, best embodied in the title of his most celebrated film, Rebel Without a Cause
(1955), in which he starred as troubled Los Angeles teenager Jim Stark. The other two roles that defined his stardom were as loner Cal Trask in East of Eden (1955), and as the surly ranch hand, Jett Rink, in Giant (1956). Dean's enduring fame and popularity rests on his performances in only these three films, all leading roles.
Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today.
Gratification comes in the doing, not in the results.
How can you measure acting in inches?
I'm playing the damn bongos and the world can go to hell.
Most of all I like to mold and create things.
I think the prime reason for living in this world is discovery.
I'm a serious minded and intense little devil - terribly gauche and so tense that I don't see how people can stay in the same room as me. I know I couldn't tolerate myself.
I don't even want to be just the best. I want to grow so tall that nobody can reach me.
I think there is only one form of greatness for man. If a man can bridge the gap between life and death. I mean, if he can live on after he has died, then maybe he was a great man. To me the only success, the only greatness, is immortality.