John Gielgud

Every actor is at heart a director, and every director an actor.

The stage is a magic circle where only make-believe is real.

I find more and more that I am a man of the theater and that the theater is my home.

Wit is the salt of conversation, not the food.

To act is to imitate life, but life imitates art.

The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been.

Directors are like generals; actors are the soldiers.

I have spent my life in the theater, and it has been a glorious adventure.

Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away.

The art of acting is the art of making the audience believe.

In life, as in art, the beautiful comes from the true.

I always say, 'Never work with children or animals,' but sometimes you have to.

The theater is the place where one can say everything.

Age is a high price to pay for maturity.

Every performance is a new beginning.

The joy of acting is in the doing, not the applause.

Politics in the theater? It's all about survival.

I love the smell of the greasepaint and the roar of the crowd.

Reflection is the lamp of the heart. If it departs, the heart will have no light.

A good actor is one who makes it look easy.