James Dean

Actor

James Dean was an iconic American actor known for his roles in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'East of Eden', symbolizing youthful rebellion and emotional depth.

Born
February 8, 1931
Died
September 30, 1955
Quotes
54
Rank
#466

Quote collection

James Dean quotes (page 3 of 3)

54 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.

James Dean Actor
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"When an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn't acting. It's following instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that. So the director's task is just that – to direct, to point the way. Then the actor takes over. And he must be allowed the space, the freedom to express himself in the role. Without that space, an actor is no more than an unthinking robot with a chest-full of push-buttons."

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"There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are impaled on the crook of conditioning. A fish that is in the water has no choice that he is. Genius would have it that we swim in sand. We are fish and we drown."

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"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."

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"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."

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"I can't let in the light.It will destroy my performance like light destroys film"

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"You're tearing me apart!"

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"An actual right is something that governments need merely to secure, not to implement."

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"An hour or two of learning from the masters is usually enough to recharge my artistic batteries."

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"It was an accident, although I've been involved in some kind of theatrical function or other since I was a child - in school, music, athletics. 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. To my way of thinking, an actor's course is set even before he's out of the cradle."

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"An actor must interpret life, and in order to do so must be willing to accept all the experiences life has to offer. In fact, he must seek out more of life than life puts at his feet."

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James Dean Actor
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"To my way of thinking, an actor's course is set even before he's out of the cradle."

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