Harvey Keitel quotes

Harvey Keitel is an American actor known for his intense and dynamic performances in film. Famous for his collaborations with directors like Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, he has appeared in numerous critically acclaimed movies, including "Mean Streets," "Pulp Fiction," and "The Piano." He continues to be recognized as a versatile and compelling presence in the world of cinema. Here are 27 of his quotes:

Everything is difficult, and everything worthwhile is difficult. A certain need, a need not unlike Mickey had: to know, to understand, and I had that need to understand and to know.

Harvey Keitel

I don't think about those things, really. I work hard on everything I do. Everything is a struggle, everything is hard, everything is difficult.

Harvey Keitel

I was out to have a good time and have some fun. It's a fun script and fun people are in the movie.

Harvey Keitel

She had said one time, make a choice and do it like Hercules. So if that is all of what is being offered, the idea is to always do it like Hercules and I always followed her advise and now I'm here talking to you.

Harvey Keitel

To create characters, one must build background. And one of the tools we use is improvisation.

Harvey Keitel

So there's no such thing as one too many this, one too many that. I remember, you're reminding me of early in my career, somebody said to me: why are you taking so many roles as a policeman.

Harvey Keitel

I mean, you work and you try and find the work that suits you the best and you enjoy the most.

Harvey Keitel

Then I heard this genius teacher Stella Adler - I recommend you read anything you might find about her and if you have anyone interested in theatre, you get them one of her books.

Harvey Keitel

I've always found it not only easy, but enjoyable. It's necessary for us to reach out and I'm speaking for myself here. I certainly have a sense of responsibility to reach out to these people in the theatre who might look to someone like me for some guidance.

Harvey Keitel

What fascinated me mostly about Mickey Cohen was that he, in his later years, hired someone to help him to comprehend literature, to help him to read better, to understand words better.

Harvey Keitel

They have equal weight and you do the same work you'd do if you were playing a dramatic role.

Harvey Keitel

Well, you sort of get out of the pool room, you get out of the Marine Corps, you get out and read some literature, you become involved with people who also want to know and are ready to share some ideas about literature and thoughts, and it becomes nourished that way.

Harvey Keitel

Uhm, I'm the one wanting the lessons! I don't want to say too much about it because I'd rather have you see the movie, but he's trying to find his music.

Harvey Keitel

You didn't hear the angels singing. It was brought down to Mother Earth, which is where it should be. And that led me to a lot of other reading.

Harvey Keitel

That's like asking a cobbler if he's made too many pairs of shoes.

Harvey Keitel

I grew up with a lot of guys, some of them are dead, some of them are this and some of them that, and some of them very, very powerful, bright young men, who became this instead of that simply because of a lack of guidance - that's all.

Harvey Keitel

Well, we are not doing that film actually. At least I am not at the moment, but we are making an effort to get it done; I don't know whether we'll get the financing for it. The old story we had it, it fell out of place and this and that.

Harvey Keitel

Hardly any actor objects to press. It's a question of it being done in the way they like to see it done, meaning to get down to the serious interview what the profession is so we can reach out to the people to help them get along.

Harvey Keitel

You're working on being a father, so that is something that when you experience it you'll understand the profundity of wanting to protect something dear to you.

Harvey Keitel

But then again, you know, the pimp in TAXI DRIVER has this reason, given the environment he was living in.

Harvey Keitel

It's always a pleasure to see John. I'm fond of telling people that when I was a young actor in NY and had no work,no money, you know the story because you're heard it before.

Harvey Keitel

Well unfortunately I didn't work with Andre much. But rap is a strong presence in the culture and anyone is going to grateful for its appearance, grateful for any kind of music that has the kind of effect that rap has had on us all.

Harvey Keitel