When I was little, my father was one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Suddenly - and how it happened to him was always a great mystery to me - he wasn't a star anymore; he was on the fringe. From the time I was 14, I was always conscious of a sense of worry, of terrific insecurity - agents, phony talk, the waits for the phone to ring.

Jason Robards

I've always wanted to be part of a family.

Jason Robards

It was 1939. There was no money or jobs around. I did my parents a favor and joined the Navy.

Jason Robards

Theater is about life, not about television or movies.

Jason Robards

Actors usually have a lot in common with kids.

Jason Robards

As a baseball player, you know the commodity you're selling, but with acting, you wonder, 'What the hell am I doing that is so hot?'

Jason Robards

That's what acting is: really make-believe.

Jason Robards

It's part of an actor's equipment to project a voice.

Jason Robards

Once you're on, nobody can say, 'Cut it.' You're out there on your own, and there's always that thrill of a real live audience.

Jason Robards

I have six children, and we neglect our older ones more. Because we were so busy trying to make a living, we just say hello and goodbye... I'm sure those things stick with you.

Jason Robards

That's what interests me about film: directing.

Jason Robards

I go to the theater and dream. You learn your lines, and that gives you the security to allow the imagination and heart to come out.

Jason Robards

Any actor worth his salt is looking for truth, the core of truth of the particular situation he is portraying, of that play. The playwright, the actors and the audience, that's what we're all there seeking. When it's working, time is destroyed. Sometimes 'Moon,' a play of four hours, would go by in a snap of the fingers.

Jason Robards

We grow each day or don't grow. Go the other way. We're a different person all the time. The human being is something happening differently every day. That's the challenge of doing a play: using your instrument to learn and to pull out these things.

Jason Robards

An actor doesn't change thought, theme, or mood unless the character does, and the character only does it within the words of the play.

Jason Robards

I finally realize that I have earned my happiness and what little success I have. And I'm not guilty about it any more. It just happened one day. It just came out.

Jason Robards

Eugene O'Neil is always exploring our want to love but can't get it out there.

Jason Robards

I almost failed one drama course. All the actors talked in phony accents. It shocked me. I went out for track instead.

Jason Robards

When you act, you take on the attitudes and the emotions of others. There has to be a release. Most often done in conviviality. That's why there are clubs like the Players, the Friars - in London, the Garrick.

Jason Robards

To be true to a play, you can't add something that takes away from the author's intent.

Jason Robards

I had a choice whether to live or die, and I chose to live.

Jason Robards