James Byron Dean was an American actor. He is and social estrangement, as expressed in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause (1955), in which he starred as troubled teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955) and surly ranch hand, Jett Rink, in Giant (1956). These James Dean quotes will motivate you.
Best James Dean Quotes
- “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” ~ James Dean
- “Remember: Life is short, break the rules (they were made to be broken) Forgive quickly, kiss slowly Love truly, laugh uncontrollably And never regret anything that makes you smile. The clouds are lined with silver and the glass is half full (though the answers won’t be found at the bottom) Don’t sweat the small stuff, You are who you are meant to be, Dance as if no one’s watching, Love as if it’s all you know, Dream as if you’ll live forever, Live as if you’ll die today” ~ James Dean
- “Am I in love? Absolutely. I’m in love with ancient philosophers, foreign painters, classic authors, and musicians who have died long ago. I’m a passionate lover. I fawn over these people. I have given them my heart and my soul. The trouble is, I’m unable to love anyone tangible. I have sacrificed a physical bond, for a metaphysical relationship. I am the ultimate idealistic lover.” ~ James Dean , James Dean quotes about love
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“I think the prime reason for existence, for living in this world is discovery.” ~ James Dean
- “You are who you are meant to be. Dance as if no one’s watching. Love as if it’s all you know. Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” ~ James Dean
- “Remember: Life is short, break the rules” ~ James Dean , James Dean quotes about life
- “Only the gentle are ever really strong.” ~ James Dean
- “My purpose in life does not include a hankering to charm society.” ~ James Dean
- “The gratification comes in the doing, not in the results.” ~ James Dean
- “Live fast, die young, leave a good looking corpse.” ~ James Dean
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“I don’t have to explain anything to anybody.” ~ James Dean
- “If you’re not afraid, if you take everything you are, everything worthwhile in you and direct it at one goal, one ultimate mark, you’ve got to get there.” ~ James Dean
- “If a man can bridge the gap between life and death, if he can live on after he’s dead, then maybe he was a great man.” ~ James Dean
- “I’m a serious-minded and intense little devil – terribly gauche and so tense that I don’t see how people can stay in the same room as me. I know I couldn’t tolerate myself.” ~ James Dean
- “An actor must interpret life, and in order to do so must be willing to accept all the experiences life has to offer. In fact, he must seek out more of life than life puts at his feet. In the short span of his lifetime, an actor must learn all there is to know, experience all there is to experience, or approach that state as closely as possible. He must be superhuman in his efforts to store away in the core of his subconscious everything that he might be called upon to use in the expression of his art.” ~ James Dean
- “If I had one day when I didn’t have to be all confused and didn’t have to feel that I was ashamed of everything. If I felt that I belonged someplace. You know?” ~ James Dean
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“Trust and belief are two prime considerations. You must not allow yourself to be opinionated.” ~ James Dean
- “I’m not going to go through life with one arm tied behind my back.” ~ James Dean
- “I wouldn’t like me, if I had to be around me.” ~ James Dean
- “Take it easy driving– the life you save may be mine.” ~ James Dean
- “Reality doesn’t have any preconceived ideas. You’ve got to learn how to smoke the cigarette, not act smoking the cigarette. You need to drink the drink, not act drinking the drink. You’ve got to do things and not show them.” ~ James Dean
- “Being a good actor isn’t easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I’m done.” ~ James Dean
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“The only greatness for man is immortality.” ~ James Dean
- “Whatever’s inside making me what I am, it’s like film. Film only works in the dark. Tear it all open and let in the light and you kill it.” ~ James Dean
- “I also became close to nature, and am now able to appreciate the beauty with which this world is endowed.” ~ James Dean
- “There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are all impaled on the crook of conditioning.” ~ James Dean
- “An hour or two of learning from the masters is usually enough to recharge my artistic batteries.” ~ James Dean
- “If I can keep this up and nothing interferes with my progress, one of these days I might be able to contribute something to the world.” ~ James Dean
- “Being a senior in high school means you’re not only getting closer to adulthood, but also ready to start thinking about your dreams and aspirations, whether that’s applying for college, joining the military, or seeing the world. It’s never too early to start thinking of your future, so use these high school senior year quotes about following dreams to inspire yourself and those around. Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” ~ James Dean
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“I have a fairly adequate knowledge of Satanic forces.” ~ James Dean
- “What do we need all that for?”If a picture is psychologically motivated, if there is truth in the relationship in it, then I think that picture will do good. I firmly believe Rebel Without A Cause is such a picture.” ~ James Dean
- “At times there seems to be a million ideas worth painting. However, there are days when it’s a challenge to pull any idea together. On these days I go to my studio, leaf through an art history book, and tell myself that I am part of this great tradition.” ~ James Dean
- “To grasp the full significance of life is the actor’s duty; to interpret it his problem, and to express it his dedication. Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that’s all you have. Being a good actor isn’t easy. Being a man is even harder. I want to be both before I’m done.” ~ James Dean
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“I want to be a Texan 24 hours a day.” ~ James Dean
- “Studying cows, pigs and chickens can help an actor develop his character. There are a lot of things I learned from animals. One was that they couldn’t hiss or boo me.” ~ James Dean
- “An actual right is something that governments need merely to secure, not to implement.” ~ James Dean
- “When an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn’t acting. It’s following instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that. So the director’s task is just that – to direct, to point the way. Then the actor takes over. And he must be allowed the space, the freedom to express himself in the role. Without that space, an actor is no more than an unthinking robot with a chest-full of push-buttons.” ~ James Dean
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“Racing is the only time I feel whole.” ~ James Dean
- “What better way to die? It’s fast and clean and you go out in a blaze of glory!” ~ James Dean
- “I can’t let in the light.It will destroy my performance like light destroys film” ~ James Dean
- “To me, acting is the most logical way for people’s neuroses to manifest themselves, in this great need we all have to express ourselves.” ~ James Dean
- “I have made great strides in my craft. After months of auditioning, I am very proud to announce that I am a member of the Actors Studio. The greatest school of the theater. It houses great people like Marlon Brando, Julie Harris, Arthur Kennedy, Mildred DunnockVery few get into it, and it is absolutely free. It is the best thing that can happen to an actor. I am one of the youngest to belong. If I can keep this up and nothing interferes with my progress, one of these days I might be able to contribute something to the world.” ~ James Dean
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“You’re tearing me apart!” ~ James Dean
- “I didn’t know what to do. How do you tell an eight-year-old boy his mother’s going to die? I tried. In my own stumbling way I tried to prepare Jim for it. Nowadays, he lives in a world we don’t understand too well, the actor’s world. We don’t see too much of him. But he’s a good boy, my Jim. A good boy, and I’m very proud of him. Not easy to understand, no sir. He’s not easy to understand. But he’s all man, and he’ll make his mark. Mind you, my boy will make his mark.” ~ James Dean
- “But you can’t show some far off idyllic conception of behavior if you want the kids to come and see the picture. You’ve got to show what it’s really like, and try to reach them on their own grounds.” ~ James Dean
- “There is no way to be truly great in this world. We are impaled on the crook of conditioning. A fish that is in the water has no choice that he is. Genius would have it that we swim in sand. We are fish and we drown.” ~ James Dean
- “When an actor plays a scene exactly the way a director orders, it isn’t acting. It’s following `instructions. Anyone with the physical qualifications can do that.” ~ James Dean
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“How can you measure acting in inches?” ~ James Dean
- “Being an actor is the loneliest thing in the world. You are all alone with your concentration and imagination, and that’s all you have.” ~ James Dean
- “I think the one thing this picture shows that’s new is the psychological disproportion of the kids’ demands on the parents. Parents are often at fault, but the kids have some work to do, too.” ~ James Dean
- “To my way of thinking, an actor’s course is set even before he’s out of the cradle.” ~ James Dean
- “It was an accident, although I’ve been involved in some kind of theatrical function or other since I was a child – in school, music, athletics. To me, acting is the most logical way for people’s neuroses to manifest themselves, in this great need we all have to express ourselves. To my way of thinking, an actor’s course is set even before he’s out of the cradle.” ~ James Dean
- “An actor must interpret life, and in order to do so must be willing to accept all the experiences life has to offer. In fact, he must seek out more of life than life puts at his feet.” ~ James Dean
- “My fun days are over.” ~ James Dean
