I would never say I was an icon, but so many people have said I am, so I suppose I am. I mean, I can’t not be what everyone says I am. But I don’t feel like an icon.

If fame belonged to me, I could not escape her; if she did not, the longest day would pass me on the chase, and the approbation of my dog would forsake me then. My barefoot rank is better.

There was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass.

See, ‚A Time to Kill‘ was the one I got famous off of. Big ka-boom, over one weekend. After that, I did films that I really wanted to do.

I’m German in my mind, but from a Germany that doesn’t exist any more.

The martyr cannot be dishonored. Every lash inflicted is a tongue of fame; every prison a more illustrious abode.

I don’t think a lot of people know personally who I am.

I have had fun being who I became, so to speak.

I think it’s important as an artist to never forget where you’re from.

Fame is like a river, that beareth up things light and swollen, and drowns things weighty and solid.

If you look at my job, my union card, it says ‚actor.‘ It don’t say nothing about celebrity, movie star, nothing like that, and that’s one thing that keeps me humble.

For a man to achieve all that is demanded of him he must regard himself as greater than he is.

It’s like, remember who you always were, where you came from, who your parents were, how they raised you. Because that authentic self is going to follow you all through life, so make sure that it’s solid so it’s something that you can hold on and be proud of for the rest of your life.

There was a while when I was feeling like, ‚Damn, if I’d just been born black, I would not have to go through all this‘.

The answer is, who you are cannot be defined through thinking or mental labels or definitions, because it’s beyond that. It is the very sense of being, or presence, that is there when you become conscious of the present moment. In essence, you and what we call the present moment are, at the deepest level, one.

I’ve never seen myself as a star. I never call myself a celebrity or a superstar, whatever.

I started being really proud of the fact that I was gay even though I wasn’t.

Funk, I don’t think I have anything to do with funk. I’ve never considered myself funky.

I don’t like Los Angeles. The people are awful and terribly shallow, and everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to play the game. I’m from New York. I will kill to get what I need.

I saw a picture of myself when I came out of the hospital. I didn’t recognize myself.

Fame can take interesting men and thrust mediocrity upon them.

Fame may go by and – so long, I’ve had you.

Everyone looks at your watch and it represents who you are, your values and your personal style.

There are very few people who are going to look into the mirror and say, ‚That person I see is a savage monster;‘ instead, they make up some construction that justifies what they do.

Only Americans can hurt America.

My experiences at Princeton have made me far more aware of my ‚blackness‘ than ever before. I have found that at Princeton, no matter how liberal and open-minded some of my white professors and classmates try to be toward me, I sometimes feel like a visitor on campus; as if I really don’t belong.

I wanted to be famous for my music and my talent, and I always wished I could cut it out when I left the stage.

A man has as many social selves as there are individuals who recognize him.

I think women want freedom. They want to be empowered. They want hope. They want love; they want all the things that I want, and I’m not afraid to say those things and act on them, and I think that’s why they identify with me.

Getting recognized is insane. It just blows my mind. Like, someone who you don’t know at all can just be like, ‚Oh my God – are you Billie?‘

One of the greatest diseases is to be nobody to anybody.

Overnight stardom can be harmful to your mental health. Yeah. It has ruined a lot of people.

If you modestly enjoy your fame you are not unworthy to rank with the holy.

The ego is only an illusion, but a very influential one. Letting the ego-illusion become your identity can prevent you from knowing your true self. Ego, the false idea of believing that you are what you have or what you do, is a backwards way of assessing and living life.

We are braver and wiser because they existed, those strong women and strong men… We are who we are because they were who they were. It’s wise to know where you come from, who called your name.

Years ago, when I first started being a big star, I had fans that were fanatical. It was when ‚Jolene‘ was a big hit.

There was a point where I really felt I had ‚penniless divorcee lone parent‘ tattooed on my head.

We are what we believe we are.

I once wanted to prove myself by being a great actress. Now I want to prove that I’m a person. Then maybe I’ll be a great actress.

For people who may think they know, or have snippets of who I am, you can attack that person. That’s part of being a public figure.

I’d always somehow felt slightly as if I’d been born in the wrong country.

The fame thing is interesting because I never wanted to be famous, and I never dreamt I would be famous.

I can encourage my daughter to love her body, but what really matters are the observations she makes about my relationship with my own body.

I have a hard time figuring out what kind of box to put me in, too, because I don’t know exactly what’s going on around me or why. But I need to stay outside of boxes because then I can look at what’s inside of them without being part of them.

Hold those things that tell your history and protect them. During slavery, who was able to read or write or keep anything? The ability to have somebody to tell your story to is so important. It says: ‚I was here. I may be sold tomorrow. But you know I was here.‘

Everybody loves you when you’re six foot in the ground.

Fame is ultimately about the cycles of desire and how to do away with them or manage them well.

People should make up their own mind about what they think of me.

We have always found the Irish a bit odd. They refuse to be English.

My son’s full real name is Duncan Zowie Haywood. As a toddler, he was called by his second name Zowie. But it was such an identifiable name during the Seventies that if I called him loudly in public places, everyone would turn to stare, so I started calling him Joey to take the pressure off.

The abdomen is the reason why man does not readily take himself to be a god.

Being a sex symbol is a heavy load to carry, especially when one is tired, hurt and bewildered.

I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful, but because I had never belonged to anything or anyone else.

All black Americans have slave names. They have white names; names that the slave master has given to them.

You can’t reverse fame. You can lose all the money, but you’ll never lose people knowing you.

I’m easy to look like, so there are lots and lots of Dolly look-alikes.

I’m nobody, who are you?

I say, ‚Yeah, Taylor Swift.‘ I think she is a smart, beautiful girl. I think she’s making all the right moves. She’s got a good head on her shoulders. She’s surrounded with wonderful people. Her songs are great. She keeps herself anchored. She knows who she is, and she’s living and standing by that.

A sex symbol becomes a thing. I just hate to be a thing.

I think who you are in school really sticks with you.

Well, I’m in my 60s now. I finally look it, I think. People until I was 60 would always say they thought I looked younger, which I think, without flattering myself, I did, but I think I certainly have, as George Orwell says people do after a certain age, the face they deserve.