Quotes from Alan Rickman

The first time that I came to New York to work properly was the mid-'80s, but I was doing eight shows a week. You have no life. Going to a punk rock club - or whatever the music was at that time - would not have been on my agenda.

The audience should feel like voyeurs. Their response is absolutely crucial.

Talent is an accident of genes - and a responsibility.

I never talk about 'Harry Potter' because I think that would rob children of something that's private to them. I think too many things get explained, so I hate talking about it.

Mellow doesn't describe me. I'm hungry every day.

Film has to be reflecting the world that we live in, and that's all you want to be a part of. Actors inhabit the same planet as everyone else. It's a weird thing that happens when you're an actor because people hold you up because you somehow embody in parts groups of people or people's hopes or something.

I've never been able to plan my life. I just lurch from indecision to indecision.

If only life could be a little more tender and art a little more robust.

I'm still living the life where you get home and open the fridge and there's half a pot of yogurt and a half a can of flat Coca-Cola.

Parts win prizes, not actors.

There's a voice inside you that tells you what you should do.

I want to swim in both directions at once. Desire success, court failure.

Originally, theater was my life. It was what I assumed I'd spend my working life doing - if I was lucky. Then along came movies.

Older people say, 'Oh I loved you in 'Sense and Sensibility,' and that's the only film they want to talk about. Equally, there are people who only want to talk about 'Galaxy Quest.' And there's a whole bunch of teenagers who only want to talk about 'Dogma.'

And it's a human need to be told stories. The more we're governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible.

The more we're governed by idiots and have no control over our destinies, the more we need to tell stories to each other about who we are, why we are, where we come from, and what might be possible. Or, what's impossible? What's a fantasy?

Each character I play has different dimensions. I'm not interested in words that pull them together.

It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller. Thanks for all of it, Jo.

Actors are agents of change. A film, a piece of theater, a piece of music, or a book can make a difference. It can change the world.

In theater, you've got to be aware of your whole body because it involves stamina. It involves two-and-a-half hours and a sustained release of energy, maybe for six months.

My parents certainly didn't have anything to do with the theater. I'm some kind of accident.

Being on the stage in New York is always exciting because you feel like you're part of the life of the city.

Somebody with Debbie Reynolds' features doesn't get cast as the Wicked Witch.

I was 7, and I remember being given a part in a play and thinking, This is exciting.