Alan Rickman

“My idea of a real treat is Magic Mountain without standing in line.”

“I do feel more myself in America. I can regress there, and they have roller-coaster parks.”

“I'm a quite serious actor who doesn't mind being ridiculously comic.”

“If only life could be a little more tender and art a little more robust.”

“I think there should be laughs in everything. Sometimes, it's a slammed door, a pie in the face or just a recognition of our frailties.”

“You know, London is so sprawling, and you can sometimes forget that anybody else is on a stage anywhere else.”

“In theater, you've got to be aware of your whole body because it involves stamina. It involves two-and-a-half hours and a sustained release of energy, maybe for six months.”

“It is an ancient need to be told stories. But the story needs a great storyteller. Thanks for all of it, Jo.”

“I am the character you are not supposed to like.”

“I'm very aware that when one is acting in the theater, you do become kind of animal about it. And you're reliant on instincts rather than tact a lot of the time.”

“If you could build a house on a trampoline, that would suit me fine.”

“Somebody with Debbie Reynolds' features doesn't get cast as the Wicked Witch.”

“Originally, theater was my life. It was what I assumed I'd spend my working life doing - if I was lucky. Then along came movies.”