Every actor looks all his life for a part that will combine his talents with his personality… ‘The Odd Couple’ was mine. That was the plutonium I needed. It all started happening after that. Walter Matthau Read Quote
Sometimes it takes me six months before I find out what a line means, even if the writing is superficial… To do a play right, really, I’d like to take two years of rehearsal. You study the character by living with him. Walter Matthau Read Quote
I was playing Russell Long, the senator from Louisiana. I had 12 speech teachers watching me. All the other passengers on the airplane were speech teachers, and every time I got it wrong, one of the speech teachers would jump up and correct it. Walter Matthau Read Quote
The only guy that was ever affected by climactic conditions in his acting was Kirk Douglas. He did a superb job in ‘Lonely Are the Brave’ because we were shooting that picture up at about 12,000 feet, and the rarefied atmosphere sapped him of any energy or strength that he had. That was his best performance. Walter Matthau Read Quote
I told Simon, ‘I don’t want to play Oscar. I want to play Felix because Oscar is too easy. He gets all the laughs. Felix is a hard part; that’s the part I want to play.’ Walter Matthau Read Quote
My doctor gave me six months to live, but when I couldn’t pay the bill he gave me six months more. Walter Matthau Read Quote
Doing a good play on the stage is like eating a good meal at home – assuming your wife is a great cook or that she’s hired a great cook. Walter Matthau Read Quote
I lay 11-10 because I know the bookie needs that 5 percent that I give him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to make a living and go down to Florida with his family. Walter Matthau Read Quote
Of course I gamble, to make the games interesting. But five hundred dollars a game, tops. Or sometimes a thousand. No heart attack bets. Walter Matthau Read Quote