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" When you have a stroke, you must talk slowly to be understood, and I've discovered that when I talk slowly, people listen. They think I'm going to say something important! "

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" People are composed of many things, and in my work, what influences me is the complexity of people - the chiaroscuro of dark and light. When I play a strong guy, I try to find, where is he weak? And, conversely, when I play a weak guy, where is he strong? "

Kirk Douglas

People

Work

" I studied Judaism a lot. I studied religion in general, and I have never imposed my Judaism on my kids. They are what they want to be. I think... you must care for others. That's the correct religion, I think. "

" Virtue is not photogenic. What is it to be a nice guy? To be nothing, that's what. A big fat zero with a smile for everybody. "

" Love has more depth as you get older. "

Kirk Douglas

Get

Depth

" Fame is as much about luck as it is about talent, perhaps more. "

" I have studied religion, and I have concluded that there is some power. We don't understand it. "

" Fifteen years ago, I suffered a stroke, which caused me to lose my speech. Now, what does an actor who can't talk do? Wait for silent pictures to come back? I work with a speech therapist twice a week. "

Kirk Douglas

Week

Work

" I was conscious of my father's fame from the time I was 6. "

" You know, sometimes an interviewer will look at me and say - you're bright! They're actually surprised I might be bright. "

Kirk Douglas

Look

Say

" Fear is a terrible thing. It makes you do awful things. "

" I have been an actor for most of my life. When I started out, I didn't think about anything except what was good for me. Like many movie stars, I became all wrapped up in myself. "

Kirk Douglas

Myself

Good

" In order to achieve anything you must be brave enough to fail. "

" I think religion has caused so much catastrophe in the world. "

" My four sons all knew I was a Jew, but they were allowed to be whatever they wanted to be. The only thing important to me was that they be good people who help other people, because all religion should try to make you a better person and a more caring person. Whenever religion does that for you, it's a good religion. "

" Sometimes, the thing that ties you down sets you free. "

" I don't need a critic to tell me I'm an actor. I make my own way. Nobody's my boss. Nobody's ever been my boss. "

Kirk Douglas

Nobody

Boss

" I know Italians and I like them. A lot of my father's best friends were Italians. "

" I was living in a terrible time when people were being accused of being communists, and they attacked the movie industry, especially the writers. People couldn't work if they were on the blacklist. The studios banned them. It was the most onerous period in movie history. I don't think we have ever had a period so dark as that. "

" I came from abject poverty. There was nowhere to go but up. "

" The learning process continues until the day you die. "

" I didn't start out to be a movie star. I started out to be an actor. "

" When you reach 95, after you get over your surprise, you start looking back. "

" If I have to speak in public, I am terrified. "

Kirk Douglas

Public

Terrified

" Being second generation in Hollywood is complicated: Success is expected, and yet the track record of the second generation is not great. Only a small group of us, like Jane Fonda, have succeeded. "

" God bless Dad, he came to every one of my shows. I was bad, and I had horrible stage fright. My dad was so relieved - he'd say, 'You were terrible; this kid is not going to be an actor.' Finally, I did a play and he said, 'Son - you were really good.' "

" Sometimes an interviewer will look at me and say, 'You're bright!' They're actually surprised I might be bright. "

" All my life, I have taken inventory at intervals. For example, when I became a movie actor and suddenly I had to deal with fame, money and playing so many roles, I lost myself. I said, 'Who am I?' And I wrote my first book to deal with that, 'The Ragman's Son.' "

" What would my parents think about America if they arrived here today? Would they even want to come? I wonder. "

" My first job was on Broadway. Then I went into the Navy. When I came out of the Navy, I went back to Broadway and a friend of mine, Lauren Bacall, was in Hollywood filming with Humphrey Bogart. She told one of her producers I was great in my play, and he saw it and cast me in 'The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'. "

Kirk Douglas

Love

Great

" It's tough to make a movie about movies... We're all too close to it. But 'The Bad and the Beautiful' was very good. "