The best characters are always wretchedly flawed

Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.

I think that the best characters are the ones who both manage to be attractive and repulsive at the same time.

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character.

Be your character what it will, it will be known, and nobody will take it upon your word.

Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconcious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.

The best index to a person‘s character is how he treats people who can’t do him any good, and how he treats people who can’t fight back.

I’m always open to not necessarily to do leading roles because I want to do roles that are the best, character role. And sometimes, it’s not going to be a leading role. It’s going to be a smaller, supporting role. So really, I’m open to doing anything.

During my eighty-seven years I have witnessed a whole succession of technological revolutions. But none of them has done away with the need for character in the individual or the ability to think.

Our character is basically a composite of our habits.

Men show their character in nothing more clearly than what they think laughable.

I find that a lot of my best character stuff and ideas come unwittingly from novels. In scripts, it’s a lot about the outward signs of whatever‘s happening – you have the end result. Whereas in a novel you get a buildup of the whys and wherefores, and you’re let into the backstory.

Dignity does not consist in possessing honors, but in deserving them.

Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Holden Caulfield is the best character in literature, period.

The best characters are the ones that somehow manage to be both attractive and repulsive at the same time. If you do that, you’re at the center of the universe – if you can find characters who are more ambiguous and can raise more questions than answers.

Sam Seaborn is the best character that’s ever been written for me, certainly. By far. And it’s a timeless show [The West Wing], one that’s having another resurgence now, with people so in an uproar politically.

I’m not too picky about guitars. I love to collect them, mostly oddballs, but I’m not married to any brand or model. Whatever guitar has the best character for the song is the one I want to use, because if you’ve got a style, you’re going to sound like yourself no matter what guitar you play.

You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.

Most of the time when you see a movie, the best character in the movie is not “the guy,” it’s the guy next to the guy.