Authors: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

15 Motivational Sidney Poitier Quotes That Define His Undeterred Spirit

Famous As: Director and the First African-American to Win an Academy Award for Best Actor
Born On: 1927
Died On: 2022
Born In: Miami, Florida, United States
Died At Age: 94
Sidney Poitier is a renowned Bahamian-American author, director, diplomat and actor. He was the first Afro-American to win an ‘Academy Award’ in the Best Actor category which inspired other black people to pursue a career in acting. He did various petty jobs for survival like being a dishwasher but these hardships couldn’t curb his dream to be an actor. He joined the ‘American Negro Theater’ where he realized his weaknesses and worked hard to overcome them. This helped him get a leading role in a Broadway Production called ‘Lysistrata’ which was critically appreciated and helped him get many offers for films. After playing supporting roles in various films he got his first significant role in ‘Blackboard Jungle’ which helped him enhance his reputation as an actor. He further worked in various films with some of the well-known actors like Ruby Dee before the most notable film of his life ‘Lilies of the Field’. His role in this film as a wandering worker brought him many awards and accolades including the most reputed ‘Academy Award’. He even worked as a director for several successful movies and presently serves as an ‘Ambassador of Bahamas’ to Japan and UNESCO. Go through the treasure trove of quotations and sayings by the distinguished actor which has been scanned from the vast sea of his works. Presenting famous quotes and thoughts by Sidney Poitier.
I am the me I choose to be.

I am the me I choose to be.

Sidney Poitier
A person doesn't have to change who he is to become better.

A person doesn't have to change who he is to become better.

Sidney Poitier
Forgiveness works two ways, in most instances. People have to forgive themselves too. The powerful have to forgive themselves for their behavior. That should be a sacred process.

Forgiveness works two ways, in most instances. People have to forgive themselves too. The powerful have to forgive themselves for their behavior. That should be a sacred process.

Sidney Poitier
I

I"ve learned that I must find positive outlets for anger or it will destroy me.

Sidney Poitier
Acting isn't a game of

Acting isn't a game of "pretend." It's an exercise in being real.

Sidney Poitier
You don't have to become something you're not to be better than you were.

You don't have to become something you're not to be better than you were.

Sidney Poitier
So much of life, it seems, is determined by pure randomness.

So much of life, it seems, is determined by pure randomness.

Sidney Poitier
As I've mentioned, a large part of my father's legacy is the lesson he taught his sons. He brought us together and said, 'The measure of a man is how well he provides for his children.

As I've mentioned, a large part of my father's legacy is the lesson he taught his sons. He brought us together and said, 'The measure of a man is how well he provides for his children.

Sidney Poitier
Accept that environment compromises values far more than values do their number on environment.

Accept that environment compromises values far more than values do their number on environment.

Sidney Poitier
...you know?

...you know?

Sidney Poitier
Of all my father's teachings, the most enduring was the one about the true measure of a man. That true measure was how well he provided for his children, and it stuck with me as if it were etched in my brain.

Of all my father's teachings, the most enduring was the one about the true measure of a man. That true measure was how well he provided for his children, and it stuck with me as if it were etched in my brain.

Sidney Poitier
If the image one holds of one's self contains elements that don't square with reality, one is best advised to let go of them, however difficult that may be.

If the image one holds of one's self contains elements that don't square with reality, one is best advised to let go of them, however difficult that may be.

Sidney Poitier
We're all somewhat courageous, and we're all considerably cowardly. We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.

We're all somewhat courageous, and we're all considerably cowardly. We're all imperfect, and life is simply a perpetual, unending struggle against those imperfections.

Sidney Poitier
We put our kids to fifteen years of quick-cut advertising, passive television watching, and sadistic video games, and we expect to see emerge a new generation of calm, compassionate, and engaged human beings?

We put our kids to fifteen years of quick-cut advertising, passive television watching, and sadistic video games, and we expect to see emerge a new generation of calm, compassionate, and engaged human beings?

Sidney Poitier
You don’t have to become something you’re not to be better than you were.

You don’t have to become something you’re not to be better than you were.

Sidney Poitier