Alan Alda
Alan Alda
Alan Aldais an American actor, director, screenwriter, and author. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner, he is widely known for his roles as Captain Hawkeye Pierce in the TV series M*A*S*H and Arnold Vinick in The West Wing. He has also appeared in many feature films, most notably in Crimes and Misdemeanorsas pretentious television producer Lester and in The Aviatoras U.S. Senator Owen Brewster, the latter of which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth28 January 1936
CityNew York City, NY
CountryUnited States of America
I'm in the real world, some people try to steal from me, and I stop them, frequently, take them to court. I love a good lawsuit. It's fun.
I have thought about punching people out. Sometimes, I've thought, 'Why don't I just act on that impulse?' But then, I've never hit anybody in anger. Hey! I've never hit anybody for fun.
It makes it fun. When an actor plays a character, you want what that character wants. Otherwise it doesn't look authentic. So I really want to defeat Jimmy - I mean Jimmy as the character.
It isn't necessary to be rich and famous to be happy. It's only necessary to be rich.
The one thing I think I've noticed about shows that are supposed to be funny on television is that they've sort of become routinized, so there's an awful lot of mannerisms and joke lines that are sort of there to trigger laughter, rather than give actors a chance to play a moment.
Achingly funny as it was, Larry Gelbart's writing gave off sparks that turned a hard light on the way we are.
What's funny is that you can think you really value your life until you almost lose it.
It's a funny feeling to work with people who you consider your colleagues and to realize that they actually are young enough to be your children.
No one can replace a unique person like Peter.
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed: And Other Things I've Learned
There's a vacancy now that no president can fill, no power on Earth can fill, ... Others will step in and fill in his shoes excellently. But no one can replace the unique presence that was Peter.
You can't get there by bus, only by hard work and risk and by not quite knowing what you're doing. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.
Here's my Golden Rule for a tarnished age: Be fair with others, but keep after them until they're fair with you.
It's too bad I'm not as wonderful a person as people say I am, because the world could use a few people like that.