Robert De Niro Quotes

Time goes on. So whatever you're going to do, do it. Do it now. Don't wait.

You learned the two greatest thing in life, never rat on your friends, and always keep your mouth shut.

I always go back to how people behave. If you watch how people actually behave in a situation, it's very simple and honest and contained. You don't need to use as much expression, as much feeling. Some characters will boil over, and that's another thing, but a lot of times I think you can just do very, very little.

Better to be king for a night than a schmuck for a lifetime.

When you love someone you gotta trust them, there's no other way. You gotta give them the key to everything that's yours. Otherwise, what's the point?

According to a new survey, women say they feel more comfortable undressing in front of men than they do undressing in front of other women. They say that women are too judgmental, where, of course, men are just grateful.

The mind of a writer can be a truly terrifying thing. Isolated, neurotic, caffeine-addled, crippled by procrastination, consumed by feelings of panic, self-loathing, and soul-crushing inadequacy. And that’s on a good day.

I never walk into a place I don't know how to walk out of.

As I get older, I think that things have been pre-determined for me, whether I liked it or wanted it, wished for it, whatever, way before in some way. And with others, you do have a choice that you can change. And that choice that you make is still part of this grand scheme.

If you don't go, you'll never know.

You'll have time to rest when you're dead.

You don't need words to express feelings.

Passion should always trump common sense.

A lot of young actors have the idea that, "I've got to do this right. There's a right way to do this." But there's no right or wrong. There's only good and bad. And "bad" usually happens when you're trying too hard to do it right. There's a very broad spectrum of things that can inhibit you. The most important thing for actors - and not just actors, but everybody - is to feel loose enough to create what you want to create, and be free to try anything. To have choices.

I go to Paris, I go to London, I go to Rome, and I always say, 'There's no place like New York. It's the most exciting city in the world now. That's the way it is. That's it.'

There is only one way to gain access to the truth and that is to not expect anything.

You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about. A deer's gotta be taken with one shot.

There's nothing more ironic or contradictory than life itself.

You never know what you do that could be totally out of left field, which actually might work and give something fresh to the whole scene, to the character, whatever. If you have that with a director who then knows how to shape it, either in the direction, in the moment, or in the editing, then that's good.

It's important not to indicate. People don't try to show their feelings, they try to hide them.

I always enjoy coming to Israel. Israelis are warm, they're energetic people. Forthright. Very smart. I always like smart people. They're nice people, you know. Aggressive, and I respect that aggressiveness because you need it in their situation.

I always tell actors when they go in for an audition: Don't be afraid to do what your instincts tell you. You may not get the part, but people will take notice.

Whenever there is any doubt, there is no doubt.

When you are working hard, you don't have time for anything other than what you are doing in the scene and what the director wants.

You don'’t always have to have the answer to everything.

'What's the difference between sex and love?' Hmm. That's a good question. Hey, you interviewed Al Pacino. How'd he answer that?'

If it's the right chair, it doesn't take too long to get comfortable in it.

The one thing I always talk about in terms of restaurants is consistency.

You don't have to rush to do anything.

If you're an actor, always be true to your character. If you are not an actor, have character and always be true to yourself.

Write down everything you want to do with your life and then spend the next 25 years doing them.

My mother worked for a woman, Maria Ley-Piscator, who with her husband founded the Dramatic Workshop, which was connected to the New School. My mother did proofreading and typing and stuff or her, and as part of her payment, I was able to take acting classes there on Saturdays when I was 10.

One of the things about acting is it allows you to live other people's lives without having to pay the price.

Loneliness has been following me my whole life.

Movies are hard to make, and you have to work toward a common ethic and do your best. You don't want to work with people who don't care or who are acting out some neurotic, crazy thesis on the set.

I have to be able to trust you with my life. Do you understand?

I certainly know the difference between right and wrong.

The talent is in the choices.

The hardest thing about being famous is that people are always nice to you.

Italy has changed. But Rome is Rome.

Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.

In acting, I always try to go back to what would actually be the real situation, the real human behavior in life.

Some day a real rain will come and wash all the scum off the streets.

When you feel that you can't fight it, you just go for it. When it comes to the arts, passion should always trump common sense.

As a kid I didn't root for the bad guys.

If you don't co-operate you're gonna suffer from fistophobia.

Auditions are like a gamble. Most likely you won't get the part, but if you don't go, you'll never know if you could've got it.

Callista Gingrich. Karen Santorum. Ann Romney. Now do you really think our country is ready for a white first lady?

I didn't have a problem with rejection, because when you go into an audition, you're rejected already. There are hundreds of other actors. You're behind the eight ball when you go in there.

I love to find new people. It's not for the sake of their being new; it's because if you find someone who perfectly fits a part, that's such a great thing.