Oscar Isaac has been the hot topic for quite a while now and rightly so. He has had many great projects that eventually led him to get a role in this insanely popular Star Wars franchise. Perhaps Isaac will unleash his full potential in the near future.
In any case, most of his characters were always crucial to the story. Consequently, they often had some iconic lines, so here are Oscar Isaac’s 10 Most Memorable Movie Quotes Of All Time.
“[Finn] Can you fly a TIE Fighter? [Poe] I can fly anything.” - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens might not have been the perfect movie, but many fans loved it and it was ultimately worth it. A continuation of the original trilogy, this movie was a huge event as it brought back to the screens the legendary franchise.
Just like in the original and the prequel trilogies, we have three protagonists: Rey, Finn, and Poe. Oscar Isaac’s Poe might not have gotten as much screentime as the other time, but from what we’ve seen, he’s a relatively fun guy that is still responsible, and this quote proves it. Poe claims to be able to fly anything, and he is actually right because he is almost the best pilot in the galaxy.
“But second chances are rare. Right? And that’s worth celebrating.” - Drive (2011)
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive is an action drama film based on a novel of the same name. The film was praised by critics despite its graphic violence and even premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before being released (it got a standing ovation and Refn won the Best Director Award). Drive also got a nomination on the Academy Awards.
“You know, we’re here celebrating, but it’s a shameful thing… what I did. And I have a lot of making up to do to everyone. But second chances are rare. Right? And that’s worth celebrating.” - Drive (2011)
The quote here is said by Oscar Isaac’s character Standard who recently came out of prison. He goes back to his wife and child trying to make their lives good again, but he is drowning in debt which is why he decides to go back to his criminal life. Nevertheless, Nathan talks about the importance of second chances and that they are quite rare and must be valued which is very true.
“One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons…” - Ex Machina (2014)
Ex Machina is by far one of the best independent films of the 21st century with its many hidden details. This sci-fi movie does not really on CGI to tell the story but rather focuses on the plot and character development. The movie went on to be successful at the box office while also getting nominated and winning various awards.
“One day the AIs are going to look back on us the same way we look at fossil skeletons on the plains of Africa. An upright ape living in dust with crude language and tools, all set for extinction.” - Ex Machina (2014)
Oscar Isaac plays Nathan Bateman, the CEO of a large IT company, who wants to test his latest experiment which is the humanoid robot Ava, played by Alicia Vikander. At one point, Nathan says that the future AIs will regard humans as primitive apes set for extinction, just like we, humans, regard fossils.
“You need a pilot.” - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Perhaps the interactions between Finn and Poe are the most notable highlights of Star Wars: The Force Awakens simply because there are so many gems you can find in their dialogues. Both eventually come to like each other and become good friends.
“[Poe] Wha- why? Why are you helping me? [Finn] Because it’s the right thing to do. [Poe] You need a pilot. [Finn] I need a pilot.” - Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
However, if you look back at the start of their relationship, you will see that it was purely materialistic, much like the one Luke and Han had at the beginning. Finn is escaping from the First Order and needs a pilot, so he goes to the one prisoner that will definitely get him out of there: Poe Dameron, one of the best pilots in the galaxy.
“Hello, Miss. What is your name” - Drive (2011)
This is another great quote from Drive, but this time it’s a fun one. Isaac’s character Standard is telling the story of how he and his wife Irene, played by Carey Mulligan, met. The punchline is quite witty considering the character’s name, but there is something else more alerting.
“[Standard] Alright, so I illegally walked over to a seventeen-year-old girl. And I walk up and I say, ‘Hello, Miss. What is your name?’ And she didn’t say anything. And then I said, ‘Well, my name is Standard Gabriel.’ Then what did you say? [Irene] I said, ‘Where’s the deluxe version?’” - Drive (2011)
While telling the story, Standard first claims that Irene was nineteen, but she corrects him and tells him she was seventeen at the time. Standard being oblivious to this fact shows just how much of an irresponsible person he is, caring mostly solely about himself.
“When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump…” - A Most Violent Year (2014)
A Most Violent Year is a crime drama film set in the winter of 1981 in New York which was the year with some of the highest crime rates in the history of the city. Oscar Isaac’s character, Abel Morales, is an immigrant who tries to survive with his family and capitalize on the American Dream as all of the corruption around them threatens to destroy his company.
“When it feels scary to jump, that is exactly when you jump, otherwise you end up staying in the same place your whole life, and that I can’t do.” - A Most Violent Year (2014)
You could say that this quote is a piece of wisdom from Abel who is quite a decent businessman and knows the value of risk. He believes that doing something dangerous or scary is best when you are in that state of fright. Otherwise, you might never do what you are afraid to do and regret it for the rest of your life.
“Of all the miseries that afflict humanity, nothing maddens me more than the lack of money.” - At Eternity’s Gate (2018)
At Eternity’s Gate is actually a painting by Vincent Van Gogh which is the inspiration for the film of the same name starring Willem Dafoe as Van Gogh and Oscar Isaac as Paul Gauguin, another painter and a close friend of Van Gogh’s. Mads Mikkelsen also stars in the film as The Priest. At Eternity’s Gate received various award nominations and initially premiered at the Venice International Film Festival.
This biographical drama follows Van Gogh’s final years of life and dramatizes the theory that his death was caused by mischief rather than suicide. There are many amazing quotes, but this one is particularly peculiar as Isaac’s character Gauguin talks about poverty and how it affects people and the painter himself.
“The good deeds a man has done before defend him.” - Ex Machina (2014)
This line is repeated by Nathan several times and it is actually a reference to Julius Robert Oppenheimer who was an American theoretical physicist who is often credited as the “father of the atomic bomb.”
Oppenheimer famously translated a Sanskrit poem from the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Hindu scripture. One line from the poem (“I am become Death, Destroyer of the Worlds.”) is first used by Caleb, but then Nathan uses another line before passing out drunk, “The good deeds a man has done before defend him.”
“I’m tired. I thought I just needed a night’s sleep, but it’s more than that.” - Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
This musical comedy-drama was almost entirely created by the Coen brothers. Inside Llewyn Davis premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before getting a limited release and got nominated both on the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards. Of course, Oscar Isaac plays the titular character Llewyn Davis who is a young folk singer in Greenwich Village struggling to navigate the place in 1961.
There probably isn’t a more relatable quote than this one. It perfectly sums up what most people are feeling nowadays even though we don’t live in the 1960s. With the world around moving so fast, we are forced to run if we want to keep up, and that is very tiring.
“You can’t pick your family, but you can pick your friends.” - At Eternity’s Gate (2018)
Another interesting quote from At Eternity’s Gate was bound to top this list. This is something so obvious yet so overlooked that the simple truth spoken by Paul Gauguin seems too good to be true.
Nobody can decide who their parents or siblings or distant relatives are, but they can decide who their friends are. If you aren’t proud of who you are associated with, you can still change who you want to be associated with instead of focusing on the family you don’t like.
