Quote

Basil Fawlty was an easy character for me. For some reason, portraying a mean, uptight, incompetent bully comes naturally to me.

John Cleese

Change background

T
T
T

Change font

TAGS & TOPICS

John Cleese
Age: 85
Born: 1939
Born: October 27
Actor
Autobiographer
Comedian
Film Actor
Film Director
Film Producer
Screenwriter
Stage Actor
Television Actor
Voice Actor
Writer
Weston-super-Mare
Somerset
John Marwood Cleese
Naturally
Easy
Comes
Character
Basil
Reason
Uptight
Mean
Portraying
Incompetent
Bully

More quotes by John Cleese

Image
By watching the great, old comedians I picked up a few tricks about how to do physical comedy. And whenever I could learn something, I sort of added that to my repertoire.
John Cleese
Image
If you are leaping a ravine, the moment of takeoff is a bad time for considering alternative strategies... Do it in the 'closed' mode. But the moment the action is over, try to return to the 'open' mode... because in that mode we are the most aware, most receptive, most creative, and therefore at our most intelligent.
John Cleese
Image
Political correctness is a bit like a granny, a maiden aunt arriving at a party when everyone's having a good time. And she comes in, they all start sort of buttoning up and becoming self-conscious and behaving properly and then when she leaves, you can have fun again.
John Cleese
Image
I think there are so many activities going on, like mountaineering. You know, you would pay good money not to have to do that, and yet there are people racing out who want to spend their spare time clambering up rocks.
John Cleese
Image
Muslims, who have a completely different value system, come to the West, then they should accept that there are certain basic values in the West intrinsic to our culture. Just as I wouldn't suggest that any Westerner walk down the streets of Saudi Arabia in a bikini.
John Cleese
Image
It’s only on the brink that people find the will to change. Only at the precipice do we evolve.
John Cleese
Image
Your Mother was A Hamster and you Father Smelled of elder berries.
John Cleese
Image
There's nothing good on the television let's burn a witch. It must have been terribly exciting to live in those times.
John Cleese
Image
We all die at the end, but does that nullify everything? Would most people rather say, I wish I hadn't been born? Once you're born you'll have to die, now is that funny or sad?
John Cleese
Image
I'm struck by how laughter connects you with people. It's almost impossible to maintain any kind of distance or any sense of social hierarchy when you're just howling with laughter. Laughter is a force for democracy.
John Cleese
Image
When we hold a World Championship for a particular sport, we invite teams from other countries to play as well.
John Cleese
Image
When you do comedy in front of an audience, they are the ones who tell you whether it's funny or not and which bits are funny and which bits need to be fixed.
John Cleese
Image
I was a terrible dancer. I dance like an Englishman.
John Cleese
Image
I want to write a book which is the history of comedy.
John Cleese
Image
There's something about watching an animal that puts you in contact with where we came from and what we're still a part of.
John Cleese
Image
The World is insane. With tiny spots of sanity, here and there... Not the other way around!
John Cleese
Image
I find it rather easy to portray a businessman. Being bland, rather cruel and incompetent comes naturally to me.
John Cleese
Image
The main evolutionary significance of humor is that it gets us from the closed mode to the open mode quicker than anything else.
John Cleese
Image
Telling people how to be creative is easy - being creative is difficult.
John Cleese
Image
If I like chocolate it won't surprise you that I have a few chocolates in my fridge, but if you find out I've got 16 warehouses full of chocolate, you'd think I was insane. All these rich guys are insane, obsessive compulsive twits obsessed with money - money is all they think about - they're all nuts.
John Cleese