Paul Haggis Quotes

Powerful Paul Haggis for Daily Growth

About Paul Haggis

Paul Haggis is a prominent Canadian-American screenwriter, film director, and producer, best known for his work in Hollywood. Born on March 10, 1953, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Haggis spent much of his early life in the working-class neighborhood of Etobicoke. His interest in storytelling was nurtured by his love for cinema and a strong influence from his Scottish mother, who was a devout Catholic. Haggis began his career in television writing for shows like "The Facts of Life" and "Diff'rent Strokes." However, it wasn't until he moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980s that he gained significant recognition. He wrote for popular series such as "Walker, Texas Ranger" and "Early Edition," before creating his own successful series, "The Black Donnellys." In 2004, Haggis made his directorial debut with the critically acclaimed film "Crash," which won him two Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The film, a multi-layered drama exploring racial tensions in modern Los Angeles, showcased Haggis's knack for complex narratives and socially relevant themes. In 2012, Haggis released "Third Person," another film that delved into intricate human relationships across three different cities. His work often reflects his personal beliefs, including his advocacy for animal rights and criticism of organized religion. Haggis left the Church of Scientology in 2009, citing disagreements with its leadership. This departure, along with his portrayal of religious themes in his films, has sparked much debate within both Hollywood and religious communities. Despite these controversies, Paul Haggis remains a significant figure in contemporary cinema, continuously pushing the boundaries of storytelling and addressing pressing social issues through his work.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about."

This quote emphasizes the importance of empathy and understanding when interacting with others. It suggests that everyone we encounter may be dealing with personal struggles, challenges, or emotional turmoil, which might not always be visible to us. By recognizing this, we are encouraged to show kindness, patience, and compassion towards people, as we don't know the battles they are fighting. This quote underscores the necessity of being sensitive to others and treating them with respect, since their outer appearance or behavior may not reflect their inner struggles.


"There's always something we can do. The question is, what?"

This quote emphasizes that despite challenges or circumstances, there is always an action we can take to make a difference, solve problems, or improve our lives and the world around us. The question it poses is about choosing the right actions - aligning them with our values, skills, and passions, so that the impact we create is meaningful and positive.


"A story can change the world if it changes one person."

The quote by Paul Haggis highlights the profound impact a story can have when it resonates with even a single individual. It suggests that while transforming the entire world may seem like an ambitious goal, influencing the thoughts, feelings, or actions of just one person can set off a chain reaction, potentially leading to significant changes on a larger scale. This quote underscores the power and importance of storytelling in shaping perspectives and inspiring positive change.


"Art should challenge us, make us think, and force us to confront uncomfortable truths."

This quote by Paul Haggis emphasizes that art is not merely for entertainment but also serves as a catalyst for intellectual growth, self-reflection, and societal introspection. Art should provoke thought, question established norms, and encourage us to grapple with challenging ideas or uncomfortable truths about ourselves and the world around us. In essence, it's a powerful tool that fosters empathy, critical thinking, and personal development.


"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

This quote by Paul Haggis underscores the power of personal agency in shaping one's own destiny. It suggests that instead of passively waiting for the future to unfold, taking deliberate actions can lead us towards desired outcomes. In other words, the future is not a predetermined path but rather a malleable canvas upon which we can paint our aspirations and dreams through conscious effort and decision-making. This quote encourages proactivity, self-determination, and a growth mindset that recognizes our capacity to shape our own lives.


For me, the most interesting people are ones who often work against their best interests. Bad choices. They go in directions where you go, 'No no no nooo!' You push away someone who is trying to love you, you hurt someone who's trying to get your trust, or you love someone you shouldn't.

- Paul Haggis

Love, Trust, Bad Choices, Best Interests

As a general rule, I don't plan to travel with my Oscars, but we may have to make an exception.

- Paul Haggis

Exception, May, General, General Rule

I don't pay much attention to the press. My films always get good reviews and bad reviews. I just try to make the best film I can.

- Paul Haggis

Bad, Always, Films, Much Attention

The great majority of Scientologists I know are good people who are genuinely interested in improving conditions on this planet and helping others.

- Paul Haggis

Planet, Helping, Genuinely, Great Majority

Even in a comedy, you have to make people feel. You have to put your hand inside their soul and twist out their heart.

- Paul Haggis

Soul, Comedy, Feel, Twist

In 'The Next Three Days,' even though it was a prison breakout movie, I was asking myself, 'What would I do? How far would I go for the woman I loved? How far would I go, and what would I do when the person then told me that they were guilty? Could I still believe in them?' So it was very personal.

- Paul Haggis

Woman, Next, Very, Breakout

I don't know how much credit I can take for 'Walker, Texas Ranger,' because I only worked on it for three weeks. I re-wrote the pilot, and then my name was on it forever.

- Paul Haggis

Pilot, Ranger, Weeks, Walker

I moved to Hollywood when I was 22. I was married. I had a kid right away. And I had worked as a furniture mover amongst various other jobs, and I'd work eight, ten hours a day to support my family - and I'd come home and write for two hours a night or two and a half, or three hours a night.

- Paul Haggis

Hollywood, Other, Away, Right Away

'Crash' came from personal experience. I saw things inside me from living in L.A. that made me uncomfortable. I saw horrible things in people and saw terrible things in myself. I saw a black director completely humiliated, but the three people around me just thought it was funny. 'No,' I said, 'that is selling your soul.'

- Paul Haggis

Thought, Horrible Things, Humiliated

I'm a filmmaker, and I was most influenced by Hitchcock's films. How he could plant such deep enriched characters and then make us care both about the antagonist and protagonist was masterful.

- Paul Haggis

Deep, Films, Masterful, Antagonist

'Crash' was incredibly personal to me. So was 'In the Valley of Elah.' There were things in 'The Next Three Days' that were questions I was asking myself but couldn't answer, like how far would you go for love? Can you believe in somebody who can't even believe in themselves? But this is highly personal.

- Paul Haggis

Love, Next, How Far, Highly

I wrote an episode for 'thirtysomething,' and a producer said, 'That's really good, but what is it about? What does it say about you? What questions are you asking yourself?' I had never thought about that. This comment changed who I was, because it made me look at my own soul, the dark corners in my soul, and accept that dark side.

- Paul Haggis

Soul, Thought, Asking, Comment

I don't think I'm against all wars, but you'd have to have a damn good reason to send your son or daughter to fight, or to go yourself. So often, we are lied to and manipulated by our governments for their own very cynical reasons.

- Paul Haggis

Reason, Very, Reasons, Cynical

I just love actors, and I've always loved actors. I empathize with their job. Everyone thinks it's easy, and it ain't. To be that vulnerable and brave on camera is tough. The more they reveal themselves, the more we love them, but there's a lot of truth in what they're showing.

- Paul Haggis

Love, Reveal, Lot, Camera

As artists, we have to be brave. If we aren't brave, we aren't artists.

- Paul Haggis

Brave, Artists, Be Brave

I made a very good living as a bad writer. I wrote a lot of comedies, 'Diff'rent Strokes,' 'Facts of Life,' while all my friends were doing the good shows, like 'Cheers,' but I loved it because I got to be a working writer in Hollywood.

- Paul Haggis

Doing, Hollywood, Very, Comedies

Every 10 years, I know less about love and relationships. The smarter I get, the less I know.

- Paul Haggis

Love, Relationships, Get, Smarter

I am really drawn to damaged characters, and I have a lot of sympathy for them. Making those complicated characters empathetic is something to strive for. It's too easy to create a good guy or a good girl.

- Paul Haggis

Good, Guy, Good Guy, Good Girl

A lot of films made me love the movies, everything from Hitchcock to Godard. But the ones that really grabbed me were Costa-Gavras's films like 'Z' and 'State of Siege.'

- Paul Haggis

Love, Like, Films, Siege

Unless I'm really uneasy with what I'm writing, I lose interest very quickly.

- Paul Haggis

Interest, Very, Unless, Uneasy

Film is an emotional medium; it's not a logical medium. It's not an intellectual medium, so every decision you make as a filmmaker and an actor has to be emotional in some way, even in the rejection of logic.

- Paul Haggis

Decision, Emotional, Some, Filmmaker

The worst thing you can do to a filmmaker is to walk out of his film and go, 'That was a nice movie.' But if you can cause people to walk out and then argue about the film on the sidewalk... I think we're all seeking dissension, and we love to affect an audience.

- Paul Haggis

Love, Movie, I Think, Filmmaker

I have never pretended to be the best Scientologist, but I openly and vigorously defended the church whenever it was criticized, as I railed against the kind of intolerance that I believed was directed against it. I had my disagreements, but I dealt with them internally.

- Paul Haggis

Kind, Against, Directed, Believed

I have so many questions about love. How do you win at it? Especially if you're in a relationship with an impossible person? What if you believe in someone who's completely untrustworthy, who at their core can't even believe in themselves?

- Paul Haggis

Love, Questions, About, What If

In Scientology, in the Ethics Conditions, as you go down from Normal through Doubt, then you get to Enemy, and, finally, near the bottom, there is Treason.

- Paul Haggis

Through, Normal, Treason, Conditions

We're trying to reinvent Bond. He's 28 - no Q, no gadgets.

- Paul Haggis

Trying, Reinvent, He, Bond

There's nothing more painful than writing.

- Paul Haggis

Nothing, More, Than, Painful

We give you characters we'd feel very comfortable judging, and then go: 'Oh yeah? Watch this'.

- Paul Haggis

Give, Go, Very, Oh Yeah

When I discovered European filmmakers, it affected me so deeply. It redefined what cinema could be. I mean, 'Blow-Up' ends with a dead body and mimes playing tennis. What?

- Paul Haggis

Could, Discovered, European, Tennis

I like it when an actor is secure enough to ask questions, and the director is secure enough not to be threatened by that.

- Paul Haggis

Actor, Director, Like, Threatened

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