Michael Clarke Duncan quotes:

My sister used to say I had a frail chest and she 'd beat me up all the time.

I tell people, 'It's just like a cliche, but it's true: In Hollywood, dreams can come true.'

So it was a thing that my mother always taught me to go for your goals and never give up no matter what they are, and I started believing that later on in life.

Once an actor told me he went to the Shakespeare School of Acting, and I said, 'I went to the Shakespeare of Acting, too' and he said, 'Oh really?' And I said, 'I went to Shakespeare Elementary School in Chicago.' He didn't take the joke well, he didn't laugh and didn't think it was funny - I thought it was funny. It's all the same to me.

I came up during that time when music, to me, was really music. It wasn't about talking about a woman and calling them a derogatory name or something like that. It was real music.

My best advice about working in Hollywood is: Save your money!

Whenever I'm having a bad day and have an attitude, I stay home. I keep it at home.

Of course, people told me, 'Mikey, you will never be an actor. You don't have the look. You're ugly.'

I'm used to being the big tough guy, the bodyguard type.

Whatever God gave you, you have to work that to your best ability - especially out here in Hollywood, the land of beautiful people.

The person that's always talkin', you don't have to worry about that person. The person that while you're in his face, he's just lookin' at you with a smile on his face, that's the guy you worry about.

People always have an opinion. Doesn't mean it's right, doesn't mean it's wrong, but we have to respect their opinion.

When I was coming up, I kept a ton of comic books, almost 300 comic books. Back in the day, they didn't used to cost that much, so I used to keep 'em, collect 'em, trade 'em.

I'm an emotional person, a very emotional person.

I really don't have favorites; I'm just a fan of movies, period.

I was up around 340 pounds because the producers said they wanted a really big guy, and I'm not that big, you know! I've lost it all now though. I'm 285 pounds, my sexy weight!

When something happens, we always say it happens for a reason.

I was up around 340 pounds because the producers said they wanted a really big guy - and I'm not that big, you know! I've lost it all now though. I'm 285 pounds, my sexy weight!

Always wake up with a smile on your face, because a lot of people who went to sleep last night are not with us this morning.

I love acting it's apart of me and I try to put a little bit of myself in each of my roles.

China has been a textbook case of how the government did just enough intervention to increase penetration, but the reality is that it isn't going to work for all countries in the same way. Culture always plays a role and you can't necessarily take what worked in one market and automatically make it work somewhere else.

Don't depend on acting as your sole source of income. Work nights, so you can have your days off to attend auditions. Have something to fall back on. That's what my mother taught me, and it's critical in Hollywood.

I believe that teachers committed to the community are the ones who deserve to earn the top dollar, a starting salary of a quarter million dollars a year.

I don't like it when someone can look you in the eye and lie to you, or pretend that they're more than you.

I try to avoid typecasting by doing different roles.

I'm the biggest sports fan there is, I love sports, but I'm still convinced that it's teachers who deserve the big salaries, not athletes.

Know what you want to do, because if you don't know what you want to do, you'll get stuck.

The government needs the help of industry. But the reality is companies will balance that against their own commercial interest in a very competitive market.

When I get the chance, I'm at the theaters all the time, trying to check out the latest movies.

You gotta remember I was homeless. Whenever I think I have something to complain about. I go outside, walk across the street and look at my home, and remind myself of the time I was living on the damn lakefront in a car full of garbage bags with clothes, and ask myself, "What do you possibly have to be upset about?" I have nothing to complain about.

I always say YCDA: you can do anything. If you want

A lot of kids think they can just go to Hollywood and become an actor or actress. It's not that easy. There are millions of kids who come out here wanting to act. So, you have to have a plan, and you have to stick with that plan, because it's not going to be easy by any means.