John Wayne Quotes

I won’t be wronged. I won’t be insulted. I won’t be laid a-hand on. I don’t do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.

I’m responsible only for what I say, not for what you understand.

Courage is being scared to death… and saddling up anyway.

A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do.

Life is tough, but it’s tougher when you’re stupid.

I have tried to live my life so that my family would love me and my friends respect me. The others can do whatever the hell they please.

I have grown up believing that honesty is the best policy, but I also know that when you’re young and in the prime of your life, sometimes honesty makes you not be understood.

Don’t pick a fight, but if you find yourself in one, I suggest you make damn sure you win.

A goal, a love and a dream give you total control over your body and your life.

When the road looks rough ahead, remember the ‘Man upstairs’ and the word ‘Hope.’ Hang on to both and tough it out.

Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much.

I define manhood simply: men should be tough and tender.

Real men don’t take orders. They give them.

Life is tough, but it’s tougher if you’re stupid.

If everything isn’t black and white, I say, ‘Why the hell not?’

I’ve always followed my father’s advice: he told me, first to always keep my word and, second, to never insult anybody unintentionally. If I insult you, you can be goddamn sure I intend to.

I suppose there are things that make you a man. Like, going to your father-in-law’s funeral in a pickup truck.

Don’t apologize, it’s a sign of weakness.

Hurry it up. We’re dying.

In all my years of acting, I have never been bitten by a horse or a cowboy.

I never trust a man who doesn’t drink.

I never have really become accustomed to the dark. I’m always watching for it. So I’m most anxious to see how it is done, because that is my theory, that it is done. I don’t really believe that dead men get up and walk around. But I think if they did get up and wander around they’d probably wear the same clothes they wore when they died. And they’d probably hang around the movie lots because they worked in movies when they were living.

I’ve had a lot of the foxiest leading ladies as my co-stars, and that has helped my career. People enjoy seeing a guy be tricked by a beautiful woman and all that.

I’ve made over 250 pictures and have never shot a guy in the back. Change it.

I want to play a real man in all my films, and I define manhood simply: men should be tough, tender, sweet and stupid.

Life is hard, it’s even harder when you’re stupid.

When you come against trouble, it’s never half as bad if you face up to it.

I believe in white supremacy, until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility. I don’t believe in giving authority and positions of leadership and judgment to irresponsible people.

I couldn’t help but have a big smile on my face this evening. I had a horse in front of a camera. My first starring role in Temple Houston had six legs and a tail.

Old age is not for sissies.

Never apologize and never explain. It’s a sign of weakness.

I’m not a talker; I’m a doer.

A man deserves a second chance, but keep an eye on him.

Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday.

Money cannot buy happiness but it can certainly help you look for it in more places.

If you’ve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.

If you’ve got them by the balls, their hearts and minds will follow.

I’m not the sort to back away from a fight. I don’t believe in shrinking from anything. It’s not my speed; I’m a guy who meets adversities head-on.

All battles are fought by scared men who’d rather be some place else.

Life is flying by. You don’t have time to waste another minute being negative, offended or bitter.

I don’t have a lot of respect for talent. Talent is genetic. It’s what you DO with it that counts.

I’m not a hero, I’m a high-functioning cowboy.

Don’t apologize, it’s a sign of weakness.

A library card is one of the most valuable things in the world. It’s priceless.

No man can truly be considered a cowboy without a horse.

Heroes are never made in the warm comforts of life.

I regard myself as a soldier, though a soldier of peace.

I don’t think a fella should be psyched up by squirts of adrenaline.

Sometimes a fella just needs a good horse and the open range.