Alan Bates

“I had a very happy childhood, but I wasn't that happy with myself. I was a bit of a weed, really.”

“I've always been a bit of a loner. I've always been more comfortable on my own.”

“I'm not a film star; I'm an actor. I'm not a celebrity. I'm an actor.”

“It's a great advantage to be a chameleon. I've been a bit of a chameleon in my life.”

“The theatre is a great place to be. It's the only place where you can really get to the bottom of something.”

“I have a very strong feeling that the opposite of love is not hate - it's apathy. It's not giving a damn.”

“I think I'm a much better father than I am a husband.”

“I think the most important thing for an actor is to have a sense of humour.”

“I always wanted to be an actor. I had the arrogance to believe I could do it.”

“I think one of the things that is wrong with the world today is that people are not prepared to be unpopular.”

“Women are the great and terrible mysteries that we men can never fathom.”