--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You never really know why you become an…" description: "\"You never really know why you become an actor: it's a visceral thing, an emotional thing.\" — Andy Serkis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/andy-serkis-1548_actor_you-never-really-know-why-you-become-an_753836.jpg" --- # You never really know why you become an actor: it's a… ![“You never really know why you become an actor: it's a visceral thing, an emotional thing.” quote by Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/andy-serkis-1548_actor_you-never-really-know-why-you-become-an_753836.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/andy-serkis-1548_actor_you-never-really-know-why-you-become-an_753836.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/248/andy-serkis-1548_actor_you-never-really-know-why-you-become-an_753836.jpg) > “You never really know why you become an actor: it's a visceral thing, an emotional thing.” [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The drive to act stems from deep, instinctive emotional impulses rather than rational analysis. **In simple terms:** Acting is driven by gut feeling. Key Takeaway Listen to your inner emotions when choosing a role. Themes creativity emotion career Mood reflective inspirational Type personal career When to use this quote - audition preparation - role selection - career counseling - personal reflection Key Concepts psychology intuition artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate instinct from learned technique? - What emotions guide your performance choices? A Different Perspective Not all actors can articulate this feeling; some rely on structured training. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actor Visceral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor-visceral-2185388/) [Become](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/become/) [Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional/) [Emotional Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-thing-908729/) [Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know/) [Know Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-actor/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/really/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing/) [Thing Emotional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-emotional-1552876/) [Visceral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visceral/) [Visceral Thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/visceral-thing-1861677/) [Why](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [It's a writer's or director's role to be cerebral, whereas for an actor it should be a visceral, gut thing. When the action starts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dormer/it-s-a-writer-s-or-director-s-role-to-be-cerebral-whereas-for-an/) [Natalie Dormer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-dormer/) > [It makes me angry sometimes, it's a visceral thing--how you come to despise your own words in your ears not because they aren't genuine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/it-makes-me-angry-sometimes-it-s-a-visceral-thing-how-you-come-to/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/but-love-is-an-emotional-thing-and-whatever-is-emotional-is-opposed/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [Weight is a glanduar thing, as well as an emotional thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-anderson/weight-is-a-glanduar-thing-as-well-as-an-emotional-thing/) [Louie Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-anderson/) > [Work can be a very intimate thing and a very personal thing and a very emotional thing, and I think when you're also in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayo-edebiri/work-can-be-a-very-intimate-thing-and-a-very-personal-thing-and-a/) [Ayo Edebiri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayo-edebiri/) > [When I started out, the most terrifying thing was when I had to be very, very emotional in front of lots of people. Now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/when-i-started-out-the-most-terrifying-thing-was-when-i-had-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [My skating is a very emotional thing that comes from the heart, never doing it for the medal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debi-thomas/my-skating-is-a-very-emotional-thing-that-comes-from-the-heart-never/) [Debi Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debi-thomas/) > [Writing is such a weird emotional thing. It's hard. 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You've got to fall in love with it and not just with the dress - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-packham/a-dress-is-an-emotional-thing-to-make-you-ve-got-to-fall-in-love-with/) [Jenny Packham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-packham/) > [This is the emotional thing, you see - you must galvanize people, so they want to be completely alive and live forever, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/this-is-the-emotional-thing-you-see-you-must-galvanize-people-so-they/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [It's a very powerful, emotional thing to read a book, and to reduce it to a series of questions in a test strips something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-dicamillo/it-s-a-very-powerful-emotional-thing-to-read-a-book-and-to-reduce-it/) [Kate DiCamillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-dicamillo/) > [People, me included, have a truly emotional thing about this iPad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-diller/people-me-included-have-a-truly-emotional-thing-about-this-ipad/) [Barry Diller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-diller/) > [Composing is an emotional thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilaiyaraaja/composing-is-an-emotional-thing/) [Ilaiyaraaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilaiyaraaja/) ## More by Andy Serkis > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I think I have a lot of internal energy, which does need to come out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/i-think-i-have-a-lot-of-internal-energy-which-does-need-to-come-out/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Hoodwink is a product of his environment. He grew up in Belfast, he was part of the UDA and he fought for what he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/hoodwink-is-a-product-of-his-environment-he-grew-up-in-belfast-he-was/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Performance capture is a tool that young actors will need in the next 10, 20 years. It's on the increase, as you say. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/performance-capture-is-a-tool-that-young-actors-will-need-in-the-next/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I think that Gollum is really the character who is a very human character, and he's very flawed, like most humans are, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/i-think-that-gollum-is-really-the-character-who-is-a-very-human/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I'm quite contrary. If people agree on something, I tend to gravitate the other way by my nature. 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I based Caesar \[ from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/rather-than-something-like-king-kong-where-i-really-went-after/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [On lower budget things you're still working collaboratively, but the investment and your level of creative importance is higher on something like this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/on-lower-budget-things-you-re-still-working-collaboratively-but-the/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Gollum is entirely based on the notion of addiction. The way that the ring pervades him, makes him craving, lustful, depletes him physically, psychologically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/gollum-is-entirely-based-on-the-notion-of-addiction-the-way-that-the/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [I'm definitely moving more towards directing now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/i-m-definitely-moving-more-towards-directing-now/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) [Explore all 229 Andy Serkis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) ## 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. 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