Gene Wilder

“I love acting, especially if it's a fantasy of some kind, where it's not just realistic, it's not naturalism.”

“What do actors really want? To be great actors? Yes, but you can't buy talent, so it's best to leave the word 'great' out of it. I think to be believed, onstage or onscreen, is the one hope...”

“I'm in complete remission. I'm alive and well.”

“I write funny. If I can make my wife laugh, I know I'm on the right track.”

“A lot of comic actors derive their main force from childish behavior. Most great comics are doing such silly things; you'd say, 'That's what a child would do.'”

“So my idea of neurotic is spending too much time trying to correct a wrong. When I feel that I'm doing that, then I snap out of it.”

“I'd like to do a comedy with Emma Thompson. I admire her as an actress so much. I love her. And I didn't know it until recently that her whole career started in comedy.”

“I want to do what I can lend my talents to, but I want it to be as a human being and not as a two-dimensional character.”

“I'm stopped by mothers who say, 'Mr. Wilder, what advice would you give to my young boy? He's really talented.'”

“What good is a character who's always winking at the audience to let them in on the secret?”