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Hero Quotes

On heroes, idols, and who we choose to look up to.

These quotes look at what it means to have a hero, whether that's a musician admired from the audience or a childhood icon like Mickey Mouse who fits several roles at once. Explore more in Inspiration quotes.

If you really stop to think about it, the last really big guitar hero was Eddie Van Halen, and that was back in the '80s - early '80s, you know what I mean? That's a long time ago.

Quotes by Rickey Medlocke

I wonder if 50 years from now we'll look back, and maybe Julian Assange will be the hero and J. Edgar Hoover will be the enemy of the state.

Quotes by Rick Smolan

In Ronald Reagan's chaotic childhood, the imagination was armor. There is nothing unusual about that; transcending the doubts, hesitations, and fears swirling around you by casting yourself internally as the hero of your own adventure story is a characteristic psychic...

Quotes by Rick Perlstein

Any captain can only do his best for the team and for cricket. When you are winning, you are a hero. Lose, and the backslappers fade away.

Quotes by Richie Benaud

I'm not a hero. The military is.

Quotes by Richard Phillips

When I was a young man, Dirac was my hero. He made a breakthrough, a new method of doing physics. He had the courage to simply guess at the form of an equation, the equation we now call the Dirac...

Quotes by Richard P. Feynman

I don't know what its like for most actors, but really clearly for myself acting has always been the fulfilment of personal fantasies. It isn't just art, its about being a person I've always wanted to be, or being in...

Quotes by Richard Dreyfuss

A static hero is a public liability. Progress grows out of motion.

Quotes by Richard E. Byrd

Maybe the best example of the unmuscled hero is Humphrey Bogart in 'Casablanca.' Bogart was 15 years older than Ingrid Bergman, and it did not matter at all. He had the experience, the confidence, the internal strength that can only...

Quotes by Richard Cohen

Female success stories from sporting events like the Olympic Games have played a role in shifting the Indian perception to see the female athlete as a hero and a role model for young Indian girls.

Quotes by Richard Attias

At every step in his life, DiMaggio was what New Yorkers wanted in a hero.

Quotes by Richard Ben Cramer

We strove for more than 60 years to give Joe DiMaggio the hero's life. From his debut at Yankee Stadium in 1936 until his death in 1999, DiMaggio was, at every turn, one man we could look at who made...

Quotes by Richard Ben Cramer

'Greatest American Hero,' I really dug that as a kid because it had an alienation to it, where he was given a gift and didn't know why, and yet he was forced to do something with it, and he was...

Quotes by Rhys Darby

The only hero known to my childhood was Henry Clay.

Quotes by Rebecca Harding Davis

To have one's own story told by a third party who doesn't know that the character in question is himself the hero of the story being told, that's a technical refinement.

Quotes by Raymond Queneau

I play antihero; I play hero... I'm not image-struck.

Quotes by Raveena Tandon

Since most heroes are doing villainous roles these days, that thrill is lost. Earlier, there used to be a hero, a heroine, a villain and such. The villain's entry would generate a lot of curiosity among the audience back then.

Quotes by Ranjeet

The truth is that I've always wanted to be an actor, ever since I was a child. I used to see these English movies which were shown to us in our school every Saturday, and then I used to enact...

Quotes by Randeep Hooda

The hero is changing in Bollywood, and I approach a hero's role like a character by focusing on its weaknesses. I feel the weaknesses of a character make them more alive, relatable, and human.

Quotes by Randeep Hooda

I didn't set out to be a regular hero.

Quotes by Rana Daggubati

Frequently Asked Questions

What do these hero quotes have in common?
These quotes explore how we relate to heroes and idols - real people, cultural icons, and even fictional characters. One captures pure personal admiration: "Because he was my hero, I would visit him for inspiration," describing visits to see a performer named Bobby. For more on that feeling of being personally inspired, see Inspiration quotes.
Is there a quote about a specific real hero?
Yes - one quote is direct and heartfelt: "Glenn Gould was my hero. Glenn Gould was my idol. I loved him." It's a simple, repeated declaration of admiration for a named figure.
Do any of these quotes mention fictional heroes?
Yes. One quote points out that a hero doesn't have to come from real life: "Whether it's as the hero of an adventure story, as teacher and friend, as icon on watch, shirt or hat - everyone knows Mickey Mouse," showing how a cartoon character can fill the same role as a real-life hero.
Do heroes stay heroes forever, according to these quotes?
Not necessarily - one quote takes a more cynical, cyclical view: "The idol of today pushes the hero of yesterday out of our recollection; and will, in turn, be supplanted by his successor of tomorrow." It suggests admiration is often temporary rather than permanent, which touches on ideas found in Legacy quotes too.
Where can I read more about what makes someone heroic?
For related themes, take a look at Courage quotes and Sacrifice quotes.

Others point out that admiration doesn't stay fixed - today's idol eventually gives way to someone new. See also Courage quotes and Legacy quotes.