Quotes from Dennis Farina

You can't act for the editing. You have to leave that to him. So you just go in and do the scene the way you think is right or whatever you're directed to do, and leave the rest of that technical stuff up to the director.

I don't know if I have a technique. I'm just trying to remember the words.

The most credible police shows I've ever seen were 'Barney Miller' on TV and 'The French Connection' movie. They showed the tedious side of police work.

I've been involved in some movies that I really thought were going to take off that didn't. And then I've thought, 'This movie's not going anywhere,' and it worked. The same thing with television shows.

You can change a person's life in an instant; put him in a movie, and you start thinking differently, you want to be in another movie. It's like an addiction almost.

I'm very lucky. I'm the most fortunate guy that I know.

Chicago's always a friendly place to me.

What you do as a policeman might be the right thing to do, but it's not entertaining. I left that behind me.

Am I a good actor? I don't think about it. But I'm working on it.

I've worked on what I think are good things.

When I first got into acting, I never had any long-term goals, never had any plan. I just thought it would be a good way to make some extra money.

This generation of filmmakers is very good. They're seasoned, for some reason.

I learned a long time ago: You're in the entertainment business. You're not in the reality business. One has absolutely nothing to do with the other.

I have - and you gotta believe this - hardly ever met anybody in Hollywood who's not nice. There are some people I don't like, but everybody has been very nice.

It was a great time, and I liked the guys. I liked getting up every morning and being a cop.

I don't need to see the old school to remember it and the teachers there. They changed the way that I've always looked at life and learning.

One of the funny things in life to me is a guy who takes himself very seriously.

I wanted to do Buddy Faro as a small budget movie. They said no. So I wanted to do it as a series of recurring TV movies, and they said no. So I agreed to do it as a series.

This isn't the most handsome face in the world, and there are a lot of younger guys out there, but I keep hanging in there.

When they released Sidewalks of New York, there were some shots with the towers they were going to take out, and Ed told them no. I don't think they can deny the towers were a part of New York.

I love England and the historical aspect of it.

Acting is a work in progress for me. I just try to keep my mouth shut and my eyes and ears open, especially with the people I've worked with.

People are always telling me to shut up about Chicago.

We know television should educate and inform, and I believe it should entertain.