I'm an actor; I hire out.
— James Garner
I've had to work hard at that easy-going manner you see on screen.
Even my stuntman is old.
What was I qualified to do to make a living? Nothing. You don't need qualifications as an actor or a politician. And I didn't want to be a politician.
Acting is just common sense. It isn't hard if you put yourself aside and just do what the writer wrote.
The only reason I'm an actor is that a lady pulled out of a parking space in front of a producer's office.
When people see me in something and say, 'That's just you - that's not acting,' it's the best compliment I can get.
I was a Depression kid, growing up in Oklahoma.
An hour series is a killer. It's hard on you physically.
There's a lot of room for error with a wound in the rear. It's a wide target.
Too many actors have run for office. There's one difference between me and them: I know I'm not qualified.
When I started working, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, in that I was just wandering around, hoping that I could succeed. Then after I got a little under my belt, it took me about 25 years to feel like I knew what I was doing.
I've done a lot of casual work, and acting is a lot easier than laying carpets.
When I'm pushed, I shove.
There are younger directors, and anybody over 30 is ancient to them, because they're not that old.
I never finished the ninth grade.
I don't have any theories about acting, and I don't think about how to do it, except that an actor shouldn't take himself too seriously, and shouldn't try to make acting something it isn't.
The characters I've played, especially Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford, almost never use a gun, and they always try to use their wits instead of their fists.
I don't take success very well, because I know it's fleeting. And the next day, it can all fall apart. I know that, too. So I don't get too high, and I don't get too low. You get through the world a lot easier that way.
My goal has always been longevity. Not fame and fortune, just get a job and keep it.
I'm working out every day. I'm in very good shape.
Ronald Reagan wasn't qualified to be governor, let alone president.
I never wanted to be an actor. I got stuck in it and kind of liked what I was doing.
I saw my wife at a pool, flipped over her, and 14 days later we were married.
I spent most of my time playing pool instead of studying.
People who don't know me think I'm easy-going, but I'm a pessimist by nature and an old curmudgeon.
I don't like the crowds, I don't like to get out of the house if I don't have to.
You can never have too many friends.
I'm a Methodist, but not as an actor.
I've been on the wrong end of violence, and I've done violence myself... I refuse to glorify violence in my movie and television roles.
I think my attitude has always been to put food on the table.
I think people like to see a little larceny in their heroes.
Yeah, I don't have a whole lot of problems.
In my opinion, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't qualified to be governor of California.
It wasn't until I'd turned 50 and had been in the business 25 years that I realized I might actually have a career as an actor.
Everybody wants blockbusters. I like to see a few pictures now and then that have to do with people and have relationships, and that's what I want to do films about. I don't want to see these sci-fi movies, and I don't want to do one of those. I don't understand it.
