Quotes By Sidney Poitier

When I set out to become an actor, I had set myself a standard.

My father was a poor man, very poor in a British colonial possession where class and race were very important.

I wanted to look at them because I feel, internally, that I am an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary life.

To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved.

I'm not a library.

As a man, I've been representative of the values I hold dear. And the values I hold dear are carryovers from the lives of my parents.

I get offered work these days.

My father was very big on marriage.

I'm going to quit writing.

In my case, the body of work stands for itself... I think my work has been representative of me as a man.

Since I couldn't actuate the things that I wanted to do, the only weapon I had was to say no.

I don't very often read novels.

I'll always be chasing you... Glory.

I cannot be understood in three minutes.

Generally, I tend to despise human behavior rather than human creatures.

I come from a great family. I've seen family life and I know how wonderful, how nurturing, and how wonderful it can be.

An appreciable number of directors have shifted to lower-cost films, allowing them to be satisfied with a more modest return.

So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it's a positive one.

I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.

Mine was an easy ride compared to Jackie Robinson's.

The impact of the black audience is expressing itself. They look to films to be more expressive of their needs, their lives. Hollywood has gotten that message - finally.

I had learned something of Miami from people who had visited there, so I knew what to expect.

Jackie Robinson is a true legend.

So I'm OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was.

I wouldn't change a single thing, because one change alters every moment that follows it.

My autobiography was simply the story of my life.

To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed.

I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father's life.

The journey has been incredible from its beginning.

I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.