British-American Relations Quotes

The only winner in the War of 1812 was Tchaikovsky.

The British are the only people in history crass enough to have made revolutionaries out of Americans.

There is a common British delusion that we 'understand' America. We don't. Watching 'Friends' listening to Bruce Springsteen, eating at McDonald's and visiting Disneyland does not do it.

But more than anything else, for the British folks Irish people were all terrorists. So when we went to Britain, it was always a lot of resistance to U2. And that's why we came to America.

People constantly express surprise that Americans are so hot for Shakespeare. But Britain's culture is American culture, too.

Every other year, I spend Thanksgiving in England with Dave Clark from the Dave Clark Five and a bunch of other people.

'Notting Hill?' Does that poke fun at being British? Maybe it does. In 'Mickey Blue Eyes,' that's kind of the point: the clash of worlds, the unlikely combo of a respectable Englishman and a mob guy. If you take out the Britishness, you don't really have much.

The British have never felt America to be a foreign land.

I think there's a certain objectivity that comes from being Canadian. You're partly British and partly American; you have a good bird's-eye view of both countries. So much of the comedy that comes out of Canada is impersonation - it's less 'look at me' than it is 'look at me playing other people.'

The British have never historically thought of themselves as being European. The average Britain has much more in common with an American than with a Frenchman.

The United States, the Dominions and the British ruling classes are alike race-conscious, and the underlying instinct of the Anglo-Saxons is to preserve the Anglo-Saxon breed intact against the rising tide of color. Despite emotional appeals and jingo talk, the common British and American attitude towards the people of other colors is a fundamental factor in the present situation

Being British, we tend to think of ourselves as America's best friend. And as your best friend, that gives us a little bit of license to point out things that could have been handled better.

Neville Chamberlain thoroughly dislikes Americans.

The events of the War of 1812 have not been forgotten in England for they have never been known there.

My first book, 'Fast Forward', was about growing up in the shadow of Hollywood and how kids are affected by the culture of materialism and the cult of celebrity, and I've often felt the reason my work has an audience in the U.K. is because it's everything the British love to hate about the Americans.

I think we're very lucky that there is a tradition of British actors working in America and being respected in America, and I've always liked Kate Winslet and her work and respected her.