Quotes from James Garner

People who don't know me think I'm easy-going, but I'm a pessimist by nature and an old curmudgeon.

An hour series is a killer. It's hard on you physically.

When I started working, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, in that I was just wandering around, hoping that I could succeed. Then after I got a little under my belt, it took me about 25 years to feel like I knew what I was doing.

I've done a lot of casual work, and acting is a lot easier than laying carpets.

Acting is just common sense. It isn't hard if you put yourself aside and just do what the writer wrote.

When people see me in something and say, 'That's just you - that's not acting,' it's the best compliment I can get.

I saw my wife at a pool, flipped over her, and 14 days later we were married.

I don't like the crowds, I don't like to get out of the house if I don't have to.

I think my attitude has always been to put food on the table.

There are younger directors, and anybody over 30 is ancient to them, because they're not that old.

The only reason I'm an actor is that a lady pulled out of a parking space in front of a producer's office.

When I'm pushed, I shove.

I don't take success very well, because I know it's fleeting. And the next day, it can all fall apart. I know that, too. So I don't get too high, and I don't get too low. You get through the world a lot easier that way.

My goal has always been longevity. Not fame and fortune, just get a job and keep it.

You can never have too many friends.

Learning is a gift, even if pain is the teacher

I felt like my bubble gum card collection had come to life.

In my opinion, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't qualified to be governor of California.

What was I qualified to do to make a living? Nothing. You don't need qualifications as an actor or a politician. And I didn't want to be a politician.

Too many actors have run for office. There's one difference between me and them: I know I'm not qualified.

I'm working out every day. I'm in very good shape.

The characters I've played, especially Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford, almost never use a gun, and they always try to use their wits instead of their fists.

I don't have any theories about acting, and I don't think about how to do it, except that an actor shouldn't take himself too seriously, and shouldn't try to make acting something it isn't.

Ronald Reagan wasn't qualified to be governor, let alone president.