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.

The charm of fame is so great that we like every object to which it is attached, even death.

In general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes.

The need to be right is the sign of a vulgar mind.

To get a name can happen but to few; it is one of the few things that cannot be brought. It is the free gift of mankind, which must be deserved before it will be granted, and is at last unwillingly bestowed.

The wit knows that his place is at the tail of a procession.

He that humbleth himself wishes to be exalted.

I don’t pretend to understand the Universe – it’s a great deal bigger than I am.

We’re constantly striving for success, fame and comfort when all we really need to be happy is someone or some thing to be enthusiastic about.

Among physicists, I’m respected I hope.

Overnight stardom can be harmful to your mental health. Yeah. It has ruined a lot of people.

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.

Just because I managed to do a little something, I don’t want anyone back home to think I got the big head.

When you have box-office results, Hollywood treats you different. Hollywood stands up. Once you get to the point where Hollywood sees that you create results, then the demand for you becomes higher.

I don’t think I could think of a single thing that’s more isolating than being famous.

We will never have true civilization until we have learned to recognize the rights of others.

I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.

Fame may go by and – so long, I’ve had you.

Joanne‘ is a progression for me. It was about going into the studio and forgetting that I was famous.

The nobler a man, the harder it is for him to suspect inferiority in others.

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

The moment I said I’d finished a book, I knew what would happen. There would be a bidding war, and I would end up with someone who’d got the fattest wallet, who had bought it because I’d written Harry Potter. That would have been why.

We rarely confide in those who are better than we are.

Humility is not something that comes naturally. But it is a cardinal virtue that should be pursued more than any other.

Pessimists are the people who have no hope for themselves or for others. Pessimists are also people who think the human race is beneath their notice, that they’re better than other human beings.

I was going to McDonald’s and Taco Bell every day. The kids behind the counter knew me – it wouldn’t even faze them. Or I’d sit up at Denny’s or Big Boy and just eat by myself. It was sad. I got so heavy that people started to not recognize me.

People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.

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.

When someone bestows something on you, no matter how true it is, when someone says, ‚Sexiest Man Alive,‘ I’m honestly going, ‚Thank you. Right on.‘ For me, it’s never canceled out anything, it’s never made me go, ‚Does this make me less talented of an actor?‘

Well, I think we tried very hard not to be overconfident, because when you get overconfident, that’s when something snaps up and bites you.

I’m a religious woman. And I feel I have responsibility. I have no modesty at all. I’m even afraid of it – it’s a learned affectation and it’s just stuck on me like decals. Now I pray for humility because that comes from inside out.

I hope when I’m dead I’ll be considered an icon, though.

It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.

I don’t have people following me around, like bodyguards. I don’t know how people live like that. Maybe the young movie stars have to live like that, I don’t know. But it seems a little crazy to me. I don’t think you need all that stuff.

Always first draw fresh breath after outbursts of vanity and complacency.

Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.

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

The learning and knowledge that we have, is, at the most, but little compared with that of which we are ignorant.

I don’t make people bend over backwards, and I don’t like that in people. I am definitely no diva.

I would never say I was an icon, but so many people have said I am, so I suppose I am. I mean, I can’t not be what everyone says I am. But I don’t feel like an icon.

Although I write screenplays, I don’t think I’m a very good writer.

Fame and power are the objects of all men. Even their partial fruition is gained by very few; and that, too, at the expense of social pleasure, health, conscience, life.

I hear my friends and my mom tell me I’m special, but honestly, I still don’t get it.

The movies are the only business where you can go out front and applaud yourself.

I’m honest enough to say I don’t know everything. You know, I don’t. I don’t understand all of God. I don’t understand, you know, some kind of why bad things happen.

I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‚My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill.‘ We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.

I’m glad a genre writer has got a knighthood, but stunned that it was me.

I actually don’t want a throne at all, because I don’t view myself as a queen; I view myself as one of my fans.

It is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows.

We have to stop and be humble enough to understand that there is something called mystery.

He who has great power should use it lightly.

I know that I am intelligent, because I know that I know nothing.

I don’t call up the press and say, ‚Look at me!‘

I’m sure everyone knows now that only a few have performed in Madison Square Garden. That list is so small. Now I’m on that list. I’m a part of a very small group, which is unbelievable. You relish in that moment for a second.

Generally speaking, men are held in great esteem in all parts of the world, so why shouldn’t women have their share? Soldiers and war heroes are honored and commemorated, explorers are granted immortal fame, martyrs are revered, but how many people look upon women too as soldiers?

Fame doesn’t fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary.

You know, when I have a bad game, it continues to humble me and know that, you know, you still have work to do and you still have a lot of people to impress.

I believe God wants you to have money to pay your bills, send your kids to college and do charity work and build orphanages. There’s the teaching that we’re supposed to be poor to show that we’re humble. I don’t buy that. I think we’re supposed to be leaders. We’re supposed to excel.

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

To be recognized for the hard work my team and I put into ‚Starboy‘ is an honor.

I’m always asked, ‚What’s the secret to success?‘ But there are no secrets. Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.