128 Quotes by Alan Arkin

What I've learned about teaching is to refer back to the root of that word, which is educo, which means "to pull from." Education does not mean jamming information into somebody's head. Rather, it's that ancient idea that all knowledge is within us; to teach is to help somebody pull it out of themselves.

Either you’re growing or you’re decaying; there’s no middle ground. If you’re standing still, you’re decaying.

I gotta keep busy. I’m not happy unless I’m working on two, three things.

No matter how much time you spend reading books or following your intuition, you’re gonna screw it up. Fifty times. You can’t do parenting right.

If I’m going to make a fake movie, it’s going to be a fake hit.

Creativity means learning where the rules exist, and then breaking them! Saying, “It’s better this way.” But you have to know the rules in order to break them with any grace.

There’s a familiarity that sometimes shocks and annoys the hell out of me. People want a relationship with you that they haven’t earned.

I know that if I can’t move people, then I have no business being an actor.

If you want to be an actor and you love acting, you can do it whether you’re doing something else or not. You can be connected with community theater or make your own little movies. But, if you want to be a movie star, you’ve got a tough road ahead of you.