"Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant."

" I think making love is the best form of exercise."

"I improve on misquotation."

"Do your job and demand your compensation ~ but in that order."

"His acting remains forever fixed in a time that never dates."

"I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person. Or he became me."

"When people tell you how young you look, they are also telling you how old you are."

" My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can. "

"This, I love. I enjoy talking back and forth to people. You know, otherwise, I wouldn't get to meet the people."

"It takes 500 small details to add up to one favorable impression."

"I've often been accused by critics of being myself on-screen. But being oneself is more difficult than you'd suppose."

"I tell you, in films, one doesn't really meet the audience. You don't get the impact or spirit of your audience, whereas when you are out in the public, you do.'"

"It's important to know where you've come from so that you can know where you're going. I probably chose my profession because I was seeking approval, adulation, admiration and affection."

"Actors today try to avoid comedy because if you write a comedy that's not a success, the lack of success is immediately apparent because the audience is not laughing. A comedy is a big risk. This is a tremendously costly business and to put money into a picture that might not come off -- oh, that's pretty risky."

"Mostly, we have manufactured ladies -- with the exception of Ingrid, Grace, Deborah and Audrey."

"My screen persona is a combination of Jack Buchanan, Noel Coward and Rex Harrison. I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be, and, finally, I became that person. Or he became me."

"The only really good thing about acting is that there's no heavy lifting."

"My father used to say,

" To succeed with the opposite sex, tell her you're impotent. She can't wait to disprove it. "

"We have our factory, which is called a stage. We make a product, we color it, we title it and we ship it out in cans. "

'Let them see you and not the suit. That should be secondary."

"I have spent the greater part of my life fluctuating between Archie Leach and Cary Grant, unsure of each, suspecting each."

What his fellow actors, actresses and the like have to say about everyone's favorite Leading Man ~ Cary Grant

"He is personality functioning." ~~ Katharine Hepburn

Cary Grant's Memorable Movie Quotes

" Insanity doesn't run in my family. It gallops." ~ ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944).

"I guess love is a wonderful thing." ~ as Jack Clayton in I'M NO ANGEL (1933).

" When a man is wrestling a leopard in the middle of a pond, he's in no position to run." ~ as David Huxley in BRINGING UP BABY (1938).

"Well you look perfectly idiotic in those clothes!" "These aren't my clothes!" "Well, where are your clothes?" "I've lost my clothes!" "Well, why are you wearing these clothes?" "Because I just went GAY all of a sudden!" ~ as David Huxley in BRINGING UP BABY (1938).

"The only way you'll get me to follow another of your suggestions is to hold a bright object in front of my eyes and twirl it." ~ as David Huxley in BRINGING UP BABY (1938).

"When I find myself in a position like this, I ask myself, 'What would General Motors do?' and then I do the opposite!" ~ as Johnny Case in HOLIDAY (1938).

"Nothing like having a wife that can support you." ~ as Alec Walker in IN NAME ONLY (1939).

"When the cat's away, the mouse will play." ~ as Alec Walker in IN NAME ONLY (1939).

"If you're going to kill someone, do it simply." ~ as Johnnie Aysgarth in SUSPICION (1941).

"You were lovely of form and face, but I had a feeling that if a gnat dove into your pool of knowledge, he'd break his neck." ~ as Pat O'Toole in ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON (1942).

"Holy Mackerel!" ~ as Mortimer Brewster in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944).

"I'm an alien spouse of female military personnel en route to the United States under public law 271 of the congress." ~ as Capt. Henri Rochard in I WAS A MALE WAR BRIDE (1949).

"My dear mother-in-law, I have not lost my temper with you for seven years. Don't trifle with your luck." ~ as Barnaby Fulton in MONKEY BUSINESS (1952).

"You're only old when you forget you're young." ~ as Barnaby Fulton in MONKEY BUSINESS (1952).

"I never know in advance when I'm going to be a genius." ~ as Barnaby Fulton in MONKEY BUSINESS (1952).

"School's open again. Professor Robie will now conduct a lesson on bad manners and how to get a spanking fast." ~ as John Robie in TO CATCH A THIEF (1955).

"You're a jackpot of admirable character traits." ~ as John Robie in TO CATCH A THIEF (1955).

"I have two ex-wives, a mother and several bartenders depending on me." ~ as Roger Thornhill in NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959).

"A submarine's not designed to be co-educational." --as Commander Matt Sherman in OPERATION PETTICOAT (1959).

"Thank you, ladies. They won't be needing you any more. The epidemic is over." ~ as Commander Matt Sherman in OPERATION PETTICOAT (1959).

"We sank a truck!" ~ as Commander Matt Sherman in OPERATION PETTICOAT (1959).

"See, when a girl's under 21, she's protected by law.  When she's over 65, she's protected by nature.  Anywhere in between, she's fair game." ~ as Commander Matt Sherman in OPERATION PETTICOAT (1959).

"You see, a man's conscience is generally in direct opposition to his best interests." ~ as Philip Shayne in THAT TOUCH OF MINK (1962).

[talking about Burt Reynolds]: "As well as being my, and the world's favorite light comedian, Burt is a very considerate and thoughtful man."

"Wow, when you come on, you come on, don't you?" ~ as Adam Canfield in CHARADE (1963).

"Do women think it feminine to be so illogical, or can't they help it?" -~ as Alexander Dyle in CHARADE (1963).

"Will you shut up, lady!" ~ as Walter Eckland in FATHER GOOSE (1964).

"In the world of advertising, there's no such thing as a lie. There's only expedient exaggeration." ~ as Roger in NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959).

"Now, what can a man do with his clothes off for twenty minutes? Couldn't he have taken an hour?" ~ as Roger in North by Northwest (1959).

"Not that I mind a slight case of abduction now and then, but I have tickets for the theater this evening, to a show I was looking forward to and I get, well, kind of unreasonable about things like that." ~ as Roger in North by Northwest (1959).

1970 Honorary Oscar acceptance speech: "You know that I may never look at this without remembering the quiet patience of directors who were so kind to me, who were kind enough to put up with me more than once, some of them even three or four times. I trust they and all the other directors, writers and producers and my leading women have forgiven me for what I didn't know. You know that I've never been a joiner or a member of any particular social set, but I've been privileged to be a part of Hollywood's most glorious era."