--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...behind the scene, under the surface of…" description: "\"“...behind the scene, under the surface of reality, you are all actors, marvelously skilled at playing parts and in getting lost in the mazes of your o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/alan-watts-587_behind-the-scenes_behind-the-scene-under-the-surface-of-re_2104429.jpg" --- # ...behind the scene, under the surface of reality, you are… ![“...behind the scene, under the surface of reality, you are all actors, marvelously skilled at playing parts and in getting lost in the mazes of your own minds and the entanglements of your own affairs, as if this were the most urgent thing going on. But behind the scenes, in the green room - in…” quote by Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/alan-watts-587_behind-the-scenes_behind-the-scene-under-the-surface-of-re_2104429.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/alan-watts-587_behind-the-scenes_behind-the-scene-under-the-surface-of-re_2104429.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/69d/alan-watts-587_behind-the-scenes_behind-the-scene-under-the-surface-of-re_2104429.jpg) > ““...behind the scene, under the surface of reality, you are all actors, marvelously skilled at playing parts and in getting lost in the mazes of your own minds and the entanglements of your own affairs, as if this were the most urgent thing going on. But behind the scenes, in the green room - in the very back of your mind and the very depth of your soul - you always have a sneaking suspicion that you might not be the you that you think you are.”” [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often act as if we truly know ourselves, yet deeper layers reveal a hidden, uncertain identity. **In simple terms:** We think we know ourselves, but we may be mistaken. Key Takeaway Question your self‑image regularly. Themes identity self‑awareness illusion mindfulness Mood contemplative introspective Type philosophical spiritual When to use this quote - personal growth - therapy - creative work - spiritual practice Key Concepts Existentialism psychology self‑concept Questions to Reflect On - What parts of your identity feel most constructed? - How can you explore deeper layers of self? A Different Perspective Self‑perception can be distorted by social roles and narratives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Behind the scenes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/behind-the-scenes/) [Getting lost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-lost/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Self acceptance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-acceptance/) [Self image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-image/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [The reality is that most of us actors have to take work that we would rather not at some time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-o-quinn/the-reality-is-that-most-of-us-actors-have-to-take-work-that-we-would/) [Terry O'Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-o-quinn/) > [“Let your mind go in the depth of limitless words.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitta-xinindlu/let-your-mind-go-in-the-depth-of-limitless-words/) [Mitta Xinindlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitta-xinindlu/) > [Imagine a famine. Now imagine a piece of bread. Both of these things are real but you happen to be in the same room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/imagine-a-famine-now-imagine-a-piece-of-bread-both-of-these-things/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [There is no room in your mind for negative thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-nicklaus/there-is-no-room-in-your-mind-for-negative-thoughts/) [Jack Nicklaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-nicklaus/) > [Writing in my closet, it's a small space but it made a lot of room in my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-shires/writing-in-my-closet-it-s-a-small-space-but-it-made-a-lot-of-room-in/) [Amanda Shires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-shires/) > [“I made my way to the control room, where I had the most mind-numbing communication that I’ve ever experienced with a man. And no,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mixerman/i-made-my-way-to-the-control-room-where-i-had-the-most-mind-numbing/) Mixerman > [Lack and limitation can only exist when we make room for them in our mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/lack-and-limitation-can-only-exist-when-we-make-room-for-them-in-our/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [“You cannot move freely in a full room; a full mind has the same problem! In order to expand your range of motion and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/you-cannot-move-freely-in-a-full-room-a-full-mind-has-the-same/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I don't have room in my mind to think about musical equipment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berman/i-don-t-have-room-in-my-mind-to-think-about-musical-equipment/) [David Berman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berman/) > [“As soon as I hear the words 'your room' my mind leans over and whisper-hisses, “This boy has lost his mind. We best be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/belle-aurora/as-soon-as-i-hear-the-words-your-room-my-mind-leans-over-and-whisper/) [Belle Aurora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/belle-aurora/) > [Practicing going over scenes and in front of the camera just to see how that feels, and then ultimately just finding a way to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridgit-mendler/practicing-going-over-scenes-and-in-front-of-the-camera-just-to-see/) [Bridgit Mendler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridgit-mendler/) > [I have been given a lot of roles that are downtrodden, mammy-ish. A lot of lawyers or doctors who have names but absolutely no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-have-been-given-a-lot-of-roles-that-are-downtrodden-mammy-ish-a-lot/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [You have to run, an awful lot, on instinct. Even on 'Veep,' it's not like you get weeks of rehearsal to break out what's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-hall/you-have-to-run-an-awful-lot-on-instinct-even-on-veep-it-s-not-like/) [Brad Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-hall/) > [If you have a good thing going behind the scenes, you'll have a good thing going on-screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-o-brien/if-you-have-a-good-thing-going-behind-the-scenes-you-ll-have-a-good/) [Dylan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-o-brien/) > [As president, I'm not supposed to play games or show my hand, because there's a lot going on behind the scenes that you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-lukashenko/as-president-i-m-not-supposed-to-play-games-or-show-my-hand-because/) [Alexander Lukashenko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-lukashenko/) ## More by Alan Watts > [“The self-conscious feedback mechanism of the cortex allows us the hallucination that we are two souls in one body -a rational soul and an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-self-conscious-feedback-mechanism-of-the-cortex-allows-us-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The more we try to catch hold of the present moment the more elusive it becomes. It is like trying to clutch water in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-more-we-try-to-catch-hold-of-the-present-moment-the-more-elusive/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The Universe is the game of the self, which plays hide and seek forever and ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-universe-is-the-game-of-the-self-which-plays-hide-and-seek/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [If my happiness at this moment consists largely in reviewing happy memories and expectations, I am but dimly aware of this present. I shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/if-my-happiness-at-this-moment-consists-largely-in-reviewing-happy/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [...mysticism and empiricism go together in opposition to scholasticism...they base themselves on the non-linear world of experience rather than the linear world of letters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/mysticism-and-empiricism-go-together-in-opposition-to-scholasticism/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The hallucination of being a separate ego will not stand up to biological tests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-hallucination-of-being-a-separate-ego-will-not-stand-up-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Although profoundly "inconsequential," the Zen experience has consequences in the sense that it may be applied in any direction, to any conceivable human activity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/although-profoundly-inconsequential-the-zen-experience-has/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [Everything is perpetually becoming new.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/everything-is-perpetually-becoming-new/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The psychotherapist ... tries to help the individual to be himself and to go it alone without giving unnecessary offense to his community, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-psychotherapist-tries-to-help-the-individual-to-be-himself-and-to/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [“As you make more and more powerful microscopic instruments, the universe has to get smaller and smaller in order to escape the investigation. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/as-you-make-more-and-more-powerful-microscopic-instruments-the/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [We are at the moment looking at space as something to be entered by the tremendous thrust of a rocket because that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/we-are-at-the-moment-looking-at-space-as-something-to-be-entered-by/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [A philosopher is a sort of intellectual yokel who gawks at things that sensible people take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/a-philosopher-is-a-sort-of-intellectual-yokel-who-gawks-at-things/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The best way to convince someone is by making him realize that what you speak came from his own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-best-way-to-convince-someone-is-by-making-him-realize-that-what/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [The myths underlying our culture and underlying our common sense have not taught us to feel identical with the universe, but only parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/the-myths-underlying-our-culture-and-underlying-our-common-sense-have/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) > [To feel that life is meaningless unless “I” can be permanent is like having fallen desperately in love with an inch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-watts/to-feel-that-life-is-meaningless-unless-i-can-be-permanent-is-like/) [Alan Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) [Explore all 460 Alan Watts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-watts/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...behind the scene, under the surface of reality, you are all actors, marvelously skilled at playing parts and in getting lost in the mazes of your own minds and the entanglements of your own affairs, as if this were the most urgent thing going on. 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