I would like to continue to tell stories of what I did in a biographical way, so I will continue to write. – Philippe Petit
You see, it’s actually very good that a human activity is performed very close to death, because that’s where life is. Life is, at its most valuable and most full, very close to the boundary of life. – Philippe Petit
If I had been born in the circus, my parents would have pushed me on that little high wire at four years old. That’s when the body is most limber to learn those acrobatics. – Philippe Petit
If I have to make a self-portrait, I would put poetry and rebellion on the list. To be able to walk on a wire, to be able to juggle six hoops, you need focus, another word for tenacity, which is passion. – Philippe Petit
On one day of the week, I relax – which is not true, I work furiously on other things. ‘Relax’ is not a word to me. – Philippe Petit
Notre Dame and Sydney – that was nothing. Notre Dame doesn’t have a police station; it is not 1,000 or so feet high. It was a public structure, very easy to access. And Sydney Harbour Bridge was half-and-half: a bridge, in the middle of the night. The World Trade Center was the end of the world. Electronic devices, police dogs. – Philippe Petit
Many people use the words ‘death defying’ or ‘death wishing’ when they talk about wire-walking. Many people have asked me: ‘So do you have a death wish?’ After doing a beautiful walk, I feel like punching them in the nose. It’s indecent. I have a life wish. – Philippe Petit
An intellectual challenge presents itself? I am in bliss. Instantly, it brings forth the notion of triumph. – Philippe Petit
I was in art school once a week from six to 16, which was essential in shaping my artistic sensitivity. – Philippe Petit
I needed more knowledge in rigging and knotting. I started collecting books on knots and really learning more and more. That’s how it started. And also in magic, of course. With a piece of rope, you can do magic. – Philippe Petit
It’s part of my life to feel like a criminal, to have eyes in my back and see if I’m being followed. It’s a feeling that comes from street juggling because I have been arrested so many times. – Philippe Petit
I found out that total creativity involves a certain intellectual rebellion – not to become a criminal, but somehow. to be totally creating, you have to do things that are a little bit forbidden. You have to feel free, and we know freedom is a hard thing to get. – Philippe Petit
When art in general, and film in particular, succeeds is when it pulls you away onto a voyage. Then it’s a good film. – Philippe Petit
Everybody wanted me to be rich and famous on my art. And I said no to all the commercials and all the seedy offers. – Philippe Petit
Art is maybe a subversive activity. There is a certain rebellion when you are an artist at heart, even if only in the art of living. – Philippe Petit
My parents were intelligent and encouraging, but at the same time, they were displeased at me becoming a wandering troubadour and wire walker. – Philippe Petit
I started putting a wire up in secret and performing without permission. Notre Dame, the Sydney Harbor Bridge, the World Trade Center. And I developed a certitude, a faith that convinced me that I will get safely to the other side. If not, I will never do that first step. – Philippe Petit
What I think tailors the creativity of most people are the rules that we learn from the age we are very small – in school, our parents. – Philippe Petit
I keep saying I am an auto-didact, but I have a lot of outside influences. One I could cite is juggler Francis Brunn, who was the first man to throw ten rings in the air; he was really an amazing juggler who showed onstage the quest for perfection. – Philippe Petit
Fame was never something I was seeking in my artistic journey. It’s to be used as a tool for an artist to break open doors and keep creating. That’s how I enjoyed fame in ’74; it was not just for the emptiness of being famous. – Philippe Petit
I’ve frowned at the idea of breaking records, the first one to do something, or do it longer, higher, more difficult. – Philippe Petit
I have a fear of water, believe it or not. To put a wire 12 feet over a swimming pool frightens me. I don’t like water. – Philippe Petit
For years, I have been working on crossing the Grand Canyon. Actually, there is nobody who says ‘no,’ but since this is a project that comes from me and not a commission, I have to find the money, plan the logistics, etcetera. – Philippe Petit
When I was learning by myself, despite my parents, despite my teachers, despite society, when I was fighting for building my life as a young wire walker at age 16, I didn’t have feelings, I had certainties. – Philippe Petit
