Tom Stoppard - Quodid

About

Picture of Tom Stoppard

Sir Tom Stoppard (; born Tomáš Sträussler; 3 July 1937 – 29 November 2025) was a British playwright and screenwriter. He wrote for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covered the themes of human rights, censorship, and political freedom, often delving into the deeper philosophical bases of society. Stoppard, a playwright of the Royal National Theatre, was one of the most internationally performed dramatists of his generation and was critically compared with William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He was knighted for his contribution to theatre in 1997 and awarded the Order of Merit in 2000.

Quotes from Tom Stoppard

Eternity's a terrible thought. I mean, where's it all going to end?

—Tom Stoppard

thought eternity

I agree with everything you say, but I would attack to the death your right to say it.

—Tom Stoppard

If Beethoven had been killed in a plane crash at the age of 22, it would have changed the history of music... and of aviation.

—Tom Stoppard

We're actors - we're the opposite of people.

—Tom Stoppard

humor opposites acting

If an idea's worth having once, it's worth having twice.

—Tom Stoppard

A republican government is slow to move, yet once in motion it's momentum becomes irresistible.

—Tom Stoppard

Skill without imagination is craftsmanship and gives us many useful objects such as wickerwork picnic baskets. Imagination without skill gives us modern art.

—Tom Stoppard

The truth is always a compound of two half- truths, and you never reach it, because there is always something more to say.

—Tom Stoppard

A healthy attitude is contagious but don't wait to catch it from others. Be a carrier.

—Tom Stoppard

We do on stage things that are supposed to happen off. Which is a kind of integrity, if you look on every exit as being an entrance somewhere else.

—Tom Stoppard

The days of the digital watch are numbered.

—Tom Stoppard

It is better to be quotable than to be honest.

—Tom Stoppard

I think age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

—Tom Stoppard

We cross our bridges when we come to them and burn them behind us, with nothing to show for our progress except a memory of the smell of smoke, and a presumption that once our eyes watered.

—Tom Stoppard

memory progress smell burning bridges