Marlon Brando

Actor

Modern influential 152 sayings

Sayings by Marlon Brando

I don't think I'm a very good actor. I'm not that talented. I'm just lucky.

1957 — Interview with Truman Capote for The New Yorker
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

An actor is at most a poet and at least a traffic cop.

1972 — Interview with The New York Times
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.

1960s — Reported by various sources, often attributed to him
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

If you're going to be a star, you should have a star's salary. I'm not going to work for nothing.

1960s — Interview about his salary demands
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The only reason I'm in Hollywood is that I don't have the moral courage to refuse the money.

1970s — Interview with a reporter
Strange & Unusual Confirmed

Acting is an illusion, a beautiful lie.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I'm not a method actor. I'm just an actor.

1970s — Interview, pushing back against the 'method actor' label
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I don't care about awards. It's all a lot of nonsense.

1973 — Referring to the Oscars, after declining his Oscar for The Godfather
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Most of the people in Hollywood are insane.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The only thing an actor owes his public is not to bore them.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Confirmed

I have no idea what I'm doing. I just try to make it interesting.

1950s-1970s — Reported by various biographers
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I never wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be a farmer.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

Privacy is not something that I'm willing to give up for the sake of celebrity.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I don't like to talk about myself. I like to talk about other things.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I always felt that the only way to make a movie truly great was to make it a little bit strange.

1970s-1980s — Reported by various biographers
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I'm not interested in being a star. I'm interested in being an actor.

1950s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

You don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You fight for what you believe in and you fight for your friends.

1970s — Said to a reporter, referring to activism
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I don't think acting is a very noble profession. It's just a way to make a living.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

The camera is a lie. It's a machine that distorts reality.

1970s — Interview
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable

I hate acting. I hate the whole business.

1980s-1990s — Reported by various sources, often in later years
Strange & Unusual Unverifiable