I wanna thank MTV and the VMAs for choosing me to be a part of the show because, on this show, if you not an icon or upcomin‘ icon, you’re not on the show, you know?

All I can do is try to create my own brand and have people appreciate me for that.

Celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent.

God will not look you over for medals degrees or diplomas, but for scars.

Becoming a ‚Sir‘ is slightly uncomfortable at first, although it is a considerable honor. It is amazing how quickly you become accustomed to it.

People see me on the street, and they point to me, and they’re like, ‚Hey! All right, all right, all right!‘

I always felt like there was a certain standard of music that I had to do from the beginning, even when I didn’t have the recognition that I have now.

There’s this lingering philosophy that movie stars shouldn’t do TV.

That’s something that is almost accidental at the beginning of a career, but the more you write, the more trained you are to recognize the little signals.

There is something that is much more scarce, something finer far, something rarer than ability. It is the ability to recognize ability.

There was my name up in lights. I said, ‚God, somebody’s made a mistake.‘ But there it was, in lights. And I sat there and said, ‚Remember, you’re not a star.‘ Yet there it was up in lights.

If I close my eyes and think of Hollywood, all I see is one big varicose vein.

Being acknowledged for your work is always a great accomplishment, whether it’s people in my city, kids in the street, all the way up to the Grammys.

It’s very intense to be in front of a live audience. It’s just an amazing experience. It’s dangerous. Everything out there is heightened. The bad stuff is extra-worse. The silences are extra-silent. The good stuff is amazing. It’s electric when you walk out there. For 90 minutes, you’re on this other planet.

What every genuine philosopher (every genuine man, in fact) craves most is praise although the philosophers generally call it recognition!

Each doctor makes a much, much more important job than I do, but at the end, nobody talks about him. We all know about it, but we don’t really think about it.

I didn’t get a lot of awards as a player. But they did have a Bob Uecker Day Off for me once in Philly.

Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.

I think the message has already been sent to Hollywood, which is that this kid’s a hard worker, he’s talented, and people are coming out to see him. And when you have box-office results, Hollywood treats you different. Hollywood stands up.

Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward.

You just wait. I’m going to be the biggest Chinese Star in the world.

I love making movies, but there’s nothing like performing live.

I knew no one who’d ever been in the public eye.

A lot was accomplished in my mixtape career. But I still needed a few things: I needed to be recognized. I need to have radio. I need to have a real retail machine that can get us where we need to get that.

Don’t work for recognition, but do work worthy of recognition.

It’s a very strange thing being recognized or looked upon as someone special.

Hollywood is a place where they’ll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul.

If anything, a lot of electronic music is music that no one listens to at home, hardly. It’s really only to be heard when everyone’s out enjoying it.

Feeling like you’re respected among the people who do the same thing you do is incredible and necessary.

I’ve been talked about by a lot better people than the general public.

My main focus is always to do well on the field for the Indian cricket team. When people say good things about me off the field, I am more than happy to accept them.

I want to go down in the history books with what I’ve achieved.

Lots of people who complained about us receiving the MBE received theirs for heroism in the war – for killing people. We received ours for entertaining other people. I’d say we deserve ours more.

Actors know what actors are insecure about – and they’re all insecure.

If you modestly enjoy your fame you are not unworthy to rank with the holy.

I’m the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren’t no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn’t know about them.

I’m the only person of distinction who has ever had a depression named for him.

I’ve always been a fan of the VMAs, and I’ve always worked hard just to get a ticket to go to the VMAs.

I was the one who took football off the back pages and put it on to page one.

Sometimes I’m fascinated with how famous my work could be while I’m not so famous.

The cross of the Legion of Honor has been conferred on me. However, few escape that distinction.

Having other comedians complimenting my work is the biggest accolade that I can get.

It confuses me and disappoints me when somebody says, ‚What does he do? What does he do?‘ My records are some of the biggest anthems ever. What do you think, they magically just appear? Obama walked out to my record.

Everybody loves you when you’re six foot in the ground.

If you have a success you have it for the wrong reasons. If you become popular it is always because of the worst aspects of your work.

She’s a total professional, a diva, a mega-star, not just in music but in the entertainment industry. You always learn from the greats, and J.Lo is one.

A film is sort of binary – it either works or it doesn’t work. It has nothing to do with how good a job you do. If you bring it up to an adequate level where the audience goes with the movie, then it works, that is all.

Martyrdom: The only way a man can become famous without ability.

It was such a leap in my career when ‚Truman Show‘ came along. It’s always been a long process for me insofar as recognition goes, but that’s OK because you appreciate it when it comes.

I don’t want flowers or candy or anything like that. I just want somebody to say, ‚Wow, you’ve done a great job.‘

Sometimes, wearing a scarf and a polo coat and no makeup and with a certain attitude of walking, I go shopping or just look at people living. But then, you know, there will be a few teenagers who are kind of sharp, and they’ll say, ‚Hey, just a minute. You know who I think that is?‘ And they’ll start tailing me. And I don’t mind.

The first step on the way to victory is to recognize the enemy.

You’ve gotta understand that with branding and the way things are promoted, in our day and age, your older movie stars are not reachable or accessible because they’re not a part of the whole social media world.

In 1993, Israel and North Korea were moving towards an agreement in which North Korea would stop sending any missiles or military technology to the Middle East and Israel would recognize that country. President Clinton intervened and blocked it.

Hollywood is not suited for me, and I am not suited for it.

If anyone remembers me, it’s about my hard work.

I’m always amazed by the people who work on stage who sing night after night, day after day, week in week out.

Great men, unknown to their generation, have their fame among the great who have preceded them, and all true worldly fame subsides from their high estimate beyond the stars.

I came to Hollywood and within a decade I was one of the biggest action stars of all time.

When art dresses in worn-out material it is most easily recognized as art.

The TV business is uglier than most things. It is normally perceived as some kind of cruel and shallow money trench through the heart of the journalism industry, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free and good men die like dogs, for no good reason.