Ron Silver

It made me think about a whole area of human activity that was not really a concern to me before that, because I was involved in reading Chinese history, or languages, or whatever.

I still think I'm going to do something else when I grow up.

I think it's good to meet smart people and talk.

I think you have an obligation to be an optimist. Because if you're not, nothing will change.

I'm a 9/11 Republican.

I've seen people with a tremendous amount of educational background in the field not turn out to be terribly good actors, and I've seen people with no education in the field turn out to be people that I admire quite a bit.

If you don't think you want to go on a train and read the paper every day and work from nine to six at night, there was something about the uncertainty when I was younger which was very attractive.

In Europe, people in the arts are considered part of the intelligentsia; they are considered part of the elite.

Involvement in public affairs is a legitimate use of celebrity.

I started getting jobs, and I thought it was going to be real easy.

It's not like I'm the most famous person in the world.

Nobody has a franchise on what is good.

Nothing gets a bigger laugh than when you refer to things like ethics or human rights.

The twentieth century has exhibited a barbarism and lack of respect for human life on a massive scale just about unknown before.

Then I realized that to be really good at this requires a lot of energy and concentration and skill.

Too often in the past, U.S. leaders have forced Israel to pay the price for American strategic interests in the Middle East - through concessions in the peace process as well as passivity in the face of Iraqi attacks.

You have to think an awful lot about your motivations or people's behavioral intentions or what their body language can indicate or what's really going on or what makes people sometimes do, sometimes, the irrational things they do.

For about the first ten years of my career, I wasn't terribly motivated.

Two, I actually learned a lot of things that served me very well when it came to repeating performances on stage, because it is a craft and you do need a technique for it.

Artists speak the truth to the public without fear of retribution or damage to their careers.

But why should I run for office and lose what little influence I have?

I was immature the way I handled the business. I saw myself as a tribune of the people.

I kind of dwindled into acting.

Acting is not about knowing all this stuff; it's about character.

Anyone who devotes time and attention to what makes people tick, to me, is a smart person.