--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I was a kid, I wanted to be serious…" description: "\"When I was a kid, I wanted to be serious, like Daniel Day-Lewis. No one really dreams of being a comic actor, do they? Now I realise how stupid that is..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/chris-o-dowd-11109_acting_when-i-was-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-serious_983337.jpg" --- # When I was a kid, I wanted to be serious, like Daniel… ![“When I was a kid, I wanted to be serious, like Daniel Day-Lewis. No one really dreams of being a comic actor, do they? Now I realise how stupid that is - and it's because comic acting isn't taken seriously enough. It's a discipline. You know instantly - either you're funny and getting the laughs…” quote by Chris O'Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/chris-o-dowd-11109_acting_when-i-was-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-serious_983337.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/chris-o-dowd-11109_acting_when-i-was-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-serious_983337.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddb/chris-o-dowd-11109_acting_when-i-was-a-kid-i-wanted-to-be-serious_983337.jpg) > “When I was a kid, I wanted to be serious, like Daniel Day-Lewis. No one really dreams of being a comic actor, do they? Now I realise how stupid that is - and it's because comic acting isn't taken seriously enough. It's a discipline. You know instantly - either you're funny and getting the laughs, or you're not.” [Chris O'Dowd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-o-dowd/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker reflects on childhood aspirations to be a serious actor, realizing that comic acting is undervalued yet disciplined, and that success is binary. **In simple terms:** Comic acting is serious work often ignored. Key Takeaway Respect comedy as a disciplined craft. Themes career aspirations self‑esteem artistic respect Mood reflective determined Type motivational insightful When to use this quote - theatre auditions - acting workshops - career counseling Key Concepts performance discipline perception Questions to Reflect On - Do you think comedy can be both funny and respected? - What steps can you take to value your own craft? A Different Perspective The view may oversimplify success as purely binary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Comic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comic/) [Daniel day lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daniel-day-lewis/) [Discipline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discipline/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreams/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Kids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kids/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [In voicing so much is left to your imagination to create the world around you like that. It's really the essence of what's so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-parsons/in-voicing-so-much-is-left-to-your-imagination-to-create-the-world/) [Jim Parsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-parsons/) > [I don't know whether it's spiritual development or trying to learn the psychologically with being an actor, but I realise the more I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-butler/i-don-t-know-whether-it-s-spiritual-development-or-trying-to-learn/) [Gerard Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-butler/) > [comedy ... is much harder to do than drama. It's not true that laugh and the world laughs with you. 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I don't know about a comic actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/i-think-of-myself-as-more-of-a-comic-person-i-don-t-know-about-a/) [David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/) > [Lots of people said that I have been a comic actor for such a long time, but as a director I was very serious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satish-kaushik/lots-of-people-said-that-i-have-been-a-comic-actor-for-such-a-long/) [Satish Kaushik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satish-kaushik/) > [One of the biggest misconceptions about me is that I'm a comedian, which I'm not. 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Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. 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