Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

64 Great Quotes By Michael Palin That Will Make You Laugh

Famous As: Comedian, Actor
Born On: May 5, 1943
Born In: Broomhill, Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Age: 79 Years
Michael Edward Palin is a popular English actor, television presenter, writer and comedian. He had been a part of ‘Monty Python’, the renowned comedy group and is widely regarded as one of the best comedians in the modern era. Palin started off his career in mid 1960s. Before ‘Monty Python’, Palin had been a part of shows like ‘Do Not Adjust Your Set’, ‘Ken Dodd Show’ and ‘The Frost Report’. However, it was with the comedy group ‘Monty Python’ that Palin gained recognition. Thereafter, they performed on BBC, theatres and films. Some of the most well-known performances of Palin for the group include ‘The Fish Slapping Dance’, ‘Argument Clinic’, ‘Dead Parrot Sketch’, ‘Bicycle Repairman’ and ‘The Lumberjack Song’ among others. Other than that, Palin has also been a highly influential actor, travel writer and a travel documentary maker during his distinguished career. He has won the ‘BAFTA Award’ for best actor in a supporting role for the film ‘A Fish Called Wanda’. He remains to be one of the most respected actors in Britain. Here, we have compiled the most memorable thoughts and quotations by the distinguished actor and comedian. Read through the quotes and thoughts by Michael Palin that will make your day.
You can't get a suit of armour and a rubber chicken just like that. You have to plan ahead.

You can't get a suit of armour and a rubber chicken just like that. You have to plan ahead.

Michael Palin
One of the most important days of my life was when I learned to ride a bicycle.

One of the most important days of my life was when I learned to ride a bicycle.

Michael Palin
I am not a great cook, I am not a great artist, but I love art, and I love food, so I am the perfect traveller.

I am not a great cook, I am not a great artist, but I love art, and I love food, so I am the perfect traveller.

Michael Palin

I don't see why it should be remarkable that you can acquire a reputation for fairness and decency. Those are qualities shared by so many people. And the great majority of people I meet are decent people, just trying to navigate their way through the world without causing too much trouble.

Michael Palin
I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt - I have got to prove myself wrong.

I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt - I have got to prove myself wrong.

Michael Palin
'The Truth' is not meant to preach or point any fingers. It's meant to show that perhaps we should all avoid taking the moral high ground unless we have thought about things a bit more.

'The Truth' is not meant to preach or point any fingers. It's meant to show that perhaps we should all avoid taking the moral high ground unless we have thought about things a bit more.

Michael Palin
Despite having seen a fair amount of the world, I still love travelling - I just have an insatiable curiosity and like looking out of a window.

Despite having seen a fair amount of the world, I still love travelling - I just have an insatiable curiosity and like looking out of a window.

Michael Palin

I wanted to be an explorer, but gradually found the world had been explored and that there was nowhere left, really. Once they climbed Everest in 1953, when I was 10 years old, I thought, 'Well, that's pretty much it now.' But the idea of travelling and exploring and adventure was very strong.

Michael Palin
I've always been blessed, or cursed, some might say, with an insatiable curiosity, a desire to find something out about a people and a place. That's where it all begins.

I've always been blessed, or cursed, some might say, with an insatiable curiosity, a desire to find something out about a people and a place. That's where it all begins.

Michael Palin
Fame changes everything. When you're well-known, you're expected to be different. Some people assume you must have a yacht and four homes. Or that you're famous because you are 'A Decent Man'.

Fame changes everything. When you're well-known, you're expected to be different. Some people assume you must have a yacht and four homes. Or that you're famous because you are 'A Decent Man'.

Michael Palin
The trouble with travelling back later on is that you can never repeat the same experience.

The trouble with travelling back later on is that you can never repeat the same experience.

Michael Palin

There are people who travel because they want to push themselves to physical limits, people who walk across deserts or cycle across the Antarctic - like Ranulph Fiennes, who just does it because it's there. And then there are people like me, who are just genuinely curious about the world.

Michael Palin

If you had a successful TV show, people wanted to see you live. Promoters had had practice with pop groups, and 'Python' achieved a similar status. We also had lots of rock star fans - George Harrison, Pink Floyd, Robert Plant. Promoters saw that and liked it.

Michael Palin
There is barely a country in the world where you will be completely safe.

There is barely a country in the world where you will be completely safe.

Michael Palin
People are still crazy about Python after twenty-five years, which I find hard to believe.

People are still crazy about Python after twenty-five years, which I find hard to believe.

Michael Palin
Contrary to what the politicians and religious leaders would like us to believe, the world won't be made safer by creating barriers between people.

Contrary to what the politicians and religious leaders would like us to believe, the world won't be made safer by creating barriers between people.

Michael Palin
I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.

I always wanted to be an explorer, but - it seemed I was doomed to be nothing more than a very silly person.

Michael Palin
I think you learn a lot about a country from its art. To me, it's part of the drama of life. It teaches you that there are places, moments and incidents in other cultures that genuinely have a life of their own.

I think you learn a lot about a country from its art. To me, it's part of the drama of life. It teaches you that there are places, moments and incidents in other cultures that genuinely have a life of their own.

Michael Palin
I am restless. I don't mind leaving this comfortable, static life. I could live a year on my own in a remote village.

I am restless. I don't mind leaving this comfortable, static life. I could live a year on my own in a remote village.

Michael Palin
I saw novelists as being admirable people and I thought... I thought... maybe, one day, I could be one of them.

I saw novelists as being admirable people and I thought... I thought... maybe, one day, I could be one of them.

Michael Palin
The kids growing up is a separate strand to your life. However bad a day you've had, that's the most important thing, and you have to remember that.

The kids growing up is a separate strand to your life. However bad a day you've had, that's the most important thing, and you have to remember that.

Michael Palin
The human race should just slow down and think about what it is doing.

The human race should just slow down and think about what it is doing.

Michael Palin
I don't seek discomfort. But, very often, you realise that what you fear is actually quite ephemeral; something's different, something's unfamiliar; therefore, it must be worse.

I don't seek discomfort. But, very often, you realise that what you fear is actually quite ephemeral; something's different, something's unfamiliar; therefore, it must be worse.

Michael Palin

When I'm travelling, I always take my little notebook and scribble things down as I watch them; I'm very much geared to everything that's happening. Whereas, the diary I keep is just about a record of a day I've spent. When I'm filming, I'm looking quite intensely at everything I see and trying to get my own eye on what we're going through.

Michael Palin
I was very bad at projecting my voice. I used to do this Gumby Flower Arranging sketch which involved shouting, and I could never do it right, and at one point my voice went completely.

I was very bad at projecting my voice. I used to do this Gumby Flower Arranging sketch which involved shouting, and I could never do it right, and at one point my voice went completely.

Michael Palin

People look for patterns in everything. It's what keeps us sane, I suppose. I struggle to see any patterns in my life. I think I can understand depression a bit because of my sister. My own feelings of... I'm aware that, if you feel down, it can be strangely unrelated to circumstances around you. That's just the way life is.

Michael Palin
I will die, but not retire.

I will die, but not retire.

Michael Palin
'Nice' means nothing. Is it someone who doesn't swear and shout? I swear and shout. 'Nice' sounds ineffectual.

'Nice' means nothing. Is it someone who doesn't swear and shout? I swear and shout. 'Nice' sounds ineffectual.

Michael Palin
I think some of the best modern writing comes now from travellers.

I think some of the best modern writing comes now from travellers.

Michael Palin

I know that we shall meet problems along the way, but I'd far rather see for myself what's going on in the world outside, than rely on newspapers, television, politicians and religious leaders to tell me what I should be thinking.

Michael Palin

I've never had a particular skill. I can't cook, dance, play an instrument, speak a foreign language. This used to worry me. I'd think, when I'm grown up, at 18, then I made it 21, it will be clear what role I should have in life. It never happened. I never signed on the dotted line as the sort of adult my father wanted.

Michael Palin
I'm not your expert on Africa or animals or whatever. I'm not a travel writer or maker of documentaries. I was someone who doesn't know very much, trying to communicate.

I'm not your expert on Africa or animals or whatever. I'm not a travel writer or maker of documentaries. I was someone who doesn't know very much, trying to communicate.

Michael Palin
I love reading other people's diaries, especially someone like Virginia Woolf's - such a formidable woman that it's a revelation when she shows you a more vulnerable side of herself.

I love reading other people's diaries, especially someone like Virginia Woolf's - such a formidable woman that it's a revelation when she shows you a more vulnerable side of herself.

Michael Palin
Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life

Once the travel bug bites there is no known antidote, and I know that I shall be happily infected until the end of my life

Michael Palin
I can be me, and people seem quite happy with that.

I can be me, and people seem quite happy with that.

Michael Palin

There is nothing better than playing a scene with John Cleese or Maggie Smith. It's electric. But I don't think I'm the sort of person who needs to have an outer ego in order to produce something. I realised that through the travel programmes.

Michael Palin
I'd got over playing a character. People accepted who I was, and if I was incompetent and useless, they felt quite endeared to me.

I'd got over playing a character. People accepted who I was, and if I was incompetent and useless, they felt quite endeared to me.

Michael Palin

Hollywood was possible for a while! Why didn't I go along with it? Well, the other things that were pulling me back were more important. Being at home, being in the same marriage, these things enabled me to go off and travel in the first place.

Michael Palin
People say the most stupid things on the spur of the moment that they then have to retract.

People say the most stupid things on the spur of the moment that they then have to retract.

Michael Palin
I'm not good at confrontation. I know my strengths. I like company. And I am not a great arguer... I do find it much easier talking to people I like about things we both like.

I'm not good at confrontation. I know my strengths. I like company. And I am not a great arguer... I do find it much easier talking to people I like about things we both like.

Michael Palin
Travelling, and being paid for it, is just great.

Travelling, and being paid for it, is just great.

Michael Palin
I got my first lifetime achievement award years ago, and I was very excited, but then I got a sense of: Well, can one get a second lifetime award?

I got my first lifetime achievement award years ago, and I was very excited, but then I got a sense of: Well, can one get a second lifetime award?

Michael Palin
Please don't ask which I enjoy more - acting or hosting - because I love them equally.

Please don't ask which I enjoy more - acting or hosting - because I love them equally.

Michael Palin
I have been unusually blessed in that I've been allowed to pursue two strands of a career that both delight me and seem to please the public.

I have been unusually blessed in that I've been allowed to pursue two strands of a career that both delight me and seem to please the public.

Michael Palin
So many people had been asking me to write an autobiography, or threatening to write my biography without any input from me, that I thought I'd better tell my story before other people told it for me.

So many people had been asking me to write an autobiography, or threatening to write my biography without any input from me, that I thought I'd better tell my story before other people told it for me.

Michael Palin
I am certainly more interested in interviewing than being interviewed. Sometimes you find yourself attacked from the start.

I am certainly more interested in interviewing than being interviewed. Sometimes you find yourself attacked from the start.

Michael Palin

Something about John Cleese was always very unsettled, I felt. There was always something else he wanted to do. He seemed constantly driven by this sense that there was a nirvana somewhere; some unique place where mind, body and soul would be utterly satisfied.

Michael Palin
I am very cautious of people who are absolutely right, especially when they are vehemently so.

I am very cautious of people who are absolutely right, especially when they are vehemently so.

Michael Palin
When I read profiles of myself, I sometimes think: 'I have spent my whole life struggling to understand my motivations and impulses, and I've never quite sorted them out.'

When I read profiles of myself, I sometimes think: 'I have spent my whole life struggling to understand my motivations and impulses, and I've never quite sorted them out.'

Michael Palin
I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in Siberia. It is completely cut off from the rest of the world.

I've been lucky enough to stand on both poles, but the place that seemed the remotest to me was Butugychag, a former gulag in Siberia. It is completely cut off from the rest of the world.

Michael Palin
I've never particularly liked travelling with large groups or being told where to go by somebody else. I prefer to find out for myself.

I've never particularly liked travelling with large groups or being told where to go by somebody else. I prefer to find out for myself.

Michael Palin

I've been lucky to have made a number of travel programmes with the BBC, the object being to see places off the beaten track. As a result, I've often had a guide who's been able to show me things that you wouldn't see with a tour group.

Michael Palin
I would love to go to Iran. The island of Madagascar, everyone says is pretty exotic, or the wonderful Namibian desert.

I would love to go to Iran. The island of Madagascar, everyone says is pretty exotic, or the wonderful Namibian desert.

Michael Palin
Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Listen -- strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.

Michael Palin
NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!

NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!

Michael Palin

You don't ask people about the immigration policies of the U.K. or their country's agricultural policy. Instead, you talk to them about the meal they're eating or their family, and from that you get the sense of another human being, someone we can all relate to.

Michael Palin
I want people to know there is more to Somalia than looting and piracy.

I want people to know there is more to Somalia than looting and piracy.

Michael Palin
Night falls over Machu Picchu to the sound of Abba's 'Dancing Queen'.

Night falls over Machu Picchu to the sound of Abba's 'Dancing Queen'.

Michael Palin
Armageddon is not around the corner. This is only what the people of violence want us to believe. The complexity and diversity of the world is the hope for the future.

Armageddon is not around the corner. This is only what the people of violence want us to believe. The complexity and diversity of the world is the hope for the future.

Michael Palin
I enjoy writing, I enjoy my house, my family and, more than anything I enjoy the feeling of seeing each day used to the full to actually produce something. The end.

I enjoy writing, I enjoy my house, my family and, more than anything I enjoy the feeling of seeing each day used to the full to actually produce something. The end.

Michael Palin
My parents have been married forty-two years. I wonder how many of those were happy.

My parents have been married forty-two years. I wonder how many of those were happy.

Michael Palin
The Buddhist version of poverty is a situation where you have nothing to contribute.

The Buddhist version of poverty is a situation where you have nothing to contribute.

Michael Palin
I feel this evening that I am too hopelessly and happily corrupted by the richness of London life to ever be right for Dorset, or vice-versa.

I feel this evening that I am too hopelessly and happily corrupted by the richness of London life to ever be right for Dorset, or vice-versa.

Michael Palin
We read poems from the Oxford Book of Twentieth Century Verse. Neil insisted on spilling wine over my carpet.

We read poems from the Oxford Book of Twentieth Century Verse. Neil insisted on spilling wine over my carpet.

Michael Palin