the money, the director and the cast. The biggest disappointment for me, I always wanted to play McMurphy. They got a young actor, Jack Nicholson. I thought, 'Oh God. He will be terrible.' Then I saw the picture and, of course, he was great in it! That was my biggest disappointment that turned out to be one of the things I'm most proud of because my son Michael did it. I couldn't do it, but Michael did it. — Kirk Douglas

My mother and my father were illiterate immigrants from Russia. When I was a child they were constantly amazed that I could go to a building and take a book on any subject. They couldn't believe this access to knowledge we have here in America. They couldn't believe that it was free. — Kirk Douglas

My kids never had the advantages I had. I was born poor. — Kirk Douglas

Acting is a youthful profession. — Kirk Douglas

Unfortunately, once I did learn to smoke, I couldn't stop. I escalated to two packs a day very quickly, and stayed that way for about ten years. When I decided to stop, I adopted the method that my father had used when he quit. He would carry a cigarette in his shirt pocket, and every time he felt like smoking, he would pull out the cigarette and confront it: "Who stronger? You? Me?" Always the answer was the same: "I stronger." Back the cigarette would go, until the next craving. It worked for him, and it worked for me. — Kirk Douglas

When I first came to Hollywood, the blacklist was just starting, and they were having hearings in Washington. What most people don't know is the judge of these hearings himself was later convicted of misappropriation. 'Spartacus' helped break the blacklist, because Spartacus was a real character. — Kirk Douglas

I guess I was a bad boy ... Yes, yes, I've had lots of women in my life. — Kirk Douglas

You have not learned to live until you have learned to give — Kirk Douglas

I'm glad they gave women the right to vote, but sometimes I'm sorry they have the right to smoke. Most women are messy about it, particularly about their lipstick. I don't mind wiping lipstick off myself, but I hate seeing it on cigarettes, napkins and coffee cups! I don't like women with all their beauty machinery showing-curlers, cold cream, mascara brushes. I'd even prefer to not see a woman touch up her lipstick, but I guess that's expecting too much. — Kirk Douglas

People are always talking about the old days. They say that the old movies were better, that the old actors were so great. But I don't think so. All I can say about the old days is that they have passed. — Kirk Douglas

I think the election of [Barack] Obama was a great step to prove to the world that we believe that all men were created equal. I think it will show that we have humility. — Kirk Douglas

Sometimes, the thing that ties you down sets you free. — Kirk Douglas

My first job was on Broadway. Then I went into the Navy. When I came out of the Navy, I went back to Broadway and a friend of mine, Lauren Bacall, was in Hollywood filming with Humphrey Bogart. She told one of her producers I was great in my play, and he saw it and cast me in 'The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'. — Kirk Douglas

The learning process continues until the day you die. — Kirk Douglas

God bless Dad, he came to every one of my shows. I was bad, and I had horrible stage fright. My dad was so relieved - he'd say, 'You were terrible; this kid is not going to be an actor.' Finally, I did a play and he said, 'Son - you were really good.' — Kirk Douglas

I never wanted to be in movies. In a sense, I'm still a failure because I wanted to be a star on the stage. — Kirk Douglas

I don't need a critic to tell me I'm an actor. I make my own way. Nobody's my boss. Nobody's ever been my boss. — Kirk Douglas

A stroke is a very difficult thing. You get depressed ... What I found was this: the cure for depression is to think of others, to do for others. You can always find something to be grateful for. — Kirk Douglas

Love has more depth as you get older. — Kirk Douglas

On a crowded bus in Israel, a mother was speaking to her son in Yiddish. An Israeli woman reprimanded her. "You should be speaking Hebrew. Why are you talking to him in Yiddish?" The mother answered, "I don't want he should forget he's a Jew." — Kirk Douglas

I have studied religion, and I have concluded that there is some power. We don't understand it. — Kirk Douglas

My children didn't have my advantages; I was born into abject poverty. — Kirk Douglas

I was conscious of my father's fame from the time I was 6. — Kirk Douglas

Virtue is not photogenic. What is it to be a nice guy? To be nothing, that's what. A big fat zero with a smile for everybody. — Kirk Douglas

Since my stroke, I have begun to see so many miracles all around me. I look out of the window in my room: verdant grass, silver-tipped oak leaves, tall palm trees gentle swaying as they reach to the sky, masses and masses of roses. All colors, so many shapes, exquisite fragrances. — Kirk Douglas

My four sons all knew I was a Jew, but they were allowed to be whatever they wanted to be. The only thing important to me was that they be good people who help other people, because all religion should try to make you a better person and a more caring person. Whenever religion does that for you, it's a good religion. — Kirk Douglas

What would my parents think about America if they arrived here today? Would they even want to come? I wonder. — Kirk Douglas

Being second generation in Hollywood is complicated: Success is expected, and yet the track record of the second generation is not great. Only a small group of us, like Jane Fonda, have succeeded. — Kirk Douglas

The best wine comes from home, wherever it is. — Kirk Douglas

When you get old the worst thing is you lose so many friends. Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, John Wayne. People who I loved to work with. — Kirk Douglas

Life is like a B-picture script. — Kirk Douglas

I didn't think I was so tough until I did 'Champion'; then I was a tough guy. — Kirk Douglas

I think religion has caused so much catastrophe in the world. — Kirk Douglas

I'm concerned that the world is a mess. That's why when I wrote my last book, Let's Face It, I dedicated it to the younger generation because, let's face it, the world is in a mess. Right now, the young people will inherit that mess. I think we have to do everything we can. — Kirk Douglas

Sometimes an interviewer will look at me and say, 'You're bright!' They're actually surprised I might be bright. — Kirk Douglas

You haven't learned how to live until you've learned how to give. — Kirk Douglas

I think that [Barack] Obama was elected because young people are starting to get interested in their country and I think that's a very healthy thing. — Kirk Douglas

The first thing I look for in a woman is warmth-femininity. It's got nothing to do with a pretty face. — Kirk Douglas

If you want to know about a man you can find out an awful lot by looking at who he married. — Kirk Douglas

Virtue is not photogenic, so I liked playing bad guys. But, whenever I played a bad guy, I tried to find something good in him, and that kept my contact with the audience. — Kirk Douglas

The older you get, the more awards you get. So, if you live long enough, then you get all the awards eventually. — Kirk Douglas

I studied Judaism a lot. I studied religion in general, and I have never imposed my Judaism on my kids. They are what they want to be. I think ... you must care for others. That's the correct religion, I think. — Kirk Douglas

Maybe there is no peace in this world. I don't know ... But I know as long as we live we must stay true to ourselves. — Kirk Douglas

If I have to speak in public, I am terrified. — Kirk Douglas

I was living in a terrible time when people were being accused of being communists, and they attacked the movie industry, especially the writers. People couldn't work if they were on the blacklist. The studios banned them. It was the most onerous period in movie history. I don't think we have ever had a period so dark as that. — Kirk Douglas

Listen - pacemaker, crash, stroke. What does it mean? God doesn't want me now. That's all. — Kirk Douglas

People are composed of many things, and in my work, what influences me is the complexity of people - the chiaroscuro of dark and light. When I play a strong guy, I try to find, where is he weak? And, conversely, when I play a weak guy, where is he strong? — Kirk Douglas

I have one computer that my wife gave me. All I know how to do, and I do it every day, is play Spider Solitaire. And I don't have a cell phone. — Kirk Douglas

Being seventy has its advantages. I was outspoken before, but now what have I got to keep quiet about? — Kirk Douglas

Michael [Douglas] is, I think, a great actor. He's made some very interesting pictures. When he was going to college, I was very proud of him, but when he said, 'Dad, I want to be in a play,' he had a bit part. I went to see it and Michael said, 'Dad, how was I?' I said, 'You were terrible.' I thought he would go on to be a lawyer and in three months, he was in another play and I went and, I must admit, he was great. I think he has been good in everything he's done. — Kirk Douglas

When I produced Spartacus, the writer was Dalton Trumbo, who spent a year in jail because he would not answer McCarthy's questions about other people. He submitted the picture under the false name of Sam Jackson. — Kirk Douglas

When I made Spartacus during the McCarthy Era, we were losing our freedom. It was an awful, awful way. McCarthy saw Communists everywhere, in every level of government and they concentrated on Hollywood and especially on Hollywood writers. — Kirk Douglas

In order to achieve anything you must be brave enough to fail. — Kirk Douglas

I've played some good guys as well, in Spartacus, Paths of Glory and my favorite picture, Lonely Are the Brave, so I had a mixture of parts in my life. — Kirk Douglas

The only advantage I have found in being Jewish is that I can be openly anti-Semitic. — Kirk Douglas

You know, you have to have some inner philosophy to deal with adversity. — Kirk Douglas

I was going to play in First Blood, but I suggested to changing it and I dropped out. I said to [Silvester] Stallone, 'You know, I almost stopped you from making millions of dollars,' because in my suggestion, I killed his character at the end of the picture . — Kirk Douglas

When you become a star, you don't change - everyone else does. — Kirk Douglas

"Hail to the Chief" was played, and the President got up and made a gracious opening remark. "I've been in this office for six years, and yet every time I hear that music, I turn around wondering who they're playing it for." — Kirk Douglas

Now, why is it that most of us can talk openly about the illnesses of our bodies, but when it comes to our brain and illnesses of the mind we clam up and because we clam up, people with emotional disorders feel ashamed, stigmatized, and don't seek the help that can make the difference. — Kirk Douglas

I felt [It Runs in the Family] it was a picture that, after I'm gone, my family would like to see it. It was a wonderful mixture of people in my family. — Kirk Douglas

I love talking to interesting people - people like O.J. Simpson, Andretti ... I love champions. A champion has something special about him. — Kirk Douglas

I have always been grateful that my Russian mother and father came to this country to give me a better chance, and I have had a better chance. — Kirk Douglas

I directed two films, not very successfully, and after that, I went back to being an actor and a producer. — Kirk Douglas

All my life, I have taken inventory at intervals. For example, when I became a movie actor and suddenly I had to deal with fame, money and playing so many roles, I lost myself. I said, 'Who am I?' And I wrote my first book to deal with that, 'The Ragman's Son.' — Kirk Douglas

Fifteen years ago, I suffered a stroke, which caused me to lose my speech. Now, what does an actor who can't talk do? Wait for silent pictures to come back? I work with a speech therapist twice a week. — Kirk Douglas

With John Wayne, we argued all the time and we made four pictures. — Kirk Douglas

Really a bad guy is more interesting, dramatically, than the good guy. — Kirk Douglas

Streets crowded with people strolling, or sitting at outdoor cafes. And always, talking, gesturing, singing, laughing. I liked Rome immediately.Everybody was a performer. — Kirk Douglas

I'm an actor; I have made my living by acting, and I almost think I owe it to the public to express my feelings and not as a character on a screen but as myself. — Kirk Douglas

No matter how bad things are, they can always be worse. So what if my stroke left me with a speech impediment? Moses had one, and he did all right. — Kirk Douglas

I didn't start out to be a movie star. I started out to be an actor. — Kirk Douglas

I remember little things that break my heart. We were coming out of Michael's house one day, and he noticed my shoelaces were undone. He bent down and tied them. I almost cried. To me, it was such a gesture of love. — Kirk Douglas

When you have a stroke, you must talk slowly to be understood, and I've discovered that when I talk slowly, people listen. They think I'm going to say something important! — Kirk Douglas

I know Italians and I like them. A lot of my father's best friends were Italians. — Kirk Douglas

Life is like a B-picture script. It is that corny. If I had my life story offered to me to film, I'd turn it down. — Kirk Douglas

I bought the book, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I paid to have it made into a play and I played in it for six months. I came back and I tried to make it into a movie, without success. — Kirk Douglas

My mother, we were a very poor family. When I was a kid, we would be in our little room, and there would be a knock on the door almost every night with a hobo begging for food. Even though we didn't even have enough to eat, my mother always found something to give them. — Kirk Douglas

Obey the voice within - it commands us to give of ourselves and help others. As long as we have the capacity to give, we are alive — Kirk Douglas

The biggest lie is the lie we tell ourselves in the distorted visions we have of ourselves, blocking out some sections, enhancing others. What remains are not the cold facts of life, but how we perceive them. That's really who we are. — Kirk Douglas

I have been an actor for most of my life. When I started out, I didn't think about anything except what was good for me. Like many movie stars, I became all wrapped up in myself. — Kirk Douglas

All children are natural actors, and I'm still a kid. If you grow up completely, you can never be an actor. — Kirk Douglas