Quotes

I'm a Zen-Buddhist student first, actor second. If I can't reconcile the two lives, I'll stop acting. I spend more time off-screen than on.

[on Marin Ritt] Working with Martin Ritt was a real pleasure. Most often you run into directors who are technically proficient, but empty. They don't understand story or structure, and they don't understand when an actor has a problem, how to help him or her out of it. I knew all about Martin's reputation as a director. I knew about his films, and I also knew somewhere about his background in group theater. It's very liberating to work with a very knowledgeable director because you can take risks and go places without worrying whether an inexperienced director will let it through.

[on lining in the 1960s] I lived on communes. I was involved with practically every kind of revolutionary movement of the period. My 'family' of people was called 'The Diggers.' We were a kind of 'out-there' tribe.

It's so funny; I was a much more important actor in Europe than I ever achieved in the United States. They liked all the ambiguity about me -was I a good guy or a bad guy? They appreciated that. The Americans always wanted to know who's wearing the white hat and who's wearing the black hat. I did a movie called, A Man In Love, which put me on the cover of every magazine in Europe; huge hit. Both people who saw it in America loved it.