Jeremy Irons Quotes

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Jeremy Irons

Profession : Actor

Birth : September 19, 1948

I've always had a desire to live on the outside. That's where I'm most comfortable.

Jeremy Irons

You ask my wife or my two sons, and they'll tell you that I ain't free with the money.

Jeremy Irons

I have played characters where I haven't been absorbed - you know, what I call a typical film leading man role where you just have to look gorgeous and be attractive and charming. It bores me. I like a bit of dirt, a bit of sand in the oyster.

Jeremy Irons

The film business has changed hugely. You seem to spend about 30 per cent of the time producing the films and 70 per cent talking about it.

Jeremy Irons

I came to London. I spent nine months doing domestic work and gardening because I knew I wanted to get a West End show. So, when I was offered jobs in Stoke or Leicester or whatever, I'd say no. Eventually, I got 'Godspell.' It was gently building.

Jeremy Irons

I do this work, but I am uncomfortable in situations where you're hyped into something you're not. Just because you're in a long limo doesn't mean anything.

Jeremy Irons

I wanted to find a way of life that allowed me great freedom, not to be stuck. I went to a very traditional school, which prepared people for the army or for banking or for industry, and I wanted to be outside of that.

Jeremy Irons

I looked at the circus, and I looked at the carnival, at the fun fair. But I looked at sleeping accommodations and decided I was too middle class to put up with that! So then I joined the theater and found I could choose my own bedroom. I loved the atmosphere. I loved that we worked till midnight and didn't start till ten.

Jeremy Irons

It's always nice working with friends. And if you have a director that you've worked with before, you don't have to go through that first learning thing. There's an element of trust there.

Jeremy Irons

When I'm not working, I don't mix with actors, really. I have about two or three friends from theater school, and we call each other and meet. But in the main, no. I'm more happy with musicians or horse riders or sailors.

Jeremy Irons

I think nobody since has written such extraordinary work as Shakespeare writes. The characters he writes are full of inconsistencies, which is a great human quality - I mean, we're all very inconsistent in the way we behave.

Jeremy Irons

I think the world is much more transparent now, and I think that's probably a good thing. On the other hand, I think it makes it really tough for people who are natural born leaders who could be guiding us and leading our countries.

Jeremy Irons

Most people have fallen by the wayside once or twice in their lives, and because the world is so transparent now, I think they're very fearful of running for office.

Jeremy Irons

I love touching. I always touch people.

Jeremy Irons

I think the job of artists is to stir things up.

Jeremy Irons

I'm not religious. I'm spiritual. Religious seems too much like a club.

Jeremy Irons

I think there's still an appetite among a certain audience to see intelligent movies that have real emotion in them.

Jeremy Irons

I don't watch a lot of television. I try to watch all the good movies, but I've got about twenty of these television series that I should be watching. I haven't seen 'The Wire.' I haven't seen 'Mad Men.' I haven't seen Kevin's thing. What's that called? 'House of Cards.' I hear it's wonderful.

Jeremy Irons

I wouldn't call myself a method actor, but I have my own method. I do my own research. I come up with a background for the character. I'm not a club man. I don't like isms. I've never really studied Stanislavski.

Jeremy Irons

A comic book and a straight drama all have the same elements. If you're playing tragedy, you have to be aware of the comedy; if you're playing comedy, you have to be aware of the tragedy. If you're playing comic book, you have to be aware of the reality.

Jeremy Irons