Tim Robbins Quotations

I think the enemy is self-censorship. In a free society the biggest danger is that you're afraid to the point where you censor yourself.

You get money out of acting. You get gray hair out of directing. Actually, I get more of a rush from directing.

It was dangerous to hit the wrong kid in my neighborhood, because a lot of the guys I played with had fathers in the Mafia.

Any time you're trying to do a movie with a happy ending, it's very difficult because it's been done before and you don't want to be manipulative.

Most good actors have a huge intelligence about the human condition and a real open heart to different kinds of people and behavior.

Americans accept that gangsters are running the government.

Just because someone gets arrested doesn't mean what they are doing is wrong. Some laws are unfair and unjust.

If I'm a commodity, it wouldn't be a wise idea to buy stock in me - although, in the long run, maybe I'm a slow growth investment.

I'm six foot four and a half and I have a temper. It's reserved for very important issues. If someone is asking me to make an artistic concession, then I'll become a madman.

Toy Soldiers was my introduction to film. I certainly didn't think I was doing art by any stretch of the imagination.

American people are not evil. Given information, they will do the right thing. But they're not given the information.

There's the theory that nudity doesn't really make something sexy; the characters and their relationship make it sexy.

Considering the fact that I've used it in the past, and know what it is, and seen the results of it, I don't view marijuana as a dangerous drug.

When you have a person in power who punishes people for speaking their mind, it's truly dangerous.

I don't think people have been able to deal with the fact that African American filmmakers can make movies about life and relationships.

I don't view myself as a political leftie. I view myself as a storyteller who is fair to both sides.

If you're in the position to help someone and you do it, it's very rewarding.

My philosophy is, don't take no for an answer and be willing to sacrifice your entire project for freedom.

I couldn't care less about being a presenter at the Oscars.

I was a sports fan, but I also went to peace marches.

I'm the kind of person who does not remember bad things.

When you make the judgement as a network that there are only three candidates, you are censoring points of view.

Bush is very clever. When the debate should have been about the deterioration of our cities and the lack of action by government, he sent in his idiot to make an outrageous statement about Murphy Brown.

I'm fairly competant as a director and actor, but I am Mr. Neurotic as a writer. I just don't have enough confidence in my abilities to take criticism well. I take it personally. Start with 'It's a masterpiece,' and then tell me what you think could be changed.

I learned much more about acting from philosophy courses, psychology courses, history and anthropology than I ever learned in acting class.

This was a sham from the start and they knew it. And that's why they shouted us down - because they didn't want public opinion to grow against them because they knew they didn't have the facts to back it up.

I wouldn't even get elected. I'd probably deck a couple of people, too which would not play very well with the national media.

I'm a huge fan of college basketball, and I take my kids to the Final Four every year. I got lucky this year that my alma mater is in it.

I think she did great. I'm very proud of her. It's great for her, it's great for Broadway.

The fact that we make a movie about it isn't gratuitous,

There is absolutely no way that I would enter that world. I would never run for office.

When we think about the authoritarian world that Orwell painted, the catchphrases are one thing, but when you read the book again, the specifics and relevance for now are stunning. Orwell may have been 20 years off, but I know that I find it incredibly relevant.

Every day has been a joy on this movie,

I started getting on my feet and clowning around, and they ended up putting me in a play when I was 12. And I was hooked.

The story (is) about the common person who is able to rise to those acts of freedom, ... and oddly enough, history has not celebrated them.

Some days you have to grow up all at once.

It is very inspiring and amusing how many people have come out in this genuine and spontaneous way to embrace peace and reject war. It reminds us there is a human and gentle spirit out there in this world.

A chill wind is blowing in this nation.

I just have this unnatural fascination with Elvis. I guess it reminds me of how important perspective is. You know, watch out or you might wind up wearing really silly costumes with Hawaiian leis.

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things and no good thing ever dies.

Any journey in life, if not done for human reasons of understanding and love, would be a very empty and lonely one.

New York is not conductive to theater. New York does not encourage its young. It does not encourage experimentation.

To the world you may be just one person but to one person you may be the world The road to finding 'the one' is paved with a bit of promiscuity.

In this time when a citizenry applauds the liberation of a country as it lives in fear of its own freedomwhen people all over the country fear reprisal if they use their right to free speech, it is time to get angry. It is time to get fierce.

I have personal beliefs and they are sometimes reflected in the movies I make, but I also reflect other points of view.

I don't want people to be inspired or offended by what I do. If you determine your behavior by what [other people] want, you're screwed.

You had to know how to fight or you had to know how to avoid a fight. I didn't enjoy fighting, so I learned how to avoid them.

It simply comes down to this, Get Busy Living, or Get Busy Dying.

As we applaud the hard-edged realism of the opening battle scene of Saving Private Ryan, we cringe at the thought of seeing the same on the nightly news.We are told it would be pornographic.

I had been unaware that baseball was a Republican sport.

You should never try irony or self-effacing humour.

Is Walt turning over in his grave? A man named Joe Roth runs Disney right now-he gave me the go-ahead and total freedom to do whatever I wanted to do.

I've used drugs that I do consider to be dangerous, drugs that are potentially detrimental to kids and society at large.

I've long ago compromised my eight hours a night.

I've been lucky-my looks haven't put me into one category. I don't look like a blue blood. I don't look like a criminal. I don't look like anything.

I ran spotlight. Swept up. Did box office. Ran the lighting board. But acting was the most fun.

I like Spike Lee a lot. He's incredibly gifted and I don't think he gets the credit he deserves as a filmmaker.

I don't care about Clinton's haircuts or his affairs or any of that stuff.

There are a great number of Republicans who are economically conservative but have hearts and a consciousness about their country.

I learned never to listen to acting teachers because they don't know what the hell they're talking about.

There is no question that [Dan] Quayle is an uneducated idiot. But someone, somewhere cleverly realized that the best diversion from Bush is to put on a clown show.

There are dumb actors. But there are dumb politicians and dumb bakers.

I wouldn't say I'm a method actor. I do research when I feel I don't have enough experience for the part I'm playing.

Notice what no one else notices and you'll know what no one else knows.

If you find yourself in a movie that you have questions about, it's not a compromise to your integrity.

It's certainly a lot more difficult to get a project made if you're talking about something progressive. That's just the nature of the industry.

I don't know if I ever really bought into the eternal damnation bit.

I grew up in New York, and I have that in me, that be-honest-at-all-costs, don't b.s. me attitude. I say, If you've got something to say about me, say it to my face. And then we'll either talk about it or fight about it.

I mean, what are they scared of? Who's going to vote for anyone from the Communist Party, for God's sake?

It's difficult when you have to turn down a tremendous amount of money because you don't like what the script is saying and you don't have any money.

Our resistance to this war should be our resistance to profit at the cost of human life. Because that is what these drums beating over Iraq are really about. This is about business.

My father described me as the oldest baby he'd ever seen. I apparently was very serious and reflective.

I'm not gangly; I'm very coordinated. I do have a bit of a baby face. But I guess that just means I'll be working longer.

Directing is creating a whole. You're able to combine different elements and create a film that is unique and true to your vision.

Altman was told they wouldn't do the film with me. He could easily have abandoned me, but he stood by me and really bailed me out.

There's always someone telling you not to do something. The main thing is just to ignore them.

If you say, I'm living in America and I have freedom of speech but I choose not to use it because it's going to cost me, well, you're not living in freedom. You're not free.

Susan is just great. I know I'm biased, but she's a great actress.

I love iconoclasts. I love individuals. I love people that are true to themselves, whatever the cost.

What you get is what you get. What you do with what you get, that’s more the point.

There's nothing more boring than unintelligent actors, because all they have to talk about is themselves and acting. There have to be other things.