Sidney Poitier quotes

Sidney Poitier is an iconic Bahamian-American actor, film director, and author. Renowned for his powerful performances, he broke barriers as the first black male actor to win an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1964. Poitier's remarkable career includes memorable roles in Hollywood classics such as "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and "To Sir, with Love." His contributions to cinema have left an indelible mark on American film history. Discover more about the inspiring life and achievements of Sidney Poitier in this detailed biography.

I was the only Black person on the set. It was unusual for me to be in a circumstance in which every move I made was tantamount to representation of 18 million people.

- Sidney Poitier

But I always had the ability to say no. That's how I called my own shots.

- Sidney Poitier

To be compared to Jackie Robinson is an enormous compliment, but I don't think it's necessarily deserved.

- Sidney Poitier

Jackie Robinson is a true legend.

- Sidney Poitier

I was not the kind of a principal player that was so in demand that eight or 10 or 12 scripts came per month.

- Sidney Poitier

Mine was an easy ride compared to Jackie Robinson's.

- Sidney Poitier

I wanted to explore the values that are at work, underpinning my life.

- Sidney Poitier

So it's been kind of a long road, but it was a good journey altogether.

- Sidney Poitier

As a man, I've been representative of the values I hold dear. And the values I hold dear are carryovers from the lives of my parents.

- Sidney Poitier

We all suffer from the preoccupation that there exists... in the loved one, perfection.

- Sidney Poitier

I wanted to look at them because I feel, internally, that I am an ordinary person who has had an extraordinary life.

- Sidney Poitier

If you apply reason and logic to this career of mine, you're not going to get very far. You simply won't.

- Sidney Poitier

So I had to be careful. I recognized the responsibility that, whether I liked it or not, I had to accept whatever the obligation was. That was to behave in a manner, to carry myself in such a professional way, as if there ever is a reflection, it's a positive one.

- Sidney Poitier

I had learned something of Miami from people who had visited there, so I knew what to expect.

- Sidney Poitier

I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father's life.

- Sidney Poitier

I'll always be chasing you... Glory.

- Sidney Poitier

A good deed here, a good deed there, a good thought here, a good comment there, all added up to my career in one way or another.

- Sidney Poitier

The journey has been incredible from its beginning.

- Sidney Poitier

I had chosen to use my work as a reflection of my values.

- Sidney Poitier

So I'm OK with myself, with history, my work, who I am and who I was.

- Sidney Poitier

But my dad also was a remarkable man, a good person, a principled individual, a man of integrity.

- Sidney Poitier

History passes the final judgment.

- Sidney Poitier

My father was a poor man, very poor in a British colonial possession where class and race were very important.

- Sidney Poitier

Since I couldn't actuate the things that I wanted to do, the only weapon I had was to say no.

- Sidney Poitier

So much of life, it seems to me, is determined by pure randomness.

- Sidney Poitier

I come from a great family. I've seen family life and I know how wonderful, how nurturing, and how wonderful it can be.

- Sidney Poitier

I never had an occasion to question color, therefore, I only saw myself as what I was... a human being.

- Sidney Poitier

My autobiography was simply the story of my life.

- Sidney Poitier

To simply wake up every morning a better person than when I went to bed.

- Sidney Poitier

There is not racial or ethnic domination of hopelessness. It's everywhere.

- Sidney Poitier