James Cagney
Birthday: 17 July 1899, New York City, New York, USA
Birth Name: James Francis Cagney
Height: 169 cm
One of Hollywood's preeminent male stars of all time (eclipsed, perhaps, only by "King" Clark Gable and arguably by Gary Cooper or Spencer Tracy), and the cinema's quintessential & ...Show More
[about his most famous misquoted line] I never actually said, "Nnng-you dirty ra-at!" What I actuall Show more
[about his most famous misquoted line] I never actually said, "Nnng-you dirty ra-at!" What I actually said was [imitating Cary Grant] "Judy! Judy! Judy!" Hide
Learn your lines ... plant your feet ... look the other actor in the eye ... say the words ... mean Show more
Learn your lines ... plant your feet ... look the other actor in the eye ... say the words ... mean them. Hide
Where I come from, if there's a buck to be made, you don't ask questions, you go ahead and make it.
Where I come from, if there's a buck to be made, you don't ask questions, you go ahead and make it.
[in the early 1960s] In this business you need enthusiasm. I don't have enthusiasm for acting anymor Show more
[in the early 1960s] In this business you need enthusiasm. I don't have enthusiasm for acting anymore. Acting is not the beginning and end of everything. Hide
[in 1931] I'm sick of guns and beating up women. Movies should be entertaining, not bloodbaths.
[in 1931] I'm sick of guns and beating up women. Movies should be entertaining, not bloodbaths.
The lovers of hate, born in fear - Find no release from tension - They spend their lives in a perman Show more
The lovers of hate, born in fear - Find no release from tension - They spend their lives in a permanent state - Of miserable apprehension. Hide
[on his Hollywood arrival] I came out here on a three week guarantee, and I stayed, to my absolute a Show more
[on his Hollywood arrival] I came out here on a three week guarantee, and I stayed, to my absolute amazement, for thirty-one years. Hide
My father was totally Irish, and so I went to Ireland once. I found it to be very much like New York Show more
My father was totally Irish, and so I went to Ireland once. I found it to be very much like New York, for it was a beautiful country, and both the women and men were good-looking. Hide
Learn your lines, find your mark, look 'em in the eye and tell 'em the truth.
Learn your lines, find your mark, look 'em in the eye and tell 'em the truth.
I hate the word "superstar". I have never been able to think in those terms. They are overstatements Show more
I hate the word "superstar". I have never been able to think in those terms. They are overstatements. You don't hear them speak of [William Shakespeare] as a superpoet. You don't hear them call Michelangelo a superpainter. They only apply the word to this mundane market. Hide
[about The Public Enemy (1931)] What not many people know is that right up to two days before shooti Show more
[about The Public Enemy (1931)] What not many people know is that right up to two days before shooting started, I was going to play the good guy, the pal. Edward Woods played it in the end. Hide
Once a song and dance man, always a song and dance man. Those few words tell as much about me profes Show more
Once a song and dance man, always a song and dance man. Those few words tell as much about me professionally as there is to tell. Hide
All I try to do is to realise the man I'm playing fully, then put as much into my acting as I know h Show more
All I try to do is to realise the man I'm playing fully, then put as much into my acting as I know how. To do it, I draw upon all that I've ever known, heard, seen or remember. Hide
You know, the period of World War I and the Roaring Twenties were really just about the same as toda Show more
You know, the period of World War I and the Roaring Twenties were really just about the same as today. You worked, and you made a living if you could, and you tried to make the best of things. For an actor or a dancer, it was no different then than today. It was a struggle. Hide
My biggest concern is that doing a rough-and-tumble scene I might hurt someone accidentally.
My biggest concern is that doing a rough-and-tumble scene I might hurt someone accidentally.
They need you. Without you, they have an empty screen. So, when you get on there, just do what you t Show more
They need you. Without you, they have an empty screen. So, when you get on there, just do what you think is right and stick with it. Hide
I still think of myself essentially as a vaudevillian, as a song and dance man. The vaudevillians I Show more
I still think of myself essentially as a vaudevillian, as a song and dance man. The vaudevillians I knew by and large were marvelous people. Ninety percent of them had no schooling, but they had a vivid something or other about them that absolutely riveted an audience's attention. Those vaudevillians knew something that ultimately I came to understand and believe - that audiences are the ones who determine material. They buy the tickets. Hide
[Telegram sent to House Ways and Means Committee regarding No Runways on Vacation Isle - 1969] For m Show more
[Telegram sent to House Ways and Means Committee regarding No Runways on Vacation Isle - 1969] For more than 30 years I have watched Martha's Vineyard go downhill as a place of natural wonder and peaceful haven. Now they are talking of runways for jets. Is there to be no end to the destruction of all that is natural and worthwhile? Please give it some thought. Hide
The thing is to try to give the audience something to take away with them. That's what I always want Show more
The thing is to try to give the audience something to take away with them. That's what I always wanted to do. Hide
The things the world most needs are simplicity, honesty and decency--and you find them more often in Show more
The things the world most needs are simplicity, honesty and decency--and you find them more often in the country than in the city. My feeling for the country goes beyond sense. I don't like to be in the cities at all. I like to be where animals are--and thing growing. Hide
When I was younger, if someone had told me I had only two years to live, I'd have gone to an island Show more
When I was younger, if someone had told me I had only two years to live, I'd have gone to an island that was really country--and just rocked it out by myself. But if someone told me the same thing today, I believe I'd probably travel--just to get away from all the noise and nonsense we are surrounded with. Hide
There's not much to say about acting but this. Never settle back on your heels. Never relax. If you Show more
There's not much to say about acting but this. Never settle back on your heels. Never relax. If you relax, the audience relaxes. And always mean everything you say. Hide
With me, a career was the simple matter of putting groceries on the table.
With me, a career was the simple matter of putting groceries on the table.
James Cagney's FILMOGRAPHY
as Actor (39)
James Cagney'S roles
Chester Kent
Tom Powers
Cody Jarrett
C.R. MacNamara
Eddie Bartlett
Cody Jarrett
George M. Cohan
Rocky Sullivan
New York Police Commissioner Rhinelander Waldo
