Quotes from Tommy Lee Jones

Partnerships are good engines for narrative.

I play characters, and I try to play them in a manner that's appropriate to the script. Physical movement and vitality of language is part of character.

In the political world, the only position I have is voter. I'm not a spokesman for anything.

I haven't had a lot of comedy come my way as a performer.

I always told my children when they whined... Only the boring are bored.

I have worked on very good movies that have been buried, and I've worked on some resounding mediocrities that have been paraded through the marketplace like they were masterpieces.

I don't need much of a character in my life. I've already got one; my family knows who I am, and I don't have a reason to make an impression on the world around me unless it's in a professional context. Acting is not a personal experience; it's a job.

I personally don't live a nihilistic life, I don't have any use for it.

As an actor I want to do as many takes as I can. I wanna shoot the scene... or shoot the shot 'til they make me quit.

It's no mean calling to bring fun into the afternoons of large numbers of people. That, too, is part of my job, and I'm happy to serve when called on.

I try to be as good a director as I possibly can. I try to be prepared, and I hope everyone else is. The preparation, I suppose, means just about everything. Little things mean a lot.

Age will flatten a man.

Kindness and politeness are not overrated at all. They're underused.

If military movies were automatically successful we'd make nothing but military movies. But seriously, patriotism is one thing that all Americans have in common.

No director wants to be directed, but no good director... would shy away from the good ideas of others.

Ethnic stereotypes are boring and stressful and sometimes criminal. It's just not a good way to think. It's non-thinking. It's stupid and destructive.

I don't think I would describe my sense of humor. Doesn't sound like the kind of thing I'd do.

I do not have a sense of humor of any recognizable sort.

I want to make movies about my country from my point of view.

If you want to know about my politics, the only way to do that is to look at my work.

I'm kind of pleased with myself that I've got a tailor on Savile Row. I'm 68 years old. I deserve it.

In the course of American history, great steps are taken by ordinary people, and ordinary people are not perfect.

I've worked with some very good directors and some very bad ones. I learned a great deal from both. From the bad, untalented people, you learn what not to do. And when you work with very highly talented people, you want to emulate them.

It makes me feel like a very special person, that I'm able to make my living with my imagination. I developed a big respect for my calling while I was in school, and it remains with me to this day.