Eight of Bob Hoskins’ best quotes
He claimed he got his big break by accident after being mistakenly called for a theatre audition, but he proved a natural and stage success lead him into TV and small film parts.
His breakthrough role came in Dennis Potter’s 1978 series Pennies From Heaven in which he played the lovelorn sheet music salesman Arthur Parker.
Here are eight of his standout comments or quotes.
On his role in ‘Who Framed Roger Rabbit’
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Hide Ad“It really is a barmy, awful experience. Everything is blue. Things start to lose their meaning. I’d go out and see weasels pulling people’s hair - you really start to hallucinate to make it all work. I thought I was going mad, going f**king potty.”
On the acting profession
“Actors are just entertainers, even the serious ones. That’s all an actor is. He’s like a serious Bruce Forsyth.”
On frequently playing dictators
“Most dictators were short, fat, middle-aged and hairless. Besides Danny DeVito, there’s only me to play them”.
On the acting profession (again)
“I came into this business uneducated, dyslexic, 5ft 6in, cubic, with a face like a squashed cabbage and they welcomed me with open arms.”
On appearing in over 60 films
“I’ve watched films and even forgotten I’m in them.”
On quantum physics
“It’s a bit of a passion of mine. It’s extraordinary. There’s a branch of mathematics that is based on lunacy, and that’s wonderful.”
On the acting profession (yet again)
“Acting is the best job in the world... Look at the way they treat you when you turn up for work. They give you breakfast and a cup of tea and ask, ‘Are you all right?’ They tart up your face, you say somebody else’s words, then pick up your cheque and go home. And you get days off! I tell you, it really is the way to live.”
On deciding which roles to accept
“I usually give things the cold bum test. Instead of taking a paper to the toilet, I take a script. If I get a cold arse, it’s got to be a good script.”