Peter Coyote Quotes

Powerful Peter Coyote for Daily Growth

About Peter Coyote

Peter Coyote, born on October 10, 1941, in San Francisco, California, is an acclaimed American actor, author, and documentary filmmaker. His captivating storytelling abilities, rooted in his diverse experiences, have made him a beloved figure in the arts and literature scene. Raised by adoptive Jewish parents, Coyote's early years were marked by the tumultuous 1960s counterculture movement. He was a member of the San Francisco Mime Troupe and performed at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. His life took a significant turn when he hitchhiked across North America, eventually joining the American Indian Movement (AIM) in the early 1970s. His involvement with AIM led him to witness the Wounded Knee incident in 1973, an experience that deeply affected him and influenced his later works. Coyote's experiences during this time are chronicled in his memoir, "Sleeping Where I Fall." Transitioning from the stage to the screen, Coyote has had a prolific acting career, appearing in films such as "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Jurassic Park," and "A Walk to Remember." He is also known for his narration work on documentaries, including Ken Burns' "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" and "Baseball." In addition to acting, Coyote is an accomplished author. His works include "Smorgasbord," a collection of short stories, and "I Want to Live!," a memoir about his experiences with terminal cancer. Through his writing, Coyote shares his unique perspective on life, love, and the human condition. Peter Coyote's multifaceted career and powerful storytelling have left an indelible mark on American arts and literature. His compelling narratives continue to resonate with audiences, inspiring reflection and introspection.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Nature is a haunted house - but art is a house that tries to be haunted."

This quote suggests that nature, in its raw and untouched form, holds an inherent mystery and beauty which can evoke deep emotions (being 'haunted'). However, unlike nature, human-made creations such as art have the potential to consciously and intentionally capture these haunting feelings, thus making them more meaningful or expressive. Art, in this context, is seen as a vessel that seeks to resonate with the ethereal, captivating aspects of nature while providing a medium for human emotion, thought, and understanding.


"Time is compost. You throw in a certain amount of ingredients and you wait and see what happens."

This quote by Peter Coyote signifies that time is similar to compost, where various experiences, events, and life stages are the "ingredients" we add over our lifetime. Just as compost needs time to decompose and transform into rich soil for growth, so too does each person need time for their experiences to be processed and integrated, leading to personal development and growth. In essence, Coyote suggests that our lives should not be rushed, but given the necessary time to evolve and flourish.


"The most important thing we can learn from nature is stillness."

The quote by Peter Coyote emphasizes that learning stillness from nature carries profound significance. Stillness, in this context, suggests a state of tranquility, calmness, or peace. When we learn to emulate nature's stillness, we can find harmony within ourselves, allowing us to observe the world more keenly, listen more attentively, and connect deeper with our surroundings. This mindful approach can lead to improved mental clarity, emotional balance, and overall well-being, making stillness an essential lesson from nature that greatly enriches our lives.


"Adventure isn't about having fun, it's about finding the limit of yourself, then going beyond it."

This quote by Peter Coyote encapsulates a perspective on adventure that goes beyond mere enjoyment; instead, it's about challenging personal boundaries and pushing oneself to grow and transcend them. Adventure serves as a vehicle for self-discovery and personal development, providing opportunities to explore one's capabilities and potential in the process of going beyond what was thought possible. This mindset fosters resilience, determination, and a willingness to step out of comfort zones, leading to personal growth and a deeper understanding of oneself.


"A good film is when the answer to all problems is the poetic truth rather than physical reality."

This quote by Peter Coyote suggests that a great movie transcends the constraints of tangible reality, instead finding resolution through emotional or symbolic truths – what he calls "poetic truth." In such films, characters' journeys are not dictated solely by physical events but rather by deeper, intangible themes and meanings. This perspective invites filmmakers to approach storytelling with a focus on the human experience and the power of art to resonate beyond the limitations of the real world.


We put on shows at Golden Gate Park with the Dead and Jefferson Airplane, and the groups were part of the community they emerged out of, not some superstars. We had multiple stages, diversions, communal entertainment. There is something slightly fascistic about sitting in a huge auditorium focusing all the energy on one group far away on stage.

- Peter Coyote

Some, Slightly, Auditorium, Airplane

The body is an inviolable limit. And you have to really hurt it before you know that.

- Peter Coyote

Know, Limit, Before, Hurt

Everyone knows that our current system is kind of like legalized prostitution. The corporate sector completely controls the civic sector.

- Peter Coyote

Controls, Everyone, Like, Civic

Interdependence is a fact, it's not an opinion.

- Peter Coyote

Opinion, Fact, Interdependence

The terrible thing about being an actor is that it's not a solo occupation.

- Peter Coyote

Actor, About, Occupation, Terrible Thing

My gift seems to be that I am able to tell a story in a comprehensible and engaging way.

- Peter Coyote

I Am, Gift, Engaging, Comprehensible

My house and my garden are built as part of nature, not over it.

- Peter Coyote

Over, Over It, Built, Garden

Young people, for whom I should have been a role model and an uncle, duplicated my worst habits and died as a result.

- Peter Coyote

Habits, Role, Been, Duplicated

We spend all this energy keeping our lives normal and safe and predictable, and the result is that our approved cultural safety valve is the movies. So in films, anyway, the hero is obliged to represent the continuance of social values and institutions, and his permission to act is much more seriously limited than the villain's.

- Peter Coyote

Values, Villain, Obliged, Continuance

There has to be that feeling in a good villain - that he's awesome, he has his own power; that he is, in several senses, unstoppable.

- Peter Coyote

Villain, Awesome, His, Unstoppable

When I got to Grinnell College, I was part of the black turtleneck sweater and Camel cigarette crowd of poets and writers.

- Peter Coyote

College, Crowd, Cigarette, Sweater

One of the most treasured books that I own is Donald Allen's 'The New American Poetry, 1945-1960.' It was a totem of great importance and potency to my group of writer friends in college from 1960 to 1964.

- Peter Coyote

College, New, Donald, Treasured

People call me a movie star. If you're in the business, a movie star is someone who can make a film bankable. My name and $6 million will make a $6 million movie. I'm a working actor. Because I started late, I had a very short run as a leading man, and my films didn't make money in America.

- Peter Coyote

Movie, Very, Leading, Working Actor

I am fascinated by women. They're as close as we men get to experiencing 'the other.' The challenge for me was to know and accept fully formed, powerful women.

- Peter Coyote

Other, Fascinated, Am, Formed

The first time I read something, I have this special feeling of being fully engaged with it. It's fresh to the audience because it's fresh to me. It's a little mystical, but I really believe that.

- Peter Coyote

Audience, Engaged, Read, Fully

When I went to get my master's in creative writing at San Francisco State after Grinnell, I joined the moribund remnants of the Actor's Workshop, until I saw Kay Hayward and Sandy Archer in the San Francisco Mime Troupe and drove down that day to audition. The rest is history.

- Peter Coyote

Down, Francisco, Mime, Troupe

The self is just not a worthy enough vehicle to worship.

- Peter Coyote

Self, Enough, Worthy, Worship

I believe that when you're wrong, own it and apologize, and so I do and put it on the equivalent of my front page.

- Peter Coyote

Own, Equivalent, Front Page, Apologize

My dad was a very violent, frightening and dangerous guy. Next to him, I was this vague kind of kid who walked around, as I still do, gathering impressions.

- Peter Coyote

Next, Vague, Very, Gathering

Kennedy invited us into the White House-the first time in the history of the White House picketers had been invited inside. This made front page headlines.

- Peter Coyote

Been, Made, Invited, White House

Any political agenda and organization which doesn't begin with personal responsibility is just half the argument. It's just not going to succeed.

- Peter Coyote

Argument, Which, Half, Agenda

I think the '60s were an extraordinary time. I feel bad for the kids today who missed this wonderful confluence, which was simultaneously a confluence of the global and the mythological.

- Peter Coyote

Think, Which, Mythological, Simultaneously

It came home to me indelibly that I was never going to change anything in America by walking around carrying a sign. It was a great revelation. It saved me a lot of anxiety and a lot of wasted energy.

- Peter Coyote

Change, Saved, Going, Carrying

When I was young and growing up in New York, my parents took me to children's theater quite often - elaborate presentations of 'Goldilocks' and 'Rapunzel' for Upper East Side kids. As I grew older, they took me to adult theater, mostly musicals.

- Peter Coyote

Young, Elaborate, Mostly, Musicals

Habitat for wildlife is continually shrinking - I can at least provide a way station.

- Peter Coyote

Provide, Habitat, Least, Shrinking

I got out of college and I went to get my master's in creative writing at San Francisco State. I was working as an actor at the Actor's Workshop, being abused as a intern.

- Peter Coyote

College, Francisco, San, Creative Writing

I think you have a social responsibility as the villain, which is pretty different from the hero's responsibility. If you have any kind of a social or political conscience at all, the first thing you want to do is make malevolence recognizable to people, almost as a kind of teaching aid.

- Peter Coyote

Villain, Conscience, I Think, The First Thing

In 2001, Texaco was bought by Chevron, and during deliberations concerning that sale, an 800 page document listing the problems and liabilities connected to Texaco was brought forward at their stockholder meeting by Amazon Watch, a non-profit dedicated to protecting the Amazon.

- Peter Coyote

Brought, Document, Listing, Meeting

In 1972, Texaco Oil Company, in partnership with PetroEcuador, the state-run oil company of Ecuador, began to drill for oil in the jungles of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

- Peter Coyote

Partnership, Began, Drill, Amazon

Business is a subset of the environment, not the other way around. You can't have a healthy economy, you can't have a healthy anything in a degraded environment.

- Peter Coyote

Business, Other, Economy, Healthy Economy

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