Michael Palin
Michael Palin
Michael Edward Palin CBE FRGS is an English comedian, actor, writer and television presenter. He was one of the members of the comedy group Monty Python and later made a number of travel documentaries...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth5 May 1943
CityBroomhill, England
life profiles quite sorted spent
When I read profiles of myself, I sometimes think: 'I have spent my whole life struggling to understand my motivations and impulses, and I've never quite sorted them out.'
british-comedian country cultures drama genuinely incidents life moments teaches
I think you learn a lot about a country from its art. To me, it's part of the drama of life. It teaches you that there are places, moments and incidents in other cultures that genuinely have a life of their own.
adult clear foreign grown life line particular role signed sort speak worry
I've never had a particular skill. I can't cook, dance, play an instrument, speak a foreign language. This used to worry me. I'd think, when I'm grown up, at 18, then I made it 21, it will be clear what role I should have in life. It never happened. I never signed on the dotted line as the sort of adult my father wanted.
way life-is circumstances
I'm aware that, if you feel down, it can be strangely unrelated to circumstances around you. That's just the way life is.
letting-go essence live-your-life
It's not an easy option. The essence of travel is letting go of habit and prejudice and relishing the unfamiliar. Food you've never eaten before, a language you've never spoken before, religion that mystifies, customs that confuse, politics that perplex, all question everyday assumptions about how you live your life.
trying life-is disaster
I mistrust total competence. I've always felt life is a series of small disasters we try to get through.
death few found george held helped humor last life mixture pleasant rather saw terrors time
There was a mixture there and it was a rather pleasant mixture, and I think it helped him a lot in the last few years, that he had his spirituality, ... Death held no terrors for George whatsoever, and he still got a lot out of life and found the humor was there right up to when the last time I saw him, which was in August.
bad however kids life separate strand
The kids growing up is a separate strand to your life. However bad a day you've had, that's the most important thing, and you have to remember that.
dimension given happened people python quite
The American dimension to Python happened quite late. People said they weren't interested, and we'd practically given up hope.
great
Travelling, and being paid for it, is just great.
avoid bit ground high meant perhaps preach taking truth unless
'The Truth' is not meant to preach or point any fingers. It's meant to show that perhaps we should all avoid taking the moral high ground unless we have thought about things a bit more.
crippling high prove
I do have high standards. I look at everything I have done and think, 'Why wasn't that better?' Part of my motivation is from crippling self-doubt - I have got to prove myself wrong.
insatiable might people
I've always been blessed, or cursed, some might say, with an insatiable curiosity, a desire to find something out about a people and a place. That's where it all begins.
amazed enthusiasm
We were amazed at the enthusiasm of American audiences.