He called The Conformist (1970) and Amour (2012) the best movies he's ever done.

He called Michael Haneke the greatest director in the world.

He stated that he was a bit embarrassed when he had to film his erotic scenes with ex-wife Stéphane Audran in Les Biches (1968) right under the eyes of her new husband, director Claude Chabrol.

His actress/daughter, Marie Trintignant, who was married at the time to director/actor Samuel Benchetrit, was fatally beaten in a Lithuanian hotel in 2003 by her jealous boyfriend, Bertrand Cantat, the lead rock singer and guitarist of the group, Noir Désir. Apparently, he became outraged when she received a telephone call from her husband. She suffered a cerebral edema as a result of her skull fractures and died four days after the incident. In 2004, Cantat was sentenced to eight years in prison for manslaughter, which was initially appealed by Marie's family, who wished for a heavier sentence. They later canceled their appeal and the judgment was final.

He retired from movies in 2003, but kept working on the stage. He made one exception when he returned to the screen with Amour (2012) and stated that director Michael Haneke is the only person for whom he'd do it again, in either a big or small role. In September 2013, he announced that he would've extended his retirement to stage work as well. His last theatrical appearance was a poetry recital in Antibes on the 2nd October 2013. His promise to do more film work with Haneke is still valid.

The best actors in the world are those who feel the most and show the least.

[on Marcello Mastroianni] Mastroianni fascinates me; there are few people who are more intelligent than they wish to appear. That's Marcello exactly!

[on Gina Lollobrigida] The only leading lady who displeased me. It's wicked to say this now she's a retired old lady, but we had a completely different conception of things: between each shot she called for her hairdresser and make-up man. It was very painful to work under those conditions. And then, she was a little stupid: she understood nothing of what she was doing and completely embarrassed the director.

[on Costa-Gavras] Costa-Gavras is more the classic director of the American cinema of John Ford and those people. His films are a little linear, didactic for a character who is so complex and ambiguous. I love him! We all do, we all call him -- Nadine, myself -- when we're cutting. He can take any film and find ten more minutes to cut.

[on Anouk Aimée] No actress either, like Brigitte Bardot, but extraordinary -- the way Gary Cooper was extraordinary.