The Substitute (1996)

Tom Berenger: Shale

Photos 

Quotes 

• Shale : Did you ever look up the word "mercenary"? It's someone who "works merely for money."

  Joey : Everybody works for money.

  Shale : It's not the money that bothers me; it's the "merely."

• Shale : I'm in charge of this class. I'm the warrior chief. I'm the merciless god of anything that stirs in my universe. You fuck with me, and you will suffer my wrath.

• Principal Claude Rolle : Two of your students are in the nurse's office talking a lawsuit right now.

  Shale : Why, is the nurse a lawyer?

• Shale : Who died?

  Student : You did.

  Shale : Guess I am a little late.

• [Shale confronts Juan Lacas and his cronies in the library] 

  Shale : Ohh, I can't tell you boys how much I needed this.

  Juan Lacas : When we're done, I want you to say 'I'm Sorry' 100 times.

  Shale : Shh. No talking in the library.

• Hollan : Cuba wimped you out. You lost your mind and now you lost your balls.

  Shale : [grabs Hollan by his crotch]  Maybe I'll just borrow yours, on second thought they're too small.

  Hollan : [about to walk away]  FUCK YOU. Fucking queers.

• Shale : You don't want soldiers, you want killers.

  Matt Wolfson : You know, you'll have to excuse me here Shale, 'cause I wasn't aware there was that much of a difference.

  Shale : Oh, there's a difference. You wanna know what the difference is?

  Matt Wolfson : Yeah, I'll play. You tell me what the difference is. But I don't want any...

  Shale : [pins him to the wall]  The difference is... the difference is, you're still breathing.

  Shale : [about bowel sounds]  Hey, that cereal really does work.

• [Claude Rolle tells Shale about how the drugs are shipped to the school via bus] 

  Shale : And they said busing would never work.

• [last lines] 

  Joey : It's definitely time to relocate.

  Shale : Yeah.

  Joey : It's too bad we had to fuck up the school. I feel bad for the kids tomorrow, man.

  Shale : They'll be okay. At least it's their school again.

  Joey : Yeah. Where the hell we gonna go, man?

  Shale : Uh, how's L.A. sound?

  Joey : More bomb threats.

  Shale : I heard the schools out there have a major drug problem.

  Joey : No! Ah, no, no more schools, man. Forget it.

• Shale : [Hollan fires near Shale to keep him from using his martial arts against the thug drug dealer]  You fucking psycho!

  Hollan : [Hollan shoots drug dealer dead behind Shale, and hands gun to Shale]  Who's the fuckin' psycho?

• Shale : I'm sorry about those windows.

  Hannah Dillon : Hey, fuck it.

• Rodriguez : Motherfucker, you broken my finger!

  Shale : I don't break 'em on the first offense.

• Jerome Brown : Mr. Smith, you lost any homeboys?

  Shale : Yeah Jerome, I lost a few homeboys.

• Principal Claude Rolle : [Holding Shale at gunpoint]  Who you working for, Shale? Who you working for?

  Shale : Myself.

  Principal Claude Rolle : Yeah, right! A great teacher. You're a mercenary. You're in it for the money like everybody else!

  Shale : It was never about the money.

  Principal Claude Rolle : It's always about the money! If it's not about the money, what the hell else is there?

  Shale : I'd try to explain it to you Claude, but there's just some things that can't be taught.

  [Shale overpowers Rolle and kills him] 

• Shale : I'd like to know what area of history you're studying.

  Student : The fuck you history!

• Shale : Tilt those little puppies over here, baby.