What are some signature lines by some actors, i.e. what lines do you think of first when you think of an actor. Not necessarily his or her best role, but the line you would guess they get quoted back to them the most.
For example, I recall reading Paul Giamatti constantly getting people telling him, “I will NOT drink fucking Merlot!”
I am not sure about Tom Hanks. It’s either “Life is like a box of chocolates.” or “Houston, we have a problem”.
Keanu Reeves: “Whoa”
“You Dirty Rat”
“Judy Judy Judy”*
“Say the secret word.”
<Honk>
“Give me the letter.”
“Play it again, Sam” or “Here’s looking at you, kid.”
*Though the line as quoted was not in any movie, in Only Angels Have Wings, he did call the female character by her name – Judy – a lot.
I think the most famous is Arnold’s “I’ll be back.” They even made fun of it in Last Action Hero
“That’s your trademark line…you say it in all of your movies!”
I know “Do you feel lucky?” and “Make my day” get a lot more play, but “A man’s got to know his limitations” will always be Clint Eastwood’s signature line for me.
I recall reading somewhere that Ian McShane from Deadwood was constantly being asked to call people “Cocksucker!!”, as it seemed to be his character’s favorite word. When he was a guest on Bill Maher’s show, Bill leaned over and said, “Ian, call me a cocksucker!”
“We’re gonna need a bigger boat…”
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” – Clark Gable
“Bond. James Bond” – Sean Connery
Bruce Willis (as John McClane): “Yippie ki yay, motherfucker!”
I’m sure Scott Bakula isn’t happy to say “oh boy” to everyone he meets.
Joey Lawrence: “Whoa”
Robert DeNiro: “You talkin’ to ME?”
Alec Baldwin: "Put that coffee down- coffee is for CLOSERS!"
Joe Pesci: "What do mean I’m funny?"
Christopher Guest: "This one goes to eleven."
Marlon Brando: (tie) ***“Stellaaaaaaaaaa!” ***or "I could’ve been a contender."
“Play it again, Sam” was never in a Humphrey Bogart movie either, although he certainly is associated with the phrase. It’s a distillation of a longer piece of dialogue.
Bette Davis: “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”
Lauren Bacall: “You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? Just put your lips together and blow.”
“Get Smart” was loaded with catchphrases - “Sorry about that, Chief,” “Missed it by that much,” etc. - but at least one originally belonged to the actor Don Adams. From a routine on his first comedy LP:
Faversham: You think you’ve got me, but I have you surrounded by the entire mounted 17th Bengal Lancers.
Khan: I don’t believe you.
Faversham: Would you believe the First Bengal Lancers?
Khan: No
Faversham: How about Gunga Din on a donkey?
Love the Spinal Tap reference!
And from “Highlander”…“There can be only ONE!” --Kurgen
Greta Garbo’s is “I vant to be alone” (but she claimed it was “I want to be let alone”).
Mae West – “Come up and see me sometime”, plus a few others.
W.C.Fields – “My little chickadee”
Oliver Hardy – “This is another fine mess you’ve gotten me into, Stanley”
Lou Costello – “AAAAAABBOTTTTTT!!!”
Sylvester Stallone: "Yo, Adrian!"
Jim Carrey:*** “Allrighty, then!”***
Clark Gable: "Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn."
And “Hasta la vista, baby”.
Ned Beatty: “Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
Strother Martin, in Cool Hand Luke: “What we’ve got here is…failure to communicate.”
(Later in the fim, Paul Newman slightly rephrases the line as “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” More info here.)