“He always considered death an unavoidable professional hazard.”

“He did not consider the possibility of his own death. At his age, death was still something that happened to other people.”

“When all usefulness is over, when one is assured of an unavoidable and imminent death, it is the simplest of human rights to choose a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible one.”

“In the face of such hopelessness as our eventual, unavoidable death, there is little sense in not at least trying to accomplish all of your wildest dreams in life.”

“He is always becoming, and if it were not for the contingency of death, he would never end.”

“I consider myself a professional who acts, not to express my soul or elevate the cinema but to entertain and get paid for it.”

“I consider him [i. e Stalin] one of the greatest persons in the history of mankind. In the history of Russia he was, in my opinion, even greater than Lenin. Until Stalin's death I was anti-Stalinist, but I always regarded him as a brilliant personality.”

“A friend cannot be considered a friend unless he is tested on three occasions: in time of need, behind your back and after your death.”

“Death never takes the wise man by surprise, he is always ready to go.”

“Professionally he declines and falls, and as a friend he drops into poetry.”