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113 Thought-Provoking Quotes By Jeremy Irons

Famous As: English Actor and Activist Known for His TV Series ‘Brideshead Revisited’
Born On: September 19, 1948
Born In: Isle of Wight, England, United Kingdom
Age: 74 Years

British actor Jeremy Irons began his career on stage, in 1969. He earned a ‘Tony Award’ for his role in ‘The Real Thing.’ His breakthrough came with ‘The French Lieutenant’s Woman,’ for which he earned a ‘BAFTA Award’ nomination. He bagged in an ‘Academy Award’ for his performance in ‘Reversal of Fortune.’ He earned a ‘Golden Globe Award’ nomination for his role in ‘Brideshead Revisted.’ Go through the compilation of famous sayings by Jeremy Irons on games, feelings, dreams, life, love, acting, memories, health, theatre, children, career, belief, actors, communication, hard-work, etc.

You think, you don't just speak. The lines come off the thoughts.

You think, you don't just speak. The lines come off the thoughts.

Jeremy Irons
When it seems that someone has shattered your dreams....pick up even the smallest of pieces and use them to build bigger and better dreams.

When it seems that someone has shattered your dreams....pick up even the smallest of pieces and use them to build bigger and better dreams.

Jeremy Irons
There are a group of people who are managing the world to their advantage and who just look to the rest of us as people who will buy their products and fund their salaries.

There are a group of people who are managing the world to their advantage and who just look to the rest of us as people who will buy their products and fund their salaries.

Jeremy Irons
The work I prefer to do are the smaller budget pictures, television can be great but it ties you up for quite a long time.

The work I prefer to do are the smaller budget pictures, television can be great but it ties you up for quite a long time.

Jeremy Irons
Same-sex marriage will lead to

Same-sex marriage will lead to "fathers marrying sons."

Jeremy Irons
Sadly, one's parameters are constantly narrowed by one's success.

Sadly, one's parameters are constantly narrowed by one's success.

Jeremy Irons
One always returns to the fact that there are just too many of us, the population continues to rise and it's unsustainable.

One always returns to the fact that there are just too many of us, the population continues to rise and it's unsustainable.

Jeremy Irons
Never played a video game. Actually, I try to keep them out of my house.

Never played a video game. Actually, I try to keep them out of my house.

Jeremy Irons
Most people are robust. If a man puts his hand on a woman’s bottom, any woman worth her salt can deal  with it. It is communication. Can’t we be friendly?

Most people are robust. If a man puts his hand on a woman’s bottom, any woman worth her salt can deal with it. It is communication. Can’t we be friendly?

Jeremy Irons
Mine is an actor's voice, not a singer's voice, but the part was written for an actor (Richard Burton), not a singer.

Mine is an actor's voice, not a singer's voice, but the part was written for an actor (Richard Burton), not a singer.

Jeremy Irons
It's just money; it's made up. Pieces of paper with pictures on it so we don't have to kill each other just to get something to eat.

It's just money; it's made up. Pieces of paper with pictures on it so we don't have to kill each other just to get something to eat.

Jeremy Irons
It's always useful to be in big movies for one's career.

It's always useful to be in big movies for one's career.

Jeremy Irons
I've actually always been fussy about the work I do.

I've actually always been fussy about the work I do.

Jeremy Irons
I'm very glad I'm not a politician. I think it's one step away from the gates of hell, being a politician. I really do. It`s a nightmare.

I'm very glad I'm not a politician. I think it's one step away from the gates of hell, being a politician. I really do. It`s a nightmare.

Jeremy Irons
I try to avoid doing movies where I act with tennis balls. It's ultimately incredibly tedious.

I try to avoid doing movies where I act with tennis balls. It's ultimately incredibly tedious.

Jeremy Irons
I think I'm probably an assassin and not a Templar, but no doubt we're probably run by people with Templar mentalities.

I think I'm probably an assassin and not a Templar, but no doubt we're probably run by people with Templar mentalities.

Jeremy Irons
I have to say that I've reached the state of my career where I quite like not to work. Strange enough, I'm busier than ever. I'm not spending every waking hour beside a telephone waiting for it to ring.

I have to say that I've reached the state of my career where I quite like not to work. Strange enough, I'm busier than ever. I'm not spending every waking hour beside a telephone waiting for it to ring.

Jeremy Irons
Could a father not marry his son?

Could a father not marry his son?

Jeremy Irons
Anywhere I can ski in the morning and sell a movie in the afternoon is good.

Anywhere I can ski in the morning and sell a movie in the afternoon is good.

Jeremy Irons
You ask my wife or my two sons, and they'll tell you that I ain't free with the money.

You ask my wife or my two sons, and they'll tell you that I ain't free with the money.

Jeremy Irons
What I try to do as an actor is constantly find that, find ways to risk, find opportunities to fall on my face if it's going to be worth it, and then maybe I'll surprise myself.

What I try to do as an actor is constantly find that, find ways to risk, find opportunities to fall on my face if it's going to be worth it, and then maybe I'll surprise myself.

Jeremy Irons
We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.

We all have our time machines. Some take us back, they're called memories. Some take us forward, they're called dreams.

Jeremy Irons
There's a great thing about amateur sport: it is purer. And the athletes are not open to so much pressure with amateur sport.

There's a great thing about amateur sport: it is purer. And the athletes are not open to so much pressure with amateur sport.

Jeremy Irons
There are people who are victims in life, and I don't think they should be encouraged.

There are people who are victims in life, and I don't think they should be encouraged.

Jeremy Irons
The sad thing about any business I suppose, but in mine you see it particularly, is that you're always asked to do what you've already done.

The sad thing about any business I suppose, but in mine you see it particularly, is that you're always asked to do what you've already done.

Jeremy Irons
The older I get, the less busy I like to be.

The older I get, the less busy I like to be.

Jeremy Irons
The film business has changed hugely. You seem to spend about 30 per cent of the time producing the films and 70 per cent talking about it.

The film business has changed hugely. You seem to spend about 30 per cent of the time producing the films and 70 per cent talking about it.

Jeremy Irons
So the better my partner or my opposition, however you like to think about it, the better my game.

So the better my partner or my opposition, however you like to think about it, the better my game.

Jeremy Irons
So nevertheless, what I'm saying is that what one is - one's parameters are constantly narrowed by one's success, and my desire is to widen my field even if I risk failure.

So nevertheless, what I'm saying is that what one is - one's parameters are constantly narrowed by one's success, and my desire is to widen my field even if I risk failure.

Jeremy Irons
Nowhere are emissions monitored constantly. So the truth is that the real quantity of dioxin emissions from incineration remains unknown.

Nowhere are emissions monitored constantly. So the truth is that the real quantity of dioxin emissions from incineration remains unknown.

Jeremy Irons
No, I don't believe in hard work. If something is hard, leave it. Let it come to you. Let it happen.

No, I don't believe in hard work. If something is hard, leave it. Let it come to you. Let it happen.

Jeremy Irons
Now in my theater training I showed no aptitude at all.

Now in my theater training I showed no aptitude at all.

Jeremy Irons
My next step must be to go to drama school. Well, I get into drama school, so I did that.

My next step must be to go to drama school. Well, I get into drama school, so I did that.

Jeremy Irons
My feeling, of course, is that it's ludicrous to try to prove God's existence by science. God has nothing to do with science. God has all to do with soul, and who can explain that?

My feeling, of course, is that it's ludicrous to try to prove God's existence by science. God has nothing to do with science. God has all to do with soul, and who can explain that?

Jeremy Irons
My father was a CPA. He worked hard in the aircraft industry, and would come home more and more infrequently. He was about to leave my mother, which he did when I was 15.

My father was a CPA. He worked hard in the aircraft industry, and would come home more and more infrequently. He was about to leave my mother, which he did when I was 15.

Jeremy Irons
Most people have fallen by the wayside once or twice in their lives, and because the world is so transparent now, I think they're very fearful of running for office.

Most people have fallen by the wayside once or twice in their lives, and because the world is so transparent now, I think they're very fearful of running for office.

Jeremy Irons
Mathematicians are always playing tricks on each other. They're always pulling jokes on each other.

Mathematicians are always playing tricks on each other. They're always pulling jokes on each other.

Jeremy Irons
It's always nice working with friends. And if you have a director that you've worked with before, you don't have to go through that first learning thing. There's an element of trust there.

It's always nice working with friends. And if you have a director that you've worked with before, you don't have to go through that first learning thing. There's an element of trust there.

Jeremy Irons
It's always great to play a man who sets himself up to be punctured.

It's always great to play a man who sets himself up to be punctured.

Jeremy Irons
It was a better time to be a young actor when I started out. There was a repertory system where you could go and practise.

It was a better time to be a young actor when I started out. There was a repertory system where you could go and practise.

Jeremy Irons
I've never disliked a character I've played. I've always tried to find the humanity and the reasons for what he does.

I've never disliked a character I've played. I've always tried to find the humanity and the reasons for what he does.

Jeremy Irons
I've always tended to play people who relish playing against the rules.

I've always tended to play people who relish playing against the rules.

Jeremy Irons
I've always had a desire to live on the outside. That's where I'm most comfortable.

I've always had a desire to live on the outside. That's where I'm most comfortable.

Jeremy Irons
I'm not religious. I'm spiritual. Religious seems too much like a club.

I'm not religious. I'm spiritual. Religious seems too much like a club.

Jeremy Irons
I was the youngest. The yule lamb. The one who always got away without doing the washing up. My sister was four years older, and my brother six years.

I was the youngest. The yule lamb. The one who always got away without doing the washing up. My sister was four years older, and my brother six years.

Jeremy Irons
I was not naturally intellectual, but somebody whose interest had to be whetted, still the case sadly.

I was not naturally intellectual, but somebody whose interest had to be whetted, still the case sadly.

Jeremy Irons
I wanted to find a way of life that allowed me great freedom, not to be stuck. I went to a very traditional school, which prepared people for the army or for banking or for industry, and I wanted to be outside of that.

I wanted to find a way of life that allowed me great freedom, not to be stuck. I went to a very traditional school, which prepared people for the army or for banking or for industry, and I wanted to be outside of that.

Jeremy Irons
I wanted to become an actor because I wanted to become a gypsy. I wanted to live the gypsy life!

I wanted to become an actor because I wanted to become a gypsy. I wanted to live the gypsy life!

Jeremy Irons
I think there's still an appetite among a certain audience to see intelligent movies that have real emotion in them.

I think there's still an appetite among a certain audience to see intelligent movies that have real emotion in them.

Jeremy Irons
I think the job of artists is to stir things up.

I think the job of artists is to stir things up.

Jeremy Irons
I think I would not be described as a character actor in that I don't take on characteristics which are very alien to me.

I think I would not be described as a character actor in that I don't take on characteristics which are very alien to me.

Jeremy Irons
I succeeded on sort of chutzpah and charm. No technique at all, didn't know what I was doing, but it worked and the character suited me.

I succeeded on sort of chutzpah and charm. No technique at all, didn't know what I was doing, but it worked and the character suited me.

Jeremy Irons
I love touching. I always touch people.

I love touching. I always touch people.

Jeremy Irons
I liked the theater. I liked the people. I liked the time that we worked.

I liked the theater. I liked the people. I liked the time that we worked.

Jeremy Irons
I have developed a life which seems to need a relatively high income.

I have developed a life which seems to need a relatively high income.

Jeremy Irons
I had people when I was younger trying to feel me up. Older men. I just told them to get lost.

I had people when I was younger trying to feel me up. Older men. I just told them to get lost.

Jeremy Irons
I had done a fair bit of traveling during the holidays in my school days with my guitar and discovered that I could live on it. Admittedly, I traveled with a sleeping bag but I could always find somewhere to lay my head.

I had done a fair bit of traveling during the holidays in my school days with my guitar and discovered that I could live on it. Admittedly, I traveled with a sleeping bag but I could always find somewhere to lay my head.

Jeremy Irons
I don't mind getting older. I'm enjoying not having that raging ambition I've had all my life.

I don't mind getting older. I'm enjoying not having that raging ambition I've had all my life.

Jeremy Irons
I don't like rules.

I don't like rules.

Jeremy Irons
I do what I do because I like doing it. I'm well paid for it. I get far too much adulation compared with what it's worth.

I do what I do because I like doing it. I'm well paid for it. I get far too much adulation compared with what it's worth.

Jeremy Irons
I do this work, but I am uncomfortable in situations where you're hyped into something you're not. Just because you're in a long limo doesn't mean anything.

I do this work, but I am uncomfortable in situations where you're hyped into something you're not. Just because you're in a long limo doesn't mean anything.

Jeremy Irons
I constantly experience failure in that my work is never as good as I want it to be. So I live with failure.

I constantly experience failure in that my work is never as good as I want it to be. So I live with failure.

Jeremy Irons
I believe inanimate objects have a spirit.

I believe inanimate objects have a spirit.

Jeremy Irons
Godspell was a good leap for me, it was a good shop window.

Godspell was a good leap for me, it was a good shop window.

Jeremy Irons
Film wise, I invariably look at my work and reckon I could have done it better. I'm also conscious that I'm in a profession where we get more praise than we should compared to the usefulness of what we do.

Film wise, I invariably look at my work and reckon I could have done it better. I'm also conscious that I'm in a profession where we get more praise than we should compared to the usefulness of what we do.

Jeremy Irons
Commerce seems to be covering every aspect of our lives now. Which me, because I'm a romantic, is sad for me to say.

Commerce seems to be covering every aspect of our lives now. Which me, because I'm a romantic, is sad for me to say.

Jeremy Irons
Civility, politeness, it's like a cement in a society: binds it together. And when we lose it, then I think we all feel lesser and slightly dirty because of it.

Civility, politeness, it's like a cement in a society: binds it together. And when we lose it, then I think we all feel lesser and slightly dirty because of it.

Jeremy Irons
Because I'm now successful, what I'm being offered as an actor is more and more of the same.

Because I'm now successful, what I'm being offered as an actor is more and more of the same.

Jeremy Irons
At age 10 or 12 he's going to boarding school in the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight is, of course, down at the bottom of England just off South Hampton.

At age 10 or 12 he's going to boarding school in the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight is, of course, down at the bottom of England just off South Hampton.

Jeremy Irons
An acting assistant stage manager in a theater in Canterbury, a rep theater. A small wage but just enough to get by on, and I made props and I walked on, and I changed scenery, and I realized that I just loved it.

An acting assistant stage manager in a theater in Canterbury, a rep theater. A small wage but just enough to get by on, and I made props and I walked on, and I changed scenery, and I realized that I just loved it.

Jeremy Irons
Actors often behave like children, and so we're taken for children. I want to be grown up.

Actors often behave like children, and so we're taken for children. I want to be grown up.

Jeremy Irons
'Lolita' was a great wound in the side for me. I stuck my neck out maybe further than I should have and castigated the studio for not getting behind it.

'Lolita' was a great wound in the side for me. I stuck my neck out maybe further than I should have and castigated the studio for not getting behind it.

Jeremy Irons
A trip to the mainland was a big event and happened maybe once a year, although now you can get across in a speed boat in seven minutes but then it was a long way away.

A trip to the mainland was a big event and happened maybe once a year, although now you can get across in a speed boat in seven minutes but then it was a long way away.

Jeremy Irons

And trust, yes, which is important, but that is what I aim towards. Now that is difficult for some people, and with that desire to get things as good as possible, I would say that I'm probably regarded as quite prickly to work with.

Jeremy Irons

A comic book and a straight drama all have the same elements. If you're playing tragedy, you have to be aware of the comedy; if you're playing comedy, you have to be aware of the tragedy. If you're playing comic book, you have to be aware of the reality.

Jeremy Irons

Americans enjoy uniformity in a way that the British don't; they wanted everybody of a sort of nice chorus line height and here I was, this person who was a good three inches taller than anyone else on the end of the line.

Jeremy Irons

And whenever I'm in a situation where I'm wearing the same as 600 other people and doing the same thing as 600 other people, looking back, I always found ways to make myself different, whether it be having a red lining inside of my jacket, having red shoes, it hasn't changed.

Jeremy Irons

However, I wasn't very good at the sciences, or didn't have a lot of help in the sciences or something but certainly didn't set science for my A level. And when I came to take my A levels I didn't get a good enough result to go to University.

Jeremy Irons

He's a man who... well, one of the great things about Shakespeare is that his characters are inconsistent, and that's something I think makes him a writer above most writers because inconsistency is what we, as people, are full of. We maybe don't see it in ourselves too often, but we are inconsistent.

Jeremy Irons

I believe that most people would like to cooperate in reducing waste, but to encourage them, the national policy should be clear, well advertised, and consistent. Even within Greater London, there is a huge discrepancy between council policies. I believe a national waste management initiative should be designed and implemented by government.

Jeremy Irons

I came to London. I spent nine months doing domestic work and gardening because I knew I wanted to get a West End show. So, when I was offered jobs in Stoke or Leicester or whatever, I'd say no. Eventually, I got 'Godspell.' It was gently building.

Jeremy Irons

I don't watch a lot of television. I try to watch all the good movies, but I've got about twenty of these television series that I should be watching. I haven't seen 'The Wire.' I haven't seen 'Mad Men.' I haven't seen Kevin's thing. What's that called? 'House of Cards.' I hear it's wonderful.

Jeremy Irons

I envy children who know that they're going to become doctors, know they're going to go into the forces or whatever. I think choice is one of the hardest things, but that's what I try to give my children, to say you can do anything.

Jeremy Irons

I have played characters where I haven't been absorbed - you know, what I call a typical film leading man role where you just have to look gorgeous and be attractive and charming. It bores me. I like a bit of dirt, a bit of sand in the oyster.

Jeremy Irons

I keep working with fairly inexperienced directors. You know, if you have a good crew, a good cameraman, you know, I know what I'm doing. If the actors know what they're doing, we can all pull together, and it works.

Jeremy Irons

I looked at the circus, and I looked at the carnival, at the fun fair. But I looked at sleeping accommodations and decided I was too middle class to put up with that! So then I joined the theater and found I could choose my own bedroom. I loved the atmosphere. I loved that we worked till midnight and didn't start till ten.

Jeremy Irons

I think all of society should be a think-tank where you throw ideas about. I had hoped the Internet would help. Actually, what it has done is make everybody go schtum. They're attacked for saying anything. So they say nothing.

Jeremy Irons

I think nobody since has written such extraordinary work as Shakespeare writes. The characters he writes are full of inconsistencies, which is a great human quality - I mean, we're all very inconsistent in the way we behave.

Jeremy Irons

I think the world is much more transparent now, and I think that's probably a good thing. On the other hand, I think it makes it really tough for people who are natural born leaders who could be guiding us and leading our countries.

Jeremy Irons

I wouldn't call myself a method actor, but I have my own method. I do my own research. I come up with a background for the character. I'm not a club man. I don't like isms. I've never really studied Stanislavski.

Jeremy Irons

Paris Hilton, that's very interesting what she did. I've never done that. I haven't really sort of ever got into that. As time passes, maybe I should record it and put it in a vault so that when I get a little old don't have the energy I can remember how life used to be.

Jeremy Irons

Peter Brook's 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' I remember seeing. That was pretty early on. And suddenly, I realized how theatrical Shakespeare is, how alive, how wonderful it is when it's opened up by a great director and a great company.

Jeremy Irons

Really, ambition has gone. I look for things that tickle my fancy. You begin to see the end of life on the horizon. You think, 'It's not going on forever, this.' Let's make the most of what time I have left.

Jeremy Irons

So I continued through my next school, which takes me up to the age of 17, moving from the bottom stream of one year into the bottom stream of the next year, all the way through. I showed other talents which gave me self-respect, which is fine.

Jeremy Irons

The danger of dioxins in our environment, our food chain, and our bodies is difficult to illustrate, since they are not visible to the naked eye. My time in Vietnam allowed me to see the result of large quantities of them and therefore understand better the insidiousness of the smaller quantities that have found their way into our lives and bodies.

Jeremy Irons

There are wonderful things happening all around the world. From Nova Scotia to Kerala, Bristol to Melbourne, and even in the Philippines, zero waste is on the agenda. I think what's particularly inspiring is when communities don't wait to be told what to do but just go ahead and do it.

Jeremy Irons

When I'm not working, I don't mix with actors, really. I have about two or three friends from theater school, and we call each other and meet. But in the main, no. I'm more happy with musicians or horse riders or sailors.

Jeremy Irons

You can be in love and raise a family wonderfully by not being married, but actually, marriage does give us a strength, because it's quite hard to get out of, and so it makes us fight more to keep it together. If divorce becomes dead easy - which it sort of has - then we don't have that backup. Because, for everybody, relationships are hard.

Jeremy Irons

I certainly play people on the edge quite a lot. I am interested in what makes people odd and what makes them different. In life I try to play the edges. I have a horror of the herd. There are many, many different sorts of people. A lot of people are fairly uninteresting. I want to play the interesting ones. The villains are always more interesting to portray. Shakespeare knew that.

Jeremy Irons

I find what I call the [bleep] side of the industry very difficult. You won't see me at other peoples' premiers. I mean, I go to my own premiers because I have to help my film, but I don't enjoy that whole side of it. I don't enjoy celebrityhood. I love getting a seat in a restaurant. I love it when people say hi when I don't know them. I mean, that's fine, but apart from that, I like the elements of celebrityhood which make living in the world like living in your own village.

Jeremy Irons

I get bored very easily, so I love doing different things, changing, doing a job for a month and then doing another one for six months and then moving into a different group of people. I love being able to stop. That's one of the greatest benefits we have in our profession.

Jeremy Irons

I was educated in a private school in England amongst people who had been trained for sort of banking or the Army or business. As I came towards the end of my education, I thought I must find something or I'll never meet any of these people again.

Jeremy Irons