Paul Newman quotes

Paul Newman was an American actor, film director, race car driver, and philanthropist, widely admired for his charisma and talent. His memorable performances in classic films and lasting humanitarian efforts made him an icon in both Hollywood and charity. He is also known for founding Newman’s Own, a food company that donates all profits to charity. Here are 47 of his quotes:

To be an actor, you have to be a child.

Paul Newman

Just when things look darkest, they go black.

Paul Newman

I was always a character actor. I just looked like Little Red Riding Hood.

Paul Newman

A man with no enemies is a man with no character.

Paul Newman

You only grow when you are alone.

Paul Newman

Money won is twice as sweet as money earned.

Paul Newman

If you don't have enemies, you don't have character.

Paul Newman

You can't be as old as I am without waking up with a surprised look on your face every morning: "Holy Christ, whaddya know - I'm still around!" It's absolutely amazing that I survived all the booze and smoking and the cars and the career.

Paul Newman

I've been accused of being aloof. I'm not. I'm just wary.

Paul Newman

I'm like a good cheese. I'm just getting mouldy enough to be interesting.

Paul Newman

Twenty-five years ago I couldn't walk down the street without being recognized. Now I can put a cap on, walk anywhere and no one pays me any attention. They don't ask me about my movies and they don't ask me about my salad dressing because they don't know who I am. Am I happy about this? You bet.

Paul Newman

Acting is a question of absorbing other people's personalities and adding some of your own experiences.

Paul Newman

Building weapons that we don't need, don't work, and aren't necessary, and have no mission - that's not bad politics, that's robbery.

Paul Newman

I never ask my wife about my flaws. Instead I try to get her to ignore them and concentrate on my sense of humor. You don't want any woman to look under the carpet because there's lots of flaws underneath. Joanne believes my character in a film we did together, "Mr. and Mrs. Bridge" comes closest to who I really am. I personally don't think there's one character who comes close... but I learned a long time ago not to disagree on things that I don't have a solid opinion about.

Paul Newman

Being on President Nixon's enemies list was the highest single honor I've ever received. Who knows who's listening to me now and what government list I'm on?

Paul Newman

I was terrorized by the emotional requirements of being an actor. Acting is like letting your pants down; you're exposed.

Paul Newman

I like racing but food and pictures are more thrilling. I can't give them up. In racing you can be certain, to the last thousandth of a second, that someone is the best, but with a film or a recipe, there is no way of knowing how all the ingredients will work out in the end. The best can turn out to be awful and the worst can be fantastic. Cooking is like performing and performing like cooking.

Paul Newman

I'd like to be remembered as a guy who tried - tried to be part of his times, tried to help people communicate with one another, tried to find some decency in his own life, tried to extend himself as a human being. Someone who isn't complacent, who doesn't cop out.

Paul Newman

Men experience many passions in a lifetime. One passion drives away the one before it.

Paul Newman

The first time I remember women reacting to me was when we were filming Hud in Texas. Women were literally trying to climb through the transoms at the motel where I stayed. At first, it's flattering to the ego. At first. Then you realize that they're mixing me up with the roles I play - characters created by writers who have nothing to do with who I am.

Paul Newman

I started my career giving a clinic in bad acting in the film, "The Silver Chalice," and now I'm playing a crusty old man who's an animated automobile [in "Cars"]. That's a creative arc for you, isn't it?

Paul Newman

The embarrassing thing is that my salad dressing is out-grossing my films.

Paul Newman