Top 33 Harvey Fierstein Quotes

I have a lot of faith in President Obama. The thing that seems to be true of him is that he doesn’t speak when you would expect him to speak. He’s very measured in his response to things. He likes to get all the facts first before he shoots his mouth off. It makes me crazy; it makes a lot of people crazy.

The world is full of more interesting things than my voice.

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself.

You know, I always got offered other stuff. Not the romantic leads, obviously. But very often it’s a role that’s underwritten, where the character has no personality at all. And they need a character actor who can fill it in.

How time files when you’s doin’ all the talking.

I was exposed to a mix of cultures, lots of different religions and beliefs. I was a spiritual kid and went to Indian powwows and Buddhist temples. But over a period of time, with reading and thinking, I started to feel it was all so absurd: The whole idea of life after death is ridiculous.

I do believe we’re all connected. I do believe in positive energy. I do believe in the power of prayer. I do believe in putting good out into the world. And I believe in taking care of each other.

I have the world’s worst taste in men, so now I simply have wonderful relationships of the friend kind, but trying to settle down with somebody? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. I’m beyond that.

I often say that if you want to really want to understand the contract of marriage, just ask anyone who has been divorced. The marriage contract is one of property rights. Or maybe you can look in the Bible to see what Adam had to say about divorce, since Eve was his second wife.

Political movements always belong to the young.

To me, if a heterosexual has a right to do it, then I have a right to do it. And if it’s important to the gay youth – who are now setting the agenda – then its important to me.

My play Safe Sex was picked apart because critics thought it was untrue. It was a play in which no one had AIDS, but the characters talked about how it was going to change their lives.

It would be nice to redefine ourselves – at the moment we are drowning in diversity. That’s not a bad thing, its just going to take a while before we refocus.

What looks absolutely fabulous in rehearsal can fall flat in front of an audience. The audience dictates what you do or don’t change.

It’s a wonderful world. You can’t go backwards. You’re always moving forward. It’s the wonderful part about life. And that’s terrific.

It’s through sheer will that I can sing.

Always admit when you’re wrong. You’ll save thousands in therapy… and a few friendships too.

I got a lovely check today from being a writer that I earned by sitting at home. That’s rewarding.

Well, I always looked at Mulan as a movie about a lesbian coming out.

I’m sure there’s going to be some material from This Is Not Going To Be Pretty. I usually use that song to just introduce myself to the audience, although the patter in between the song is always different.

You really, really, really have to love what you are going to do in theater because it is an unmerciful life. It’s six days a week. It’s eight performances a week. And that’s doing the exact same thing over and over and over again.

To work all the time is to be incredibly lucky.

State-sanctioned marriage is a civil contract, period. A contract is not a judgment of moral value. It is a legal agreement between two parties that testifies to a meeting of minds between those consenting entities. It is not a religious act or rite and so has nothing to do with Adam and Eve or Steve or even Harvey.

But I’m not adverse to the idea of Torch Song as a musical. It would just be different. Because the play will always be there exactly as it was, and in a musical you could tell a lot of the story through songs.

A musical takes two to five years. You have to love it to put in the years.

You may feel powerless as a child, but the world will one day be yours. And you’re responsible for it. So, seize the day and take charge of it.

Movies are all about plot. Theater, even if it’s story heavy, it’s about ideas. Theater has to resonate in your heart in a way that movies don’t.

Also, if you want to reach people, theatre is not always the best way to do it.

I am thrilled – I can’t stress that enough – thrilled when I see kids getting active.

Actually, I think the average voice is like 70 percent tone and 30 percent noise. My voice is 95 percent noise.

I have great faith in the United States. It’s the only country I would ever live in.

If you deny yourself commitment, what can you do with your life?

Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate.