While a great quote can come from any character, certain fictional individuals seemed to possess a gift for the art of the one-liner, consistently turning in a selection of memorable quotes, including in Westerns. Naturally, it all comes down to the writing. A good script with memorable lines will help establish a character while elevating the movie's overall quality and memorability.

The best spaghetti Westerns for Tarantino fans. The genre plays host to a compelling line-up of outlaws, gunslingers, and lawmen from a diverse array of cinematic periods who are currently regarded as the most quotable Western movie characters of all time.

10 Mattie Ross

True Grit (2010)

The star of 2010's True Grit, Hailee Steinfeld boasts one of the most impressive breakout roles in recent memory. The actress' starring bow as Mattie Ross in the Coen Brothers' remake of the 1969 original earned her an Academy Award nomination at the age of thirteen, with the Pitch Perfect star breathing life into one of the Western genre's most quotable modern characters.

Possessing a sharp wit that belies her young age, Mattie deals out an array of memorable and witty insults throughout the film, with her sarcastic consolation of Matt Damon's LaBoeuf through the pithy quote "I'm sorry that you have been eluded the winter long by a half-wit" serving as a particular highlight. She also produces the acclaimed movie's most iconic soundbite, informing Jeff Bridges' Rooster Cogburn that "They tell me you're a man with true grit" to symbolize his courage and mental resolve.

9 Ben Wade

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

One of the best Western movie villains of all time, Russell Crowe's Ben Wade owes a great deal of his aura of mystique to an array of soundbites, making him one of the genre's most quotable characters. When he's not reciting scripture or singing, the chief antagonist of 2007's 3:10 to Yuma is an ice-cool customer. Wade memorably taunts his enemies with a barely disguised air of amusement, mocking them with sarcastic lines like "It's probably cheaper just to let me rob the damn thing" or "The day I die, Byron, I'm getting sprung from hell."

Highlighting his moral complexity and compelling nature through his insistence that he wouldn't be "leading an outfit like that if I wasn't rotten as hell," Crowe's charge is far from an irredeemable antagonist. However, a key factor behind his status as one of the genre's foremost villains is his capacity for ruthless retribution, a state of affairs shown by one of his most quotable soundbites. Escaping his bonds to grab Peter Fonda's Byron after he insults Wade's mother, Crowe's charge coldly informs him that "even bad men love their mommas" before hurling the Pinkerton off a cliff.

8 William Munny

Unforgiven (1992)

One of Clint Eastwood's darkest characters, aging gunslinger William Munny is responsible for many of Unforgiven's most memorable quotes. The main character of the 1993 Academy Award-winning Western, Munny's transformation into one of the genre's most formidable vessels of vengeance following the death of his friend, Morgan Freeman's Ned Logan, presents the perfect opportunity for some unforgettably menacing pieces of dialogue.

Eastwood lost out on the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Munny to Al Pacino for his work in 1992's Scent of a Woman.

An ominous warning to Gene Hackman's Bill Daggett, Munny's declaration that "I've killed everything that walks or crawls at one time or another. And I'm here to kill you, Little Bill, for what you done to Ned!" is easily one of the genre's most chilling soundbites. Ending things with a sinister flourish, Eastwood's immortal and endlessly imitated sign-off of "Deserve's got nothing to do with it" as Dagget pleads for mercy serves to reinforce his image as one of the genre's most formidable characters.

7 Daniel Plainview

There Will Be Blood (2007)

Widely regarded as one of the finest and most influential films of the 21st century, 2007's neo-Western classic There Will Be Blood features human Oscar magnet Daniel Day-Lewis in the leading role of Daniel Plainview. One of Day-Lewis' finest movie roles, the borderline-sociopathic oil baron turns in several exemplary quotes throughout Paul Thomas Anderson's acclaimed picture that highlight his immeasurable greed and lack of morality.

From the iconic "I drink your milkshake!" quote that the movie is now synonymous with to selfish monologues like "I have a competition in me...I want no one else to succeed," Plainview turns in an array of superb quotes that perfectly embody capitalism's ruthlessness. Plainview's soundbite of "I've abandoned my child! I've abandoned my boy!" has also been memed to death in recent years, with Day-Lewis' imioned roars frequently used to parody everyday moments.

6 Marquis Warren

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Quentin Tarantino's second acclaimed Western outing in a row and the rare movie where every character is horrible, 2015's The Hateful Eight boasts one of the most quotable casts in cinematic history, courtesy of a razor-sharp script and some pitch-perfect delivery. The movie's stand-out quotable character takes the form of Samuel L. Jackson's Major Marquis Warren, a seasoned bounty hunter whose modus operandi can be exemplified best by the deadpan quote, "Bringing in desperate men alive, is a good way to get yourself dead."

Samuel L. Jackson appears in all but four of Quentin Tarantino's movies: Reservoir Dogs (1992), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Death Proof (2007), and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019).

A whip-smart veteran whose world-weariness spills over into his memorable dialogue, Warren believes that "the only time black folks are safe, is when white folks are disarmed" courtesy of his experiences during the US Civil War. To top matters off, he's even full of Jackson's unique brand of Tarantino-esque profanity, roaring sidesplitting obscenities like "How do you like that, you bushwhacking castrator!" at Channing Tatum's Jodie Domergue after the latter shoots him in the genitals.

5 Josey Wales

The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)

One of Clint Eastwood's best movies, the endlessly underrated Josey Wales represents one of the American film icon's most quotable fictional faces. The titular character of 1976's The Outlaw Josey Wales, Eastwood's vengeful farmer turned soldier and gunslinger following the murder of his family, is responsible for some of the genre's most badass one-liners. Prominent examples from the outlaw include the likes of "Dyin' ain't much of a living boy" or "Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?"

One of Wales' most iconic quotes reflects the ultimately tragic nature of this character, with his enduring final line of "I guess we all died a little in that damned war" serving as a poignant reminder of all that he has lost.

It's a fitting state of affairs, given Wales' reputation as a merciless killer of the highest order. With that being said, he's also one of Eastwood's more nuanced characters, courtesy of a tragic backstory and a powerful performance from the Dirty Harry star. One of Wales' most iconic quotes reflects the ultimately tragic nature of this character, with his enduring final line of "I guess we all died a little in that damned war" serving as a poignant reminder of all that he has lost.

4 Anton Chigurh

No Country for Old Men (2007)

One of legendary author Cormac McCarthy's most iconic characters, psychopathic hitman Anton Chigurh is the primary antagonist of 2007's No Country for Old Men; contentiously the best neo-Western movie ever made. A ruthless assassin with an ominous habit of calling people "friendo," Chigurh is known for his repertoire of immortal lines, exemplifying his nature as a merciless killer with menacing soundbites in the vein of "What's the most you ever lost on a coin toss?"

Ironically, for one of the genre's most quotable characters, the brooding Chigurh rarely speaks, underlining the memorable nature of his sinister dialogue. Contrasted against his complete lack of mercy, Bardem's charge can even be seen to inject an array of dark humor into his delivery, deadpanning lines like "Do you see me?" to a terrified witness to one of his murders when he asks if Chigurh plans on killing him too.

3 Django Freeman

Django Unchained (2012)

Instantly quotable characters are Quentin Tarantino's specialty, so it comes as little surprise that 2012's Django Unchained houses several of them. Christoph Waltz's King Schultz and Leonardo DiCaprio's Calvin Candie both have an outstanding talent for classic soundbites, but they ultimately pale in comparison to the badass aura of the titular character's laundry list of iconic one-liners. Jamie Foxx's charge turns in some of Django Unchained's greatest quotes including "I like the way you die, boy!" and "Y'all gonna be together with Calvin in the By-and-By...just a bit sooner than y'all was expecting."

Will Smith was Quentin Tarantino's original choice to play Django Freeman.

While Django's stirring bond with his wife Broomhilda is exemplified by memorable quotes like "Hey, Little Trouble Maker," it's primarily the bounty hunter's ruthless nature that's exemplified by his more memorable soundbites. At the end of the day, Foxx's iconic charge is a killer with ice running through his veins, a state of affairs underlined by deadpan quotes like "D.J.A.N.G.O. The D is silent."

2 The Man With No Name

Sergio Leone’s Dollars Trilogy (1964-1966)

It speaks volumes to the seminal nature of The Man with No Name's dialogue throughout Sergio Leone's Dollars trilogy that while Clint Eastwood's character rarely speaks, he's universally regarded as one of the genre's most quotable characters. While the character is usually menacing his foes with quotes such as "Alive or dead? It's your choice," he's also known for philosophical musings on the dog-eat-dog nature of the Wild West with lines like "When a man's got money in his pocket, he begins to appreciate peace."

Eastwood's best lines as the Man with No Name include the iconic likes of "Get three coffins ready..." and "You see, in this world, there are two kinds of people, my friend. Those with loaded guns, and those who dig." Carving out a niche as one of popular culture's most quotable characters across the course of the Dollars trilogy, The Man with No Name's greatest soundbites serve to highlight the ice-cool nature of Eastwood's cigar-chomping gunslinger in sharp relief.

1 Doc Holliday

Tombstone (1993)

Contentiously the Western genre's finest ing movie role from an A-Lister, Top Gun star Val Kilmer's bow as the sickly gunslinger Doc Holliday in 1993's Tombstone is arguably the actor's finest piece of work in a storied career. A whip-sharp friend of lead protagonist Wyatt Earp, Kilmer's inimitable charge is one of cinema's most memorable Western faces. As such, it's unsurprising that the acid-tongued individual behind lines like "I'm your Huckleberry" and "I've not yet begun to defile myself," is also one of cinema's most quotable characters.

Holliday's best quotes reflect his nature as an individual perfectly, with Kilmer's iconic soundbites capturing a snapshot of this remarkable individual's bravery, loyalty, and wit. However, he often saves his best work for his nemesis, taunting Michael Biehn's Johnny Ringo with ice-cool lines like "You look like someone just walked over your grave." An individual capable of producing a pithy soundbite even as he lies on his deathbed, Holliday is the most quotable Western movie character of all time.