May 31: Notable Births, with Quotes
Explore memorable and revealing quotes from public figures, past and present, who were born on May 31.
Colin Farrell, actor (May 31, 1976–present)
“In my own noggin, I’m not a big star.” —Colin Farrell
Sims, David. “‘I Imagined a Future That Was Neither Utopian nor Dystopian.’” The Atlantic, March 11, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/03/after-yang-colin-farrell-kogonada-interview/627034/.
“There are certain things I’ve learned over the last 20 years working in film. I don’t want to be too familiar or too comfortable. I’m still almost, if not fully, as confused a human being as I was as a teenager.” —Colin Farrell
Sims, David. “‘I Imagined a Future That Was Neither Utopian nor Dystopian.’” The Atlantic, March 11, 2022, https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2022/03/after-yang-colin-farrell-kogonada-interview/627034/.
Phil Keoghan, television host and creator (May 31, 1967–present)
“It’s been heartbreaking waiting to share ‘Race,’ not just Season 32 but then getting stopped in our tracks with Season 33. It’s been so tough and obviously we can’t wait to get through the pandemic to be able to produce more ‘Races’ again. If there’s any silver lining, it’s that people have gone and binge-watched ‘Amazing Race’ and we’ve collected some new fans.” —Phil Keoghan
Eng, Joyce. “Phil Keoghan on ‘The Amazing Race’s’ ‘heartbreaking’ delays and why fans are connecting with ‘Tough as Nails.’” Gold Derby, June 21, 2021, https://www.goldderby.com/feature/phil-keoghan-the-amazing-race-tough-as-nails-video-interview-1204310114/.
“For the type of people we’re casting on ‘Tough as Nails,’ the majority of them comes from working in teams — they work on construction sites on a team, they work in the carpenters union or they work as ironworkers — and they’re used to supporting each other. So, yes, we’re looking for the toughest of them all, but we love that team spirit and the reality of is that the majority of the people who come on ‘Tough as Nails’ are gonna win their money in the team competition.” —Phil Keoghan
Eng, Joyce. “Phil Keoghan on ‘The Amazing Race’s’ ‘heartbreaking’ delays and why fans are connecting with ‘Tough as Nails.’” Gold Derby, June 21, 2021, https://www.goldderby.com/feature/phil-keoghan-the-amazing-race-tough-as-nails-video-interview-1204310114/.
Brooke Shields, actress and model (May 31, 1965–present)
“My friends are moms who are starting new careers, who are empty nesters, and who are saying: ‘I’m this age but there’s so much more for me to do. And I’m capable of it, and I’m independent.’ We love the men in our lives, but we’re not reliant on them. We’re not defined by this, this or this – and that includes motherhood.” —Brooke Shields
Saner, Emine. “Brooke Shields on child stardom, sexualisation and nailing comedy: ‘It’s not in my nature to be a victim.’” The Guardian, November 22, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/nov/22/brooke-shields-on-child-stardom-sexualisation-and-nailing-comedy-its-not-in-my-nature-to-be-a-victim.
“Why am I told: ‘You’re over because you’re not in your 20s’? I’m 56 and I feel more empowered now than I ever did.” —Brooke Shields
Saner, Emine. “Brooke Shields on child stardom, sexualisation and nailing comedy: ‘It’s not in my nature to be a victim.’” The Guardian, November 22, 2021, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/nov/22/brooke-shields-on-child-stardom-sexualisation-and-nailing-comedy-its-not-in-my-nature-to-be-a-victim.
Chris Elliott, actor and comedian (May 31, 1960–present)
“It has to be someone who is a fan of mine who wants to put me in their movie.” —Chris Elliott
Wilstein, Matt. “Chris Elliott Talks Turning Down SNL and Why He Cried When Letterman Retired.” Daily Beast, December 16, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-elliott-talks-turning-down-snl-and-why-he-cried-when-letterman-retired.
“When I did impersonations, some of them not bad, on Letterman, I was always introduced as Chris Elliott. Except for maybe Marlon Brando. But the joke was always that it was Chris Elliott doing this impersonation.” —Chris Elliott
Wilstein, Matt. “Chris Elliott Talks Turning Down SNL and Why He Cried When Letterman Retired.” Daily Beast, December 16, 2018, https://www.thedailybeast.com/chris-elliott-talks-turning-down-snl-and-why-he-cried-when-letterman-retired.
Joe Namath, football player (May 31, 1943–present)
“Life is a team effort. Having failure or having success — if you didn’t have someone to share either one with, or those different emotions we have, where would we be? I like private time, but I don’t want to feel alone.” —Joe Namath
Greene, David. “He Could Go ‘All The Way’: Joe Namath Enters His 4th Quarter.” NPR, May 22, 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/22/725480942/he-could-go-all-the-way-joe-namath-enters-his-fourth-quarter.
“Football definitely is a sport that the body’s not designed for, whether it be your knees, your ankles, your shoulders, your neck, your spine.” —Joe Namath
Greene, David. “He Could Go ‘All The Way’: Joe Namath Enters His 4th Quarter.” NPR, May 22, 2019, https://www.npr.org/2019/05/22/725480942/he-could-go-all-the-way-joe-namath-enters-his-fourth-quarter.
Clint Eastwood, actor and director (May 31, 1930–present)
“My career has been so much based upon luck, things falling into place at the right time.” —Clint Eastwood
Reinstein, Mara. “‘I’m Not in It for the Dough!’ Clint Eastwood Talks ‘Cry Macho’ and Why He Has No Plans to Retire.’” Parade, September 10, 2021, https://parade.com/1259470/maramovies/clint-eastwood-cry-macho/.
“I always liked Westerns as a kid. You think about it vicariously, like, ‘I’d like to be doing that.’ But I never thought seriously of being in the acting profession. I didn’t know where I wanted to be until I was drafted in the Army. I got out and I knew that I had to do something.” —Clint Eastwood
Reinstein, Mara. “‘I’m Not in It for the Dough!’ Clint Eastwood Talks ‘Cry Macho’ and Why He Has No Plans to Retire.’” Parade, September 10, 2021, https://parade.com/1259470/maramovies/clint-eastwood-cry-macho/.
Norman Vincent Peale, clergyman and author (May 31, 1898–December 24, 1993)
“Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy. But with sound self-confidence you can succeed.” —Norman Vincent Peale
Peale, Norman Vincent. “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1952.
“Just because somebody gets an A in college doesn’t make him the greatest man in the United States, because maybe his As will stop when he gets his diploma, and the fellow who got Cs in school will go on later to get the real As in life.” —Norman Vincent Peale
Peale, Norman Vincent. “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1952.
Walt Whitman, poet and essayist (May 31, 1819–March 26, 1892)
“Poets to come! orators, singers, musicians to come! Not to-day is to justify me and answer what I am for, but you, a new brood, native, athletic, continental, greater than before known, Arouse! for you must justify me.” —Walt Whitman
Whitman, Walt. “The Project Gutenberg eBook of Leaves of Grass.” Project Gutenberg, May 1998, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1322/1322-h/1322-h.htm.
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself, and what I assume you shall assume, for every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” —Walt Whitman
Whitman, Walt. “The Project Gutenberg eBook of Leaves of Grass.” Project Gutenberg, May 1998, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1322/1322-h/1322-h.htm.
*
Enjoy daily quotes and inspiration wherever you are! Download our Brilliant Quotes app for Apple or Android. Browse by author or category, read our quote of the day, vote for your favorite quotes, and share inspirational quotes on social media.
