Sean Maguire [to his class]
See you Monday. We'll be talking about Freud and why he did enough cocaine to kill a small horse.
2nd most-quoted character in Good Will Hunting (1997): in 23 of its 62 quotes
Most scenes with: Will Hunting (15), Gerald Lambeau (3)
And why does he hang out with those **** gorillas, as you called them, because any one of them, if he asked them to, would take a **** bat to your head, okay? It's called loyalty.
More lines from Sean Maguire
2 quotes Sean Maguire Sean Maguire Hey..you know you'd be better off shoving that cigarette up your ass, it'd probably be healthier for you.
Scenes with Sean Maguire
20 scenes Sean Trust...very important in a relationship, it's also very important in a clinical situation. Why is trust the most important thing in making a breakthrough with a client? Maureen, stop the oral fixation for a moment and join us. Vinnie.
Vinnie
Um...because uh...trust is...uh...trust is life.
Sean Wow. That's very deep. Thank you, Vinnie. Next time get the notes from your brother. Now, the patient is here to say nothing. If trusting won't go past this, then there's really no point in them being in therapy. I mean, hey, if they don't trust you, you know, you're never gonna get them to sleep with ya' and that should be the goal of any good therapist...nail them while they're vulnerable. That's my motto.....Oh, good, everyone's back. Welcome back everybody.
Sean If you ever disrespect my wife again, I will end you. I will ****in' end you. Got that, chief?
Time's up.
Sean I thought about what you said to me the other day, about my painting.
Yeah?
Sean Stayed up half the night thinking about it. Something occurred to me...I fell into a deep peaceful sleep, and haven't thought about you since. Do you know what occurred to me?
No.
Sean You're just a kid, you don't have the faintest idea what you're talkin' about.
Why thank you.
Sean It's all right. You've never been out of Boston.
Nope.
Sean So if I asked you about art, you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written. Michelangelo, you know a lot about him. Life's work, political aspirations, him and the pope, sexual orientations, the whole works, right? But I'll bet you can't tell me what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel. You've never actually stood there and looked up at that beautiful ceiling; seen that. If I ask you about women, you'd probably give me a syllabus about your personal favorites. You may have even been laid a few times. But you can't tell me what it feels like to wake up next to a woman and feel truly happy. You're a tough kid. And I'd ask you about war, you'd probably throw Shakespeare at me, right, "once more unto the breach dear friends." But you've never been near one. You've never held your best friend's head in your lap, watch him gasp his last breath looking to you for help. I ask you about love, you'd probably quote me a sonnet. But you've never looked at a woman and been totally vulnerable— known someone that could level you with her eyes. Feeling like God put an angel on Earth just for you. That could rescue you from the depths of hell. And you wouldn't know what it's like to be her angel. To have that love for her, be there for forever. Through anything, through cancer. And you wouldn't know about sleeping sitting up in a hospital room for two months holding her hand, because the doctors could see in your eyes that the term 'visiting hours' don't apply to you. You don't know about real loss, because that only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself. I doubt you've ever dared to love anybody that much. I look at you— I don't see an intelligent, confident man. I see a cocky, scared-shitless kid. But you're a genius Will, no one denies that. No one could possibly understand the depths of you. But you presume to know everything about me, because you saw a painting of mine, and you ripped my ****in' life apart. You're an orphan right?"
Sean [Will nods]
You think I know the first thing about how hard your life's been, how you feel, who you are, because I read Oliver Twist? Does that encapsulate you? Personally... I don't give a shit about all that, because you know what, I can't learn anything from you, I can't read in some ****in' book. Unless you want to talk about you, who you are. Then I'm fascinated. I'm in. But you don't want to do that do you sport? You're terrified of what you might say. Your move, chief.
What do you mean you didn't talk? You were in there for an hour.
Sean He just sat there counting the seconds until the session was over. Pretty impressive, actually.
Why would he do that?
Sean To prove to me he doesn't have to talk to me if he doesn't want to.
What is this, some kind of staring contest between two kids from the old neighborhood?
Sean Yeah, it is. And I can't talk first.
You know, I was on this plane once. And I'm sitting there and uh...the captain gets on, he does his whole, you know, we'll be cruisin' at 35,000 feet. But then he puts the mic down n forgets to turn it off.
Sean Mmm-hmm.
And so he turns to the co-pilot 'n' he's like, "You know, all I could use right now is a ****in' blow job and a cup of coffee." So the stewardess ****in' goes bombin' up from the back of the plane to tell him that the microphone's still on. And this guy in the back of the plane is like, "Hey, hon, don't forget the coffee!"
Sean [laughs]
You ever been on a plane?
No, but it's a ****in' joke. It works better if I tell it in the first person.
Sean Yeah, it does.
[about Skylar]
Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doin'. Yeah, but this girl is like, you know, beautiful. She's smart. She's funny. She's different from most of the girls I've been with.
Sean So, call her up, Romeo.
Why? So I can realize she's not that smart, that she's ****in' boring? Y'know? I mean...this girl is like ****in' perfect right now, I don't wanna ruin that.
Sean Maybe you're perfect right now. Maybe you don't wanna ruin that. I think that's a super philosophy, Will, that way you can go through your entire life without ever having to really know anybody...My wife used to fart when she was nervous. She had all sorts of wonderful idiosyncrasies. You know what? She used to fart in her sleep. [they laugh] Sorry I shared that with you. One night it was so loud it woke the dog up. She woke up and gone like "oh was that you?" I'd say yeah...I didn't have the heart to tell her...Oh God...
She woke herself up?
Sean Yes!.... Oh Christ....aahhh, but, Will, she's been dead two years and that's the shit I remember. Wonderful stuff, you know, little things like that. Ah, but, those are the things I miss the most. The little idiosyncrasies that only I knew about. That's what made her my wife. Oh and she had the goods on me, too, she knew all my little peccadillos. People call these things imperfections, but they're not, aw that's the good stuff. And then we get to choose who we let into our weird little worlds. You're not perfect, sport. And let me save you the suspense. This girl you met, she isn't perfect either. But the question is: whether or not you're perfect for each other. That's the whole deal. That's what intimacy is all about. Now you can know everything in the world, sport, but the only way you're findin' out that one is by givin' it a shot. You certainly won't learn from an old ****er like me. Even if I did know, I wouldn't tell a pissant like you.
Why not? You told me every other ****in' thing. Jesus Christ. ****in' talk more than any shrink I ever seen in my life.
Sean I teach this shit, I didn't say I know how to do it.
Yeah...You ever think about gettin' remarried?
Sean My wife's dead.
Hence the word: remarried.
Sean She's dead.
Yeah...Well, I think that's a super philosophy, Sean. I mean that way you could actually go through the rest of your life without ever really knowing anybody.
Sean Time's up.
I read your book last night.
Sean So you're the one.
You ever wonder what your life would be like if you uh..if you never met your wife?
Sean What? Wonder if I'd be better off without her?
No, no, no, I'm not saying, like, better off.
Sean No.
I didn't mean it like that.
Sean It's all right. It's an important question. Because you'll have bad times, but that'll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren't paying attention to.
And you don't regret meeting your wife?
Sean Why? Because of the pain I feel now? Well, I got regrets, Will, but I don't regret a single day I spent with her.
So, when did you know, like, that she was the one for you?
Sean October 21st, 1975.
Jesus Christ. You know the ****in' date?
Sean Oh yeah. Cus' it was game six of the World Series. Biggest game in Red Sox history.
Yeah, sure.
Sean My friends and I had, you know, slept out on the sidewalk all night to get tickets.
You got tickets?
Sean Yep. Day of the game. I was sittin' in a bar, waitin' for the game to start, and in walks this girl... Oh it was an amazing game, though. You know, bottom of the 8th Carbo ties it up at a 6-6. It went to 12. Bottom of the 12th, in stepped Carlton Fisk. Old Pudge. Steps up to the plate, you know, and he's got that weird stance.
Yeah, yeah.
Sean And BAM! He clocks it. High fly ball down the left field line! Thirty-five thousand people, on their feet, yellin' at the ball, but that's not because of Fisk. He's wavin' at the ball like a madman.
Yeah, I've seen...
Sean He's going, "Get over! Get over! Get OVER!" And then it HITS the foul pole. OH, he goes apeshit, and 35,000 fans, you know, they charge the field, you know?
Yeah, and he's ****in' bowlin' police out of the way!
Sean Goin', "God! Get out of the way! Get 'em away!" Banging people...
I can't ****in' believe you had tickets to that ****in' game!
Sean Yeah!
Did you rush the field?
Sean No, I didn't rush the ****in' field, I wasn't there.
What?
Sean No - I was in a bar havin' a drink with my future wife.
You missed Pudge Fisk's homerun?
Sean Oh yeah.
To have a ****in' drink with some lady you never met?
Sean Yeah, but you shoulda seen her. She was a stunner.
I don't care if Helen of Troy walks in the room, that's game six!
Sean Oh, Helen of Troy...
Oh my God, and who are these ****in' friends of yours they let you get away with that?
Sean Oh... They had to.
W-w-w-what'd you say to them?
Sean I just slid my ticket across the table and I said, "Sorry guys, I gotta see about a girl."
I gotta go see about a girl?
Sean Yeah.
That's what you said? And they let you get away with that?
Sean Oh yeah. They saw in my eyes that I meant it.
You're kiddin' me.
Sean No, I'm not kiddin' you, Will. That's why I'm not talkin' right now about some girl I saw at a bar twenty years ago and how I always regretted not going over and talking to her. I don't regret the 18 years I was married to Nancy. I don't regret the six years I had to give up counseling when she got sick. And I don't regret the last years when she got really sick. And I sure as hell don't regret missin' the damn game. That's regret.
Sean [shrugs sheepishly]
I didn't know Pudge was gonna hit a homer!
Sean That's French for "club soda."
...
Sean Put it on my tab
Tim You ever plan on paying your tab?
Sean Yeah, chief. I've got the winning lottery ticket right here.
Tim What's the jackpot?
Sean Twelve million.
Tim I don't think that will cover it.
Sean Yeah, but it'll cover your sex change operation!
Sean Do you have a soul mate?
Define that.
Sean Someone you can relate to, someone who opens things up for you.
Sure, I got plenty.
Sean Well, name them.
Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Frost, O'Conner, Kant, Pope, Locke...
Sean Well that's great. They're all dead.
Not to me, they're not.
Sean You can't have a lot of dialogue with them.
Not without a heater and some serious smelling salts.
Sean Yeah. Well, that's what I'm saying. You'll never have that kind of a relationship in a world where you're always afraid to take the first step because all you see is every negative thing ten miles down the road.
I didn't ask for this.
Sean No, you were born with it. So don't cop out behind "I didn't ask for this".
Sean My dad laid brick. Okay? Busted his ass so I could have an education.
Exactly. That's an honorable profession. What's wrong with..with fixing somebody's car. Someone can get to work the next day because of me. There's honor in that.
Sean There's honor, ya know, in taking that 40-minute so those college kids could come in the morning and their floors are clean and their wastebaskets are empty. That's real work.
That's right.
Sean Right, and that's honorable. Sure that's why you took that job. I mean for the 'honor' of it. I just have a little question here. You could be a janitor anywhere. Why did work at the most prestigious technical college in the whole ****in' world? And why did you sneak around at night and finish other people's formulas that only one or two people in the world could do and then lie about it? 'Cause I don't see a lot of honor in that, Will. So what do you really want to do?
I wanna be a shepherd.
Sean Really.
I wanna move up to Nashua, get a nice little spread, get some sheep and tend to them.
Sean Maybe you should go do that.
What?
Sean You know, if you're going to jerk off, why don't you just do it at home with a moist towel?
You're angry at me for doing what you could have done but ask yourself, Sean. Ask yourself if you want Will to feel that way, if you want him to feel like a failure.
Sean Oh, you arrogant shit! That's why I don't come to the goddamned reunions 'cause I can't stand that look in your eye. Ya know, that condescending, embarrassed look. You think I'm a failure. I know who I am, and I'm proud of what I do. I was a conscientious choice, I didn't **** up! And you and your cronies think I'm some sort of pity case. You and your kiss-ass chorus following you around going, "The Field's Medal! The Field's Medal!" Why are you still so ****in' afraid of failure?
...
Sean You know what, Gerry? Shove the medal up your ****in' ass, all right? Because I don't give a shit about your medal because I knew you long before you ever became a mathematical god, I knew you when you were pimple faced and homesick and didn't know what side of the bed to piss on!
Yeah, you were smarter than me then, and you're smarter than me now. So, don't blame me for how your life turned out.
Sean I don't blame you! It's not about you, you mathematical dick! It's about the boy! He's a good kid! And I won't see you **** him up like you're trying to **** up me right now! I won't let you make him feel like a failure too!
[Sean is going through Will's profile. Inside we see are pictures of Will after brutal assaults by his foster parents]
You ever have any, uh, experience with that?
Sean Twenty years of counseling, I've seen some pretty awful shit.
No. I mean, have you ever had any experience with that?
Sean Personally? Yeah. Yeah I have.
Sean My father was an alcoholic. Mean ****in' drunk. Used to come home hammered, looking to whale on someone. So I had to provoke him, so he wouldn't go after my mother and little brother. Interesting nights were when he wore his rings...
He used to just put a belt, a stick, and a wrench on the kitchen table and say, "Choose."
Sean Well, I gotta go with the belt there.
I used to go with the wrench.
Sean Why?
Cause **** him, that' why.
Sean Your foster father?
Yeah.
[pause]
So what does it say? Will has an attachment disorder? Fear of abandonment? Is that why I broke up with Skylar?
Sean Didn't know you had. Wanna talk about it?
Sean [Will shakes his head, stares off]
Will, you see this, all this shit?
Sean [Holds up the file, and drops it on his desk]
It's not your fault.
Sean No you don't. It's not your fault.
Sean No. Listen to me son. It's not your fault.
I know that.
Sean It's not your fault.
Sean [Will is silent, eyes closed] [steps closer]
It's not your fault.
Sean [steps even closer]
It's not your fault.
[Will shoves Sean back, and then, hands trembling, buries his face in his hands. Will begins sobbing. Sean puts his hands on Will's shoulders, and Will grabs him and holds him close, crying]
Oh my God! I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry Sean!
[Will continues sobbing in Sean's arms]
Sean Not unless you grab my ass.
[in a note]
Sean, if the Professor calls about that job, just tell him, sorry, I have to go see about a girl.
Sean Son of a bitch... He stole my line.
Gerry
In 1905, there were hundreds of professors renowned for their studies of the universe, but it was a 26-year-old Swiss patent clerk doing physics in his spare time who changed the world. Can you imagine if Einstein would have given that up just so he could get drunk with his buddies in Vienna? We all would have lost something. [gestures condescendingly to the bartender] Tim would never have heard of him.
Sean Pretty dramatic, Gerry.
Gerry
No it's not, Sean. This boy has that gift, he just doesn't have the direction for it. We can give him that.
Sean Hey Gerry, in the 1960s there was a young man who had just graduated from the University of Michigan who was doing brilliant work in mathematics, specifically bounded harmonic functions. Then he went to Berkeley, where he was an assistant professor and showed amazing potential. Then he moved to Montana and blew the competition away.
Gerry
Yeah, so who was he?
Sean Ted Kaczynski.
Gerry
Never heard of him.
Sean Hey, Timmy?
Tim Yo.
Sean Who's Ted Kaczynski?
Tim The Unabomber.
Gerry
This is a disaster, Sean. I brought you in here because I wanted you to help me with the boy, not to run him out.
Sean I know what I'm doing with the boy.
Gerry
I don't care if you have a report on the boy. I don't care if you have a few laughs, even at my expense, but don't you dare undermine what I'm trying to do here.
Sean "Undermine."
Gerry
This boy is at a fragile point right now—.
Sean I do understand, he is at a fragile point right now, okay? He's got problems.
Gerry
Well, what problems does he have, Sean? That he's better off as a janitor? Better off in jail? Better off hanging out with a bunch of **** gorillas?
Sean Why do you think he does that, Gerry? Do you have any ****in' clue why? Mm?
Gerry
He can handle the problems. He can handle the work, and he obviously handled you.
Sean Gerry, listen to me, listen. Why is he hiding? Why doesn't he trust anybody? Because the first thing that happened to him, he was abandoned by the people who were supposed to love him the most.
Gerry
Oh, come on, don't give me that Freudian crap.
Sean Listen, Gerry, and why does he hang out with those "**** gorillas" as you called them? Because any one of them, if he asked them to, would take a ****in' bat to your head, okay? That's called loyalty.
Gerry
Yeah, that's very touching.
Sean And who's he handling? He pushes people away before they have a chance to leave him. It's a defense mechanism, alright? And, for 20 years, he's been alone because of that. And, if you push him right now, it's gonna be the same thing all over again, and I'm not gonna let that happen to him.
Gerry
Don't you do that, Sean.
Sean What, Gerry?
Gerry
Don't you do that, don't infect him with the idea that it's okay to quit, that it's okay to be a failure, because it's not okay, Sean. If you're angry at me for being successful, for being what you could have been, Sean—.
Sean I'm not angry at you, Gerry.
Gerry
Oh, yes you're angry at me, Sean. You resent me.
[appears behind door]
Gerry
But I'm not gonna apologize for any success I've had. You're angry at me for doing what you could have done, but ask yourself, ask yourself if you want Will to feel that way. If you want him to feel like a failure.
Sean Oh, you arrogant shit. That's why I don't come to the goddamn reunions: 'cause I can't stand that look in your eye, y'know? That condescending, embarrassed look.
Gerry
[under his breath]
Oh, Sean.
Sean You think I'm a failure. But I know who I am, and I'm proud of what I do. It was a conscious choice. I didn't **** up! And you and your cronies think I'm some sort of pity case, you and your kiss-ass chorus following you around going [singing mockingly] "The Fields medal, the Fields medal!" Why are you still so ****in' afraid of failure?!
Gerry
[chuckles]
It's about my medal, isn't it? Oh, God, I can go home and get it for you, you can have it.
Sean Oh, please don't. Y'know what Gerry? Shove the medal up your ****in' ass, alright? 'Cause I don't give a shit about your medal 'cause I knew you before you were a mathematical god, when you were pimple-faced and homesick and didn't know which side of the bed to piss on.
Gerry
Yeah, you were smarter than me then and you're smarter than me now, so don't blame me for how your life turned out, it's not my fault.
Sean I don't blame you! It's not about you, you mathematical dick! It's about the boy! He's a good kid, and I won't see you **** him up like you're trying to **** up me right now. I won't see you make him feel like a failure, too!
Gerry
He won't be a failure, Sean!
Sean But if you push him, Gerry, if you ride him—!
Gerry
Sean, I am what I am today because I was pushed, and because I learned to push myself.
[opens door]
Sean [yelling]
He's not you! You get that?!
Gerry
No, come in. I was just leaving.
[Will and Sean hug at their last meeting]
Hey, does this violate the uh...patient-doctor relationship?
Sean Only if you grab my ass.
