Gielgud John Quotes & Sayings

Before you can do something you must first be something. — John Gielgud

True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. — Seneca.

Most of my friends seem to be either dead, extremely deaf or living on the wrong side of Kent. — John Gielgud

Shakespeare is God, of course. I have studied his plays for the vast majority of my sentient life. When I was a kid, my parents found an old copy of the LP recording of Richard Burton in John Gielgud's Broadway production of Hamlet and they gave it to me for my birthday. I listened to it till the grooves wore thin and I was off and running. — Ken Ludwig

I like to be busy. I once shared an agent with the late Sir John Gielgud, who, at 96, was apparently still ringing up, saying, 'Hello, Gielgud here, any work?' Good on him. We've got to keep working. If we retire, there'll be nobody to play the old wrinklies, and that would be a dreadful shame. — Charles Dance

There have been many gay knights in the past - like Sir Noel Coward or Sir John Gielgud. — Ian McKellen

I like looking at the countryside as well as anyone ... a little countryside goes a long way, but it's almost like the DNA of a civilisation is in its cities. — Jonathan Meades

Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. — Saint Augustine

N MY early boyhood I was enraptured by the great fairytale illustrators of the period: Arthur Rackham, Edmond Dulac, Kay Nielsen. As a schoolboy, I was to discover Aubrey Beardsley, and I was extremely fond of an edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream with most imaginative drawings by Heath Robinson, — John Gielgud

I think the young actor who really wants to act will find a way ... to keep at it and seize every opportunity that comes along. — John Gielgud

I never accept lengthy film roles nowadays, because I am always so afraid I will die in the middle of shooting and cause such awful problems. — John Gielgud

But as I grew up as a child, falling in love with the theater and Shakespeare, my heroes were Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud. — Patrick Stewart

He stared into the golden pools of her heavy-lidded eyes, and her emotions easy to read. "Have you bewitched me after all?" he asked softly, drowning in honey. — Lecia Cornwall

I started being interested in acting when I heard the voices of Sir Laurence Olivier and Sir John Gielgud and Sir Alec Guinness. I've had the great privilege of working with Sir Derek Jacobi and Sir Anthony Hopkins. These are people who inspire the work that I do. — Kenneth Branagh

Being another character is more interesting than being yourself. — John Gielgud

One mustn't allow acting to be like stoc kbroker - you must not take it just as a means of earning a living, to go down every day to do a job of work. The big thing is to combine punctuality, efficiency, good nature, obedience, intelligence, and concentration with an unawareness of what is going to happen next, thus keeping yourself available for excitement. — John Gielgud

You can be good in a good movie, you can be good in a bad movie, you can be bad in a bad movie, but never, ever, be bad in a good movie. — John Gielgud

A business tip, you never know who's having "pillow talk" with one another. Watch what u say, who u say it to, & WHO u talk about. — Keshia Chante

When I first went to America in 1928, there were spittoons everywhere. I remember avoiding spit as it flew past me in Times Square. Very unattractive. — John Gielgud

I am all in favour of spontaneity, providing it is carefully planned and ruthlessly controlled. — John Gielgud

Your English style will no doubt put all the other gentlemen to bed. I speak figuratively, of course. — John Gielgud

John Gielgud told us this story about Mae West. She was asked, 'Do you ever smoke after you've had sex?' She answered, 'I never looked. — Christopher Isherwood

We are with Europe but not of it. We are linked, not combined. We are interested and associated, not absorbed. And should European statesmen address us in the words that were used of old - Shall I speak for thee to the King or the Captain of the Host? - we should reply with the Shunamite woman: "Nay sir, for we dwell among our own people". — Winston Churchill

When I came into the acting profession, it was quite hierarchical. You didn't sit at the same table as the leading actor. Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud ... these were very, very intimidating and powerful people. — Helen Mirren

Acting is half shame, half glory. Shame at exhibiting yourself, glory when you can forget yourself. — John Gielgud

Ingrid Bergman speaks five languages and can't act in any of them. — John Gielgud

John Gielgud thought 'he was never the same after leaving England, though he wouldn't have admitted it. I think that tax business, and the way people reacted to it, shocked him . . . He wasn't much good as a tax exile. He didn't do a lot with his money. His houses were commonplace, the food dreadful, the decoration pretty amateurish. — Philip Hoare

I'm sure there isn't an after-life. If there were, Ivor Novello would have got a message to us. — John Gielgud

One's self-image is very important because if that's in good shape, then you can do anything, or practically anything. — John Gielgud

It is very hard to cast a number of plays adequately from the same company of actors without several parts being miscast. — John Gielgud

Being asked to play one of the butlers is like being picked to play for England. All you have to do is think of the great butlers from the past - Terry-Thomas in 'How To Murder Your Wife,' John Gielgud in 'Arthur' and Denholm Elliott in 'Trading Places.' — Mark Williams

Usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature. — John Gielgud