Anderson Hauptli's Key Ideas from Real James Dean
by Peter Winkler

“Everything he heard, everything he read, everything he did seemed to have new meaning for Jimmy. Until then he had understood everything, but now he was able to apply it. For the first time, acting made sense to him.” - Peter L. Winkler

“He could hang on to anybody. Anybody that he felt he could get something out of - not money-wise or material-wise. He felt that any knowledge he could gain from anybody was valuable. As a matter of fact his time was valuable. He seemed to be in a hurry about something. I don’t know what. Maybe a feeling that he wasn’t going to live very long.” - Peter L. Winkler

“He was an attentive listener and had a tenacious memory. He picked up a great deal from the people with whom he was associating, and he made it a point to study in detail any subjects discussed which were unfamiliar to him. In an amazingly short time he became well-versed in the subjects of modern art, contemporary literature, and progressive classical music.” - Peter L. Winkler

Jimmy wanted to learn everything and compress what he knew into one energy force representing “something perfect.” He had to dance and sing, learn photography and bullfighting, because he knew that what he’d learn could come through in some other way, would make up qualities he would project as an artist - as an actor.” - Peter L. Winkler