Quotes by Orson Welles

About Orson Welles:

George Orson Welles is best remembered for his innovative work in all three: in theatre, most notably Caesar (1937), a Broadway adaptation of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar; in radio, the 1938 broadcast "The War of the Worlds", one of the most famous in the history of radio; and in film, Citizen Kane (1941), consistently ranked as one of the all-time greatest films.
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

I was spoiled in a very strange way as a child, because everybody told me, from the moment I was able to hear, that I was absolutely marvelous, and I never heard a discouraging word for years, you see. I didn't know what was ahead of me.

Orson Welles

I started at the top and worked my way down.

Orson Welles

Now we sit through Shakespeare in order to recognize the quotations.

Orson Welles

Fake is as old as the Eden tree.

Orson Welles

Man is a rational animal who always loses his temper when called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason.

Orson Welles

Anybody who speaks quietly and shrivels up in company is unbelievably arrogant.

Orson Welles

I have always been more interested in experiment, than in accomplishment.

Orson Welles

Living in the lap of luxury isn't bad except that you never know when luxury is going to stand up.

Orson Welles

Gluttony is not a secret vice.

Orson Welles

I feel I have to protect myself against things. So I'm pretty careful to lose most of them.

Orson Welles

Nobody who takes on anything big and tough can afford to be modest.

Orson Welles

Everybody denies I am a genius - but nobody ever called me one!

Orson Welles

At twenty-one, so many things appear solid, permanent, untenable.

Orson Welles

My mother and father were both much more remarkable than any story of mine can make them. They seem to me just mythically wonderful.

Orson Welles

Look at the real prodigies, and I look like nothing compared to them.

Orson Welles

I'm one of those fellows so frightened of driving that I go 80 miles an hour - and the more frightened I get, the faster I go.

Orson Welles

Movie directing is a perfect refuge for the mediocre.

Orson Welles

Film is like a colony and there are very few colonists.

Orson Welles

Everything bad that has ever happened to me has been caused by agents or lawyers.

Orson Welles

My kind of director is an actor-director who writes.

Orson Welles

I would rather be on the set than doing anything.

Orson Welles

Author Bio

  • NameOrson Welles
  • DescriptionAmerican actor, director, writer and producer
  • BornMay 6, 1915
  • DiedOctober 10, 1985
  • CountryUnited States Of America
  • ProfessionFilm Actor; Theatre Director; Film Director; Actor; Magician; Film Producer; Film Editor; Screenwriter; Writer; Librettist
  • AwardsAcademy Award For Best Writing (Original Screenplay)