Quotes On: Identity

To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.

You can be a little ungrammatical if you come from the right part of the country.

You can be a rank insider as well as a rank outsider.

I don't really like to call myself a brand, and I don't like to think of myself as a brand. I'm a singer, a songwriter, a musician and a performer. And an actress, and all the other things that I do. When you add it all together, some might call it a brand, but that's not my focus.

I had this bad-boy-from-New York vibe going, dressed like a punk rocker with spiky hair.

Dad's Jewish and Irish, Mom's German and Scotch. I couldn't say I was anything. My last name isn't even Downey. My dad changed his name when he wanted to get into the Army and was underage. My real name is Robert Elias. I feel like I'm still looking for a home in some way.

I'm not particularly tall, strong, fast, or aggressive.

I've got a very interesting background.

Jackie Chan is a myth.

It is a great piece of folly to attempt to make anything out of my early life.

You become what you believe, not what you think or what you want.

God has given you one face, and you make yourself another.