I'm an actor, not a star. Stars are people who live in Hollywood and have heart-shaped swimming pools.
Interpretation
Al Pacino emphasizes the distinction between being a true artist and a celebrity, suggesting that genuine talent is more important than fame.
In this quote, Al Pacino expresses a critical view of celebrity culture by highlighting his identity as an actor rather than a star. He implies that the term 'star' is often associated with superficiality, wealth, and the glamorous lifestyle of Hollywood, represented by 'heart-shaped swimming pools,' while true artistry is grounded in the craft of acting itself, focusing on skill and authenticity rather than fame or public adoration.
In practice
During an interview discussing the nature of fame in Hollywood.
I don’t understand the hatred and fear of gays and bisexuals and lesbians… it’s a concept I honestly cannot grasp. To me, it’s not who you love… a man, a woman, what have you… it’s the fact that you love. That is all that truly matters.
We start to realize that there are anodynes in life that help us through the day. I don't care if it's a walk in the park, a look out the window, a good bubble bath - whatever. Even a meal you like, or a friend you want to call. That helps us solve all this stuff in our head.
On any given Sunday you're gonna win or you're gonna lose. The point is -- can you win or lose like a man?
There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
You need some insecurity if you're an actor. It keeps the pot boiling. I haven't yet started to think about retiring. I was shocked when I heard about Paul Newman retiring at age 82. Most actors just fade away like old soldiers.
I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.
The first thing you have to consider when writing a novel is your story, and then your story - and then your story!
Poems infatuated with their own smarts and detached from any emotional grounding can leave the reader feeling lonely, empty and ashamed for having expected more. Like icy adolescents, such poetry is more interested in commiserating than acknowledging that feelings — the sentiments that make us susceptible to sentimentality — actually exist.
All stories interest me, and some haunt me until I end up writing them. Certain themes keep coming up: justice, loyalty, violence, death, political and social issues, freedom.
I have things in my head that are not like what anyone has taught me - shapes and ideas so near to me - so natural to my way of being and thinking that it hasn't occurred to me to put them down.
That's the thing: There are so many art songs in jazz. It's a much more rich experience for the singer than people think.
If somebody wants to sing my songs after I'm gone, nobody will be happier than my dead body.
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