"I find you very attractive. Your aggressive moves towards me indicates that you feel the same way. However, ritual requires that we engage in a number of platonic activities before we have sex. I am proceeding with those activities when, in point of actual fact, all I really want to do is have intercourse with you as soon as possible. You going to slap me now?"

"There's no point in being nuts if you can't have a little fun."

"[In his Nobel acceptance speech] I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason. But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask: 'What truly is logic?' 'Who decides reason?' My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional…and back. And I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found. [Looking at Alicia] I'm only here tonight because of you. You're the only reason I am…you are all my reasons."

"Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart."

"Helinger: Mathematicians won the war. Mathematicians broke the Japanese codes, and built the A-bomb. Mathematicians … like you. The stated goal of the Soviets is global Communism. In medicine or economics, in technology or space, battle lines are being drawn. To triumph, we need results. Publishable, applicable results. Now, who among you will be the next Morse? The next Einstein? Who among you will be the vanguard of democracy, freedom, and discovery? Today, we bequeath America's future into your able hands. Welcome to Princeton, gentlemen."

"Dr. Rosen: Imagine if you suddenly learned that the people, the places, the moments most important to you were not gone, not dead, but worse, had never been. What kind of hell would that be?"

"Dr. Rosen: [to Alicia] John has schizophrenia, people with this disease are often paranoid."

"Jennifer Connelly – Alicia Larde Nash"

"It is only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reasons can be found."

"I need to believe that something extraordinary is possible …"

"He Saw the World in a Way No One Could Have Imagined."

"The Only Thing Greater Than the Power of the Mind Is the Courage of the Heart"

"Josh Lucas – Martin Hansen"

"Paul Bettany – Charles Herman"

"Ed Harris – William Parcher"

"It's a great thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself. Makes you wonder what else you can do that you've forgotten about."

"Remember those posters that said, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life"? Well, that's true of every day but one - the day you die."

"[Lying in bed fantasizing of watching Angela on ceiling partially covered in rose petals with it landing on his face] It's the weirdest thing. I feel like I've been in a coma for about twenty years, and I'm just now waking up."

"[Epilogue after being fatally shot] I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn't a second at all. It stretches on forever, like an ocean of time. For me, it was lying on my back at Boy Scout Camp, watching falling stars. [Scene of Jane and Ricky lying bed alerted by gunshot and then gets up] And yellow leaves from the maple trees that lined our street. [Scene of Angela in powder room alerted by gunshot] Or my grandmother's hands, and the way her skin seemed like paper. [Scene of Carolyn outside in rain unresponsive to faint gunshot] And the first time I saw my cousin Tony's brand new Firebird. And Janie, and Janie. And Carolyn. I guess I could be pretty pissed off about what happened to me, but it's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain, and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life. You have no idea what I'm talking about, I'm sure. But don't worry. You will someday."

"[To Jane after halftime basketball performance] Honey, I'm so proud of you. I watched you very closely! You didn't screw up once!"

"[Repeated line, in self-assuring confidence] I will sell this house today. [Later becomes hysterically upset and profusively self-blaming]"

"[To Jane] Do you want to see the most beautiful thing I've ever filmed? It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing, and there was this electricity in the air. You can almost hear it. Right? And this bag was just, dancing with me, like a little kid beggin' me to play with it - for fifteen minutes. That's the day I realized that there was this entire life behind things, and this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know that there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember - I need to remember. Sometimes, there's so much beauty in the world - I feel like I can't take it, like my heart is just going to cave in."

"Kevin Spacey - Lester Burnham"

"Annette Bening - Carolyn Burnham"

"Thora Birch - Jane Burnham"

"Wes Bentley - Ricky Fitts"

"Mena Suvari - Angela Hayes"

"Peter Gallagher - Buddy Kane"

"Allison Janney - Barbara Fitts"

"Chris Cooper - Col. Frank Fitts, USMC"

"Scott Bakula - Jim Olmeyer"

"Sam Robards - Jim Berkley"

"Barry Del Sherman - Brad Dupree"

"My name is Lester Burnham. This is my neighborhood. This is my street. This is my life. I am 42 years old. In less than a year, I will be dead. Of course, I don't know that yet, and in a way, I'm dead already. Look at me, jerking off in the shower. This will be the highlight of my day. It's all downhill from here. That's my wife Carolyn. See the way the handle on those pruning shears match her gardening clogs? That's not an accident. That's our neighbor, Jim, and that's his lover, Jim. Man, I get exhausted just watching her. She wasn't always like this. She used to be happy. We used to be happy. [Jane is researching breast augumentation surgery despite having a large bust] My daughter, Jane. Only child. Janie's a pretty typical teenager–angry, insecure, confused. I wish I could tell her that's all going to pass, but I don't want to lie to her. Both my wife and daughter think I'm this gigantic loser. And they're right. I have lost something. I'm not exactly sure what it is, but I know I didn't always feel this... sedated. But you know what? It's never too late to get it back."