If I spent all my time criticising myself, I wouldn’t be able to function. There are actors who theorise till the cows come home. I haven’t the patience for them. It’s maybe shallow, but that’s why I’ll never be part of the acting set.

I know I’m a good professional, I know that no one’s harder on me than myself and that’s never going to change, under any circumstances.

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

Nothing great is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig. I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

Be slow in choosing a friend, slower in changing.

Progress is not an illusion, it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing.

The universe can take quite a while to deliver.

The quote-unquote ‚description‘ of a leading man was once your tall, handsome man with the build of whatever, almost a trophy to some degree. I think now it’s about making a leading man what you want a leading man to be. In this day, you can’t deny talent. You look at Jonah Hill, you look at Zach Galifianakis, you look at myself.

Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.

Seriousness is the only refuge of the shallow.

Manners require time, and nothing is more vulgar than haste.

Because we’re actors we can pretend and fake it, but I’d rather the intimate investment was authentic.

I love dresses, and I’ve definitely thought about designing them someday. I just want to make sure that I wait until the time is perfect and I can do it right.

Patience, persistence and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.

I have seen many storms in my life. Most storms have caught me by surprise, so I had to learn very quickly to look further and understand that I am not capable of controlling the weather, to exercise the art of patience and to respect the fury of nature.

Perfection is attained by slow degrees; it requires the hand of time.

Sometimes if you jump into something too quickly, you can screw up something that might have been good two years down the road.

Actors search for rejection. If they don’t get it they reject themselves.

I start each book when it’s ready and never before.

I read to my kid, but I can’t stand reading.

I don’t like Los Angeles. The people are awful and terribly shallow, and everybody wants to be famous but nobody wants to play the game. I’m from New York. I will kill to get what I need.

An ass may bray a good while before he shakes the stars down.

You hear about actors being late and all that sort of stuff, but you never find that with an actor who’s directed, because an actor who’s directed understands all the problems your production is going through.

Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.

Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your increased means permit.

I believe that a trusting attitude and a patient attitude go hand in hand. You see, when you let go and learn to trust God, it releases joy in your life. And when you trust God, you’re able to be more patient. Patience is not just about waiting for something… it’s about how you wait, or your attitude while waiting.

We should meet abuse by forbearance. Human nature is so constituted that if we take absolutely no notice of anger or abuse, the person indulging in it will soon weary of it and stop.

Beware of endeavoring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed. These are fearful odds.

Wisely, and slow. They stumble that run fast.

No greater thing is created suddenly, any more than a bunch of grapes or a fig. If you tell me that you desire a fig, I answer you that there must be time. Let it first blossom, then bear fruit, then ripen.

It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience.

I like actors very much, but to marry one would be like marrying your brother. You look too much alike in the mirror.

The human body is strange and flawed and unpredictable. The human body has many secrets, and it does not divulge them to anyone, except those who have learned to wait.

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Barack Obama did tell me that I was one of Michelle Obama’s favorite actors.

God is patient with us to become the God’s children he wants us to be but you really can see him weeping.

All great achievements require time.

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.

It seems that I have always been ahead of my time. I had to wait nineteen years before Niagara was harnessed by my system, fifteen years before the basic inventions for wireless which I gave to the world in 1893 were applied universally.

When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.

When I tell a child something the first time, I’m nice. The 15th time, I start to get aggravated.

The one thing about the business of entertainment is that you have to learn patience.

Why is it that although it takes us years to get into our messes, we expect God to get us out of them in a few days?

You know, fame is a funny thing, man, especially, you know, actors, musicians, rappers, rock singers, it’s kind of a lifestyle and it’s easy to get caught up in it – you go to bars, you go to clubs, everyone’s doing a certain thing… It’s tough.

God always has patience.

We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.

I’m so thankful for the Internet because actors and singers and performers now have a way to connect with their fans on a very personal level which I think is quite special.

He that can have patience can have what he will.

I think you can judge from somebody’s actions a kind of a stability and sense of purpose perhaps created by strong religious roots. I mean, there’s a certain patience, a certain discipline, I think, that religion helps you achieve.

Genius is patience.

If you are not too long, I will wait here for you all my life.

I can’t stand to see myself on television.

Many a man thinks he is patient when, in reality, he is indifferent.

I put a lot of pressure on myself. I think something’s not good enough, and I won’t stop until I feel like I’ve made it. I’m never satisfied.

Patience is a virtue, and I’m learning patience. It’s a tough lesson.

One of the skills I had to learn and become proficient in is kissing a man. I had never kissed a man. Will Smith did it in his movies, so did Jake Gyllenhaal, and I figured it was my time. So it was me and Steve Carell – fantastic.

Fortune is like the market, where, many times, if you can stay a little, the price will fall.

The man who goes alone can start today; but he who travels with another must wait till that other is ready.

Every night on the court I give my all, and if I’m not giving 100 percent, I criticize myself.

If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm.

This is me, a sinner on whom the Lord has turned his gaze. And this is what I said when they asked me if I would accept my election as pontiff. I am a sinner, but I trust in the infinite mercy and patience of our Lord Jesus Christ, and I accept in a spirit of penance.