Chazz Palminteri Quotations

I'm very proud of being Italian-American, but people don't realize that the mafia is just this aberration. The real community is built on the working man, the guy who's the cop, the fireman, the truck driver, the bus driver.

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent and the choices you make will shape your life forever.

I like playing roulette, I like dice. I grew up with gamblers.

I always knew I was going to make it, without doubt.

I get the beginning. I get the end. Then I write the middle. That's how I do it.

I love people who just started making movies - first-timers, second-timers. They take chances.

Mental violence is as bad as physical violence. You don't see that very often in movies, so it was a good subject to tackle.

My mom was Sicilian, my dad was Sicilian. Mom was a great cook, but all the women were.

I came here knowing nobody. I worked clubs as a singer and even the doors a few times before I landed some TV roles.

My mother and father told me I was god. I was a good Italian boy who hung out with the same four guys. I was a little god.

I've always been successful. Now I'm famous and successful.

Oh, great reviews are the worst. They mislead you more than the bad ones, because they only fuel your ego. Then you only want another one, like potato chips or something, and the best thing you get is fat and bloated. I'd rather just refuse, thanks.

Yeah, I like to gamble.

I had a 90-minute one-man show. I performed it and my life just exploded. Everything - my life just changed. Every writer, director, producer, studio head, movie star - they all wanted it. It was the hottest property since Rocky.

Italian-Americans are not the Mafia.

My father always said, 'The saddest thing in life is wasted talent.'

The saddest thing in life is wasted talent, and the choices you make will shape your life forever.