James Garner
James Garner
James Garnerwas an American actor, producer, and voice artist. He starred in several television series over more than 5 decades, including such popular roles as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western comedy series Maverick and Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, and played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including The Great Escapewith Steve McQueen, Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily, Grand Prix, Blake Edwards' Victor Victoria, Murphy's Romance, for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Space...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Actor
Date of Birth7 April 1928
CityNorman, OK
CountryUnited States of America
I have a tough enough time running my own house -- and my wife does that anyway.
We cannot keep that department if it continues to run in the red,
Too many actors have run for office. There's one difference between me and them: I know I'm not qualified.
There's one difference between me and them: I know I'm not qualified. In my opinion, Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't qualified to be governor of California. Ronald Reagan wasn't qualified to be governor, let alone president. I was a vice president of the Screen Actors Guild when he was its president. My duties consisted of attending meetings and voting. The only thing I remember is that Ronnie never had an original thought and that we had to tell him what to say. That's no way to run a union, let along a state or a country.
I said, 'Well, I'll give myself five years to see if I can make a living at it.' And after five years I was 30 and I said, 'Yeah, I can go another five years on just the reputation I have now' and then I went another five, and another five, and another five, and finally -- at 50 years old -- I said 'You know, I think I have a career,'
I think my attitude has always been to put food on the table.
We basically each had our own opinion about what they bid,
An hour series is a killer. It's hard on you physically.
The characters I've played, especially Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford, almost never use a gun, and they always try to use their wits instead of their fists.
It wasn't until I'd turned 50 and had been in the business 25 years that I realized I might actually have a career as an actor.
People who don't know me think I'm easy-going, but I'm a pessimist by nature and an old curmudgeon.
I've had to work hard at that easy-going manner you see on screen.
There's a lot of room for error with a wound in the rear. It's a wide target.
What was I qualified to do to make a living? Nothing. You don't need qualifications as an actor or a politician. And I didn't want to be a politician.