“Where I kick myself is where I think I actually contributed to the myth of the intelligence services being very good.”

— John le Carré

As quoted in Halliwell's Film Companion https://archive.org/details/halliwellswhoswh00hall/page/280/mode/2up (1985) by Leslie Halliwell, p. 281

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Oct. 13, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Where I kick myself is where I think I actually contributed to the myth of the intelligence services being very good." by John le Carré?

John le Carré 42

British novelist and spy 1931

Related quotes

“I realize that creative women often do not fit easily into certain paradigms. I think to myself, Then where do they go? Where do they go? Because I feel that these women have so much to contribute, that they just see things in a different way. Every society has people like that and marginalizes them in some way. So it’s a very difficult situation.”

Tsitsi Dangarembga (1959) Zimbabwean author and filmmaker

On the difficulties of being a creative woman in “An Interview with Tsitsi Dangarembga: An excerpt” https://brickmag.com/an-interview-with-tsitsi-dangarembga/ in Brick Magazine (December 2012)

“I think I have this thing where everybody has to think I'm the greatest. And if they aren't completely knocked out and dazzled and slightly intimidated by me, I don't feel good about myself.”

Roald Dahl (1916–1990) British novelist, short story writer, poet, fighter pilot and screenwriter

Source: Fantastic Mr. Fox

“As I think of the many myths, there is one that is very harmful, and that is the myth of countries.”

Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, and a key figure in Spanish language literature

"A Conversation With Jorge Luis Borges" http://www.wooster.edu/artfuldodge/interviews/borges.htm, Artful Dodge (April 1980)
Context: As I think of the many myths, there is one that is very harmful, and that is the myth of countries. I mean, why should I think of myself as being an Argentine, and not a Chilean, and not an Uruguayan. I don't know really. All of those myths that we impose on ourselves — and they make for hatred, for war, for enmity — are very harmful. Well, I suppose in the long run, governments and countries will die out and we'll be just, well, cosmopolitans.

“I wanted to break boundaries for myself as an actor, where it's not to tell the story and do a good job, but to go to another level where I feel free.”

Fala Chen (1982) Hong Kong actress

"Fala Chen Came to America to Find Herself—And Wound Up Being Cast in a Groundbreaking Marvel Movie" in Harpers Bazaar https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a37711969/fala-chen-shang-chi-and-the-legend-of-the-ten-rings/ (24 September 2021)

“I think that’s been a good kick of the ball.”

Alex Salmond (1954) Scottish National Party politician and former First Minister of Scotland

Speaking from his official residence at Bute House in Edinburgh after the Scottish independence referendum, 2014. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-29277527 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/alex-salmond-insists-scotland-can-4291189 (19 September 2014)