Quotes from David Carradine

Quentin wanted to create this special world in which everybody walks around with a samurai sword, extras in the airport, a special little place in the airplane to stick your samurai sword.

The first important role was a Broadway lead I did called 'The Royal Hunt Of The Sun' by Peter Shaffer, the guy who did 'Equus' and 'Amadeus.' Many of the important roles that I got later on were because the guy who was going to hire me was in that audience and had his mind blown. I tend to do that. I blow people's minds with my performances.

Well I would never say to anybody that Warren Beatty got fired, but uh, I think he and Quentin fell out of love, and I think Warren told Quentin to hire me for the film.

There was an incident in Argentina when I was making a film called 'The Warrior and the Sorceress.' There were, like, 40, 50 sword fighters and martial artists on the set, and one of the sword fighters challenged me. I said, 'Look, you don't want to fight me. Nobody wants to fight me. You gotta be crazy to want to fight me.'

I think people are a little surprised sometimes at the level on which I actually talk. I don't talk like Caine. And every once in a while, somebody is surprised because I smoke and I drink. But I don't feel that is a contradiction.

If you cannot be a poet, be the poem.

There's an alternative. There's always a third way, and it's not a combination of the other two ways. It's a different way.

Why would you be afraid of death? It would be an inconvenience. I have a lot of undone things and it's bound to get in the way. But, no, it doesn't scare me at all.

Quentin is very organic there was no way that he was going to put someone else's hand in there and anyway, my hands are kind of famous. It seemed right.

You know, I've never actually really believed that death is inevitable. I just think it's a rumor.

Quentin and I were constantly finding something new that we had in common and comic books were one of them. I think we were talking about comic books much earlier in our relationship, before I had the part.

If you trust yourself, any choice you make will be correct. If you do not trust yourself, anything you do will be wrong. - Kung Fu, The Legend Continues -

If you can not be a poet, be the poem.

I did get to hang out with my dad for a little while. I went with him to summer stock. I watched him be a real king of the world. He'd ship out as a star in summer stock. He sometimes directed the shows. I learned a lot from him - not just about acting, but about everything, how to handle a woman.

There's an alternative. There's always a third way, and it's not a combination of the other two ways. It's a different way.

I was involved in a web cartoon of Kung Fu with WB a few years back.

Because you know how you say I've got to really get down and really do some training and then of course, you never do or you do it for a couple of weeks and slough it back off again but I'm being forced to do something that I really want to do and I loved it.

I remember when I did the pilot, and I though no network is going to want to do this. How could that happen? A half Chinese guy walking the old west that doesn't fire one gun and never gets on a horse?

I like Bill a lot. As Bill is presented, I mean you don't ever see Bill blow her head off? You know? And I think what Quentin has done is he created a monster.

I've never been in prison. I've been in jail a lot. But I've never actually been sentenced to anything.

The one thing about doing all those movies and all that television is I know what I'm doing. And I can do what Sean Connery can do. I can do what Clint can do. People even say I look a little like Clint. But that's just because I'm skinny and tall and old. With a receding hairline.

Quentin Tarantino doesn't beat Hal Ashby, and he's one of my favorite directors. Quentin is incredible.

I was a truant. And if you're a truant in New York City, the truant officer gets after you, and then you get into the courts, and then things happen which they really shouldn't. But I ended up in a very sweet reform school. It's the place you go to if you've got a really kind judge.

'Born to play? Hmmm. Probably Romeo... or Hamlet, I guess. Also, I'd be a great Alexander the Great.