Marion Mitchell Morrison, known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed Duke, was an American actor, filmmaker, Oscar winner and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. Profoundly inspirational John Wayne quotes will challenge the way you think, and help guide you through any life experience.
If you’re searching for motivational quotes by great actors that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of profound Clint Eastwood quotes, amazing Emma Watson quotes and top Heath Ledger quotes.
Famous John Wayne Quotes
Courage is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. – John Wayne
Never apologize, mister, it’s a sign of weakness. – John Wayne
The reason there are so many stupid people is because it’s illegal to kill them. – John Wayne
It’s kind of a sad thing when a normal love of country makes you a super patriot. I do think we have a pretty wonderful country, and I thank God that He chose me to live here. – John Wayne
Nobody ever saw a cowboy on the psychiatrist’s couch. – John Wayne
Courage is being afraid and going on the journey anyhow. – John Wayne
I am an old-fashioned, honest-to-goodness, flag waving patriot. – John Wayne
There’s right and there’s wrong. You got to do one or the other. You do the one and you’re living. You do the other and you may be walking around, but you’re dead as a beaver hat. – John Wayne
I want to play a real man in all my films, and I define manhood simply: men should be tough, fair, and courageous, never petty, never looking for a fight, but never backing down from one either. – John Wayne
When you stop fighting, that’s death. – John Wayne
Men forget everything; women remember everything. – John Wayne
Watergate is a sad and tragic incident in our history. They were wrong, dead wrong, those men at Watergate. Men abused power, but the system still works. Men abused money, but the system still works. Men lied and perjured themselves, but the system still. – John Wayne
I read someplace that I used to make B-pictures. Hell, they were a lot farther down the alphabet than that… but not as far down as R and X. I think any man who makes an X-rated picture ought to be made to take his own daughter to see it. – John Wayne
You’re going to think I’m being corny, but this is how I really feel: I hope my family and my friends will be able to say that I was an honest, kind and fairly decent man. – John Wayne
Ahh, women! I never met one yet that was half as reliable as a horse! – John Wayne
I am a demonstrative man, a baby picker-upper, a hugger and a kisser–that’s my nature. – John Wayne
Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the greatest Americans who ever lived. – John Wayne
I don’t have to assert my virility. I think my career has shown that I’m not exactly a pantywaist. But I do take pride in my work, even to the point of being the first one on the set in the morning. I’m a professional. – John Wayne
The fire is not discriminating. It burns anything in its path for whatever reason. – John Wayne
Sure, I wave the American flag. Do you know a better flag to wave? – John Wayne
The West – the very words go straight to that place of the heart where Americans feel the spirit of pride in their western heritage – the triumph of personal courage over any obstacle, whether nature or man. – John Wayne
If everything isn’t black and white, I say, ‘Why the hell not?’ – John Wayne
I drink for comradeship, and when I drink for comradeship, I don’t bother to keep count. – John Wayne
Get off your horse and drink your milk. – John Wayne
In my acting, I have to identify with something in the character. The big tough boy on the side of right – that’s me. Simple themes. Same me from the nuances. All I do is sell sincerity and I’ve been selling the hell out of that ever since I started. – John Wayne
We built your fort. We will not have it used against us. – John Wayne
Thanking people is dangerous business. A name always slips your mind. – John Wayne
I would like to be remembered, well… the Mexicans have a phrase, ‘Feo fuerte y formal’. Which means; he was ugly, strong and had dignity. – John Wayne
Out here, due process is a bullet. – John Wayne
My hope and prayer is that everyone know and love our country for what she really is and what she stands for. – John Wayne
You have to be a man before you can be a gentleman. – John Wayne
A man’s got to have a code, a creed to live by, no matter his job. – John Wayne
A man ought to do what he thinks is right – John Wayne
You’re short on ears and long on mouth. – John Wayne
I never trust a man that doesn’t drink. – John Wayne
I’ve had three wives, six children and six grandchildren and I still don’t understand women – John Wayne
You don’t have to fight to be brave. Millions of good, fine, decent folks show more bravery than heavyweight champs just by getting out of bed every morning, going out to do a good day’s work and living the best life they know how against the law of odds. – John Wayne
I eat as much as I ever did, I drink more than I should, and my sex life is none of your goddamned business. – John Wayne
The only thing they can get me for is running a funeral parlor without a license. – John Wayne
If I depended on the critics’ judgment and recognition, I’d never have gone into the motion-picture business. – John Wayne
That’s why men need instant replays in sports. They’ve already forgotten what happened. – John Wayne
Westerns are closer to art than anything else in the motion picture business. – John Wayne
Most men hate to shop. That’s why the men’s department is usually on the first floor of a department store, two inches from the door. – John Wayne
I believe humor nullifies violence. – John Wayne
I’ve made over 250 pictures and have never shot a guy in the back. Change it. – John Wayne
This kind of war, you’ve gotta believe in what you’re fighting for. – John Wayne
I would think somebody like Jane Fonda and her idiot husband would be terribly ashamed and saddened that they were a part of causing us to stop helping the South Vietnamese. Now look what’s happening. They’re getting killed by the millions. Murdered by the millions. How the hell can she and her husband sleep at night? – John Wayne
My main object in making a motion picture is entertainment. If at the same time I can strike a blow for liberty, then I’ll stick one in. – John Wayne
Paul Newman would have been a much more important star if he hadn’t always tried to be an anti-hero, to show the human feet of clay. – John Wayne
I’m a greedy old man. Life’s been good to me, and I want some more of it. – John Wayne
Of course, I know who you are. You’re my girl. I love you. – John Wayne
Let’s say I hope that I appeal to the more carefree times in a person’s life rather than to his reasoning adulthood. I’d just like to be an image that reminds someone of joy rather than of the problems of the world. – John Wayne
Contrary to what people think, I’m no politician, and when I have something to say I say it through my movies. – John Wayne
Communism is quite obviously still a threat. Yes, they are human beings, with a right to their point of view… – John Wayne
Any man who’d make an X-rated movie ought to have to take his daughter to see it. – John Wayne
Republic. I like the sound of the word. – John Wayne
There’s been no top authority saying what marijuana does to you. I really don’t know that much about it. I tried it once, but it didn’t do anything to me. – John Wayne
Out here a man settles his own problems. – John Wayne
I’m the stuff men are made of! – John Wayne
I stick to simple themes. Love. Hate. No nuances. I stay away from psychoanalyst’s couch scenes. Couches are good for one thing. – John Wayne
Well, there are some things a man just can’t run away from. – John Wayne
I’m an American actor. I work with my clothes on. I have to. Riding a horse can be pretty tough on your legs and elsewhere. – John Wayne
It rankles me when somebody tries to force somebody to do something. – John Wayne
