Laurence Fishburne Quotes

Author Image

Laurence Fishburne

Profession : Actor

Birth : July 30, 1961

I was a child actor but not a child star.

Laurence Fishburne

I can't imagine not coming back to the theater. It's where I started.

Laurence Fishburne

I see that I have, as part of my stock in trade, a very regal personality and carriage. I see that I have a kind of strength, a kind of command, and a kind of power that one would associated with a monarch.

Laurence Fishburne

After 'Othello,' it was, like, 'I can stop acting. I have played one of the great characters in the English language. I feel I have played him well and honorably. I have nothing to prove anymore.'

Laurence Fishburne

Back in 1978, when I was still in high school, I went to see a Broadway show, 'Paul Robeson,' starring James Earl Jones. It was all about Robeson's journey as a human being, an artist, a champion of civil rights. Had I not seen the play, I might not have known who Robeson was. I was certainly never taught about him in school.

Laurence Fishburne

I return to the stage first and foremost because I'm an actor, and I love it.

Laurence Fishburne

Some people think of me as an actor and some as a movie star, so I sort of guess that makes me both. I love making movies, and I love playing on the stage.

Laurence Fishburne

There's a lot of stuff that's not good that's touted as being good.

Laurence Fishburne

I carry a lot of feminine energy as well as masculine energy, and that's the hit that people are getting. That vulnerable thing is not what we assume with black males. You get it, and then they cease to become scary. They become human. You cease to have a bogeyman.

Laurence Fishburne

Do mainstream crowds want to watch a movie about good things happening in black neighborhoods? Do black audiences want to see a little girl doing something in a white world?

Laurence Fishburne

It's important for a lot of young black males to value swagger over intelligence. Swagger is important, but intelligence must come before the swagger.

Laurence Fishburne

There's a bunch of plays that I never got to do because I was either too young or too old for the parts, like 'Slow Dance on the Killing Ground' and 'Dutchman.' For 'American Buffalo,' I was the wrong color.

Laurence Fishburne

I don't want to be 45 years old and have been a hot actor when I was 33 and have people going, 'Whatever happened to Fishburne?'

Laurence Fishburne

My mother is quite a woman. She would push me, and when I got tired of her pushing, I'd say: 'Leave me alone. Don't push so much.'

Laurence Fishburne

I didn't want to be a big star. I wanted to be a really good actor.

Laurence Fishburne

I certainly believe that being in contact with one's spirit and nurturing one's spirit is as important as nurturing one's body and mind. We are three dimensional beings: body, mind, spirit.

Laurence Fishburne

The 50s are the age of elegance. That's kind of my intention when I get dressed: casual elegance.

Laurence Fishburne

I think everyone is very surprised at how 'Matrix' has become the pop culture phenomenon that it is.

Laurence Fishburne

I always want to read the script and know everything and at least understand the context of the world that you're in and why you're there and all that stuff. It's good to know something. I like to know, but I've never been one of these, 'Just show me my stuff,' no, I like to know what the whole picture is so I can understand how I fit into it.

Laurence Fishburne

In order to be the best version of yourself, you have to dedicate time, effort, and support to other people who need it.

Laurence Fishburne