Quotes from James Dean

I don't want anything seventy-thirty. Fifty-fifty's always good enough for me. I don't want to have to give anybody seventy; I don't want anybody to give me seventy. I want fifty.

To me, acting is the most logical way for people's neuroses to manifest themselves, in this great need we all have to express ourselves.

The gratification comes in the doing, not in the results.

To grasp the full significance of life is the actor's duty to interpret it his problem and to express it his dedication.

I'm a serious-minded and intense little devil, terribly gauche and so tense I don't see how people stay in the same room with me. I know I wouldn't tolerate myself.

You are who you are meant to be. Dance as if no one's watching. Love as if it's all you know. Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.

I want to be a Texan 24 hours a day.

The only way to make a scene realistic is to do it the way you know it would really happen.

But you can't show some far off idyllic conception of behavior if you want the kids to come and see the picture. You've got to show what it's really like, and try to reach them on their own grounds.

Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done.

An actor should be judged by his performance only.

Trust and belief are two prime considerations. You must not allow yourself to be opinionated.

The cinema is a very truthful medium because the camera doesn't let you get away with anything. On stage, you can even loaf a little, if you're so inclined.

The only greatness for man is immortality.

I used to fly around quite a bit, you know? I took a lot of unnecessary chances on the highways. And I started racing, and now I drive on the highways, I'm extra cautious because no one knows what they're doing half the time. You don't know what this guy is going to do or that one.

Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have.

Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn't hiss or boo me.

Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that's all you have. Being a good actor isn't easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I'm done."

Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.

If you're not afraid, if you take everything you are, everything worthwhile in you and direct it at one goal, one ultimate mark, you've got to get there.