- [Dustin Hoffman] A man's thoughts, a man's feelings

are kind of what seem to be the attractive thing,

not somebody's face or somebody's famosity.

You know, just the fact that someone is famous

isn't a thing to be adored.

The people that come up and grab you and touch you,

and the people that kind of go haywire

are the people who have come from another time,

from a time of myth, heroes, of movie stars.

("Hearts in the Sky" by Gurney Slade and Peter Albion)

There's like an ambivalence about being a star.

Well, I'm a star, so I lead a double life

being a star.

In those kinds of times where you come out to support someone

or you want to pay tribute,

I'm aware that I'm a public display.

It's like when the bombing took place

next to the apartment in which my wife

and children and I lived in.

I upstaged the bombing, whether I liked it or not.

I happen to run in and get a painting,

and that was in all the papers.

The fact that I lived next door seemed to be more important

than the dynamics really of what had taken place.

("Hearts in the Sky" by Gurney Slade and Peter Albion)

When I walk down the street today,

I am molested least by young people.

Youth itself is today more famous than anybody,

than any single person.

There is a sense of self.

They're their own movie star.

("Folk Rock" by Henry Marsh and Phil Pickett)

I mean, it's sad that there are a whole bunch of people

who are at an age now,

and will live a few years and die,

who did not experience any kind of sexual freedom,

outside of getting married,

and turning out the lights,

and making kids,

and talking dirty with their friends,

and have tremendous antipathy toward marijuana,

which they think of as, "Gee, these kids are going out,

"smoking, and making love."

And it's pure envy.

("Folk Rock" by Henry Marsh and Phil Pickett)

I know that when I was an adolescent

it was a very, very painful time for me.

And I had a lot of trouble in school.

I had tremendous bouts with passivity.

And had I been brought up today

and been involved with marijuana, or been smoking,

it could be dangerous.

People used to call them growing pains,

but certain pains of emergence should be dealt with.

I don't think you solve the problem by saying,

"Everybody, turn on."

("Peace and Love" by Chris Goulstone and Clive Deamer)

I grew up on the coattails of an aggressive society.

I carried a knife taped to my leg.

I never used it, but it was there.

And thought of gang warfare as being really

quite glamorous and exciting.

And dragging your car next to another guy

and evil eyeing him,

and see who could evil eye out the other one.

And getting the girl was based upon how tough you were,

not what an egghead you were.

("Peace and Love" by Chris Goulstone and Clive Deamer)

Kids on the street, if they recognize me or something,

sometimes they say, "Hey, Ratso,"

or something like that.

A lot of them have yelled the same thing, which is...

- "Hey, I'm walking here.

I'm walking here!"

- [Voiceover] "I'm walking here.

"I'm walking here."

You know, and that wasn't in the script.

That was an accident.

We were walking across the street, and a cab came by

and threatened to ruin the shot.

And at that moment I was not Ratso,

I was just myself trying to save the scene,

but because I had been saying the lines with Jon Voight,

I said it through the character.

Now maybe that's what acting's all about.

I felt connected with the role.

It was a side of myself that I had always felt

a little bit like Ratso.

I like to think that Ratso Rizzo lives,

but he's a conglomeration of street life.

He's a conglomeration of maybe several lonely people.

He's lifted a little bit.

("Water Rising" by Gareth David Dickson)

There are traits in my own personal character

which I don't feel are admirable,

which I feel are unattractive.

I've tried to bring out unattractive aspects of me

in roles that I've played,

and sometimes achieved that.

I can't apologize for anything I've done.

I did as much as I could do at that time in my life

with the part.

As much as I knew about acting,

or about myself, I did.

I tried as hard as I could, and I couldn't do better.

("Water Rising" by Gareth David Dickson)

We all defend ourselves against shock.

We don't like to be shocked.

I think if you walk into a room and someone scares you,

you go through the shock,

and then you very quickly try to put down the shock,

and say, "Whoa, boy, well you scared me, you scared me."

And you try to nullify its effect by becoming very rational.

It's funny because when I'm reviewed now,

I'm reviewed like I'm an old man.

A reviewer that likes me will say

I'm my usual, admirable self.

I get the feeling they're talking about, you know,

some aging actor who's done dozens of films.

And I've just been around three years,

and I'm thought of as a veteran.

I'm no longer a newcomer.

I'm kind of establishment I guess.

("Water Rising" by Gareth David Dickson)

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