---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I went to Bard College for a year. And…"
description: "\"I went to Bard College for a year. And then, even though I didn't think I should give my blood to the theater, I did go to N.Y.U., which is where I met..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/christopher-guest-4803_blood_i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-th_2030525.jpg"
---

#  I went to Bard College for a year. And then, even though I…

![“I went to Bard College for a year. And then, even though I didn't think I should give my blood to the theater, I did go to N.Y.U., which is where I met Michael McKean.” quote by Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/christopher-guest-4803_blood_i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-th_2030525.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/christopher-guest-4803_blood_i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-th_2030525.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/christopher-guest-4803_blood_i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-th_2030525.jpg)

> “I went to Bard College for a year. And then, even though I didn't think I should give my blood to the theater, I did go to N.Y.U., which is where I met Michael McKean.”

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

## 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 early academic choices, noting a shift from theater to broader opportunities, leading to a pivotal meeting that shaped his career.

**In simple terms:** College path changed; meeting Michael McKean was career‑defining.

Key Takeaway

Embrace unexpected opportunities.

Themes

career education networking serendipity

Mood

reflective optimistic

Type

personal career

When to use this quote

- College decisions
- industry networking
- career breakthroughs

Key Concepts

career pivot creative collaboration personal growth

Questions to Reflect On

- What unexpected paths have shaped your career?
- How can you stay open to new opportunities?

A Different Perspective

Not all valuable connections arise from formal education.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Bard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bard/) [College](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/college/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/)

## Related quotes

> [I went to Bard College, which was a really interesting synthesis of a hippie school and a serious academic institution. It was really the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-conover/i-went-to-bard-college-which-was-a-really-interesting-synthesis-of-a/)

[Adam Conover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-conover/)

> [How do you find a better actor than Michael McKean? How do you find someone who's just that good? They don't grow on trees.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-gilligan/how-do-you-find-a-better-actor-than-michael-mckean-how-do-you-find/)

[Vince Gilligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-gilligan/)

> [I've been the head of the photography program at Bard College for over 30 years, and I take that as seriously as I do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-shore/i-ve-been-the-head-of-the-photography-program-at-bard-college-for/)

[Stephen Shore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-shore/)

> [The first four years, I worked exclusively in the theater. I did a great deal of different types of acting - avant garde and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-lawson/the-first-four-years-i-worked-exclusively-in-the-theater-i-did-a/)

[Denis Lawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-lawson/)

> [ I met a bunch of people and they said, "We're gonna do a show \[Second City\]." So we would buy the theater out and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-helberg/i-met-a-bunch-of-people-and-they-said-we-re-gonna-do-a-show-second/)

[Simon Helberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-helberg/)

> [I majored in theater. I did plays. But musicals were not my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daveed-diggs/i-majored-in-theater-i-did-plays-but-musicals-were-not-my-thing/)

[Daveed Diggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daveed-diggs/)

> [I went to Northwestern in Chicago, in Evanston, and then I ended up trickling down in Chicago theater. I did a bunch of plays,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/i-went-to-northwestern-in-chicago-in-evanston-and-then-i-ended-up/)

[Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/)

> [I did great things in the theater. I did some nice roles, 'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly' or 'La Vie en Rose.' And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-seigner/i-did-great-things-in-the-theater-i-did-some-nice-roles-the-diving/)

[Emmanuelle Seigner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-seigner/)

> [I had no idea I was going to have a career in the theater. I did not plan it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wilson/i-had-no-idea-i-was-going-to-have-a-career-in-the-theater-i-did-not/)

[Robert Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wilson/)

> [I adopted two children, then I got eye disease and five rounds of surgery. I went blind in one eye, then the other eye,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-patrick-shanley/i-adopted-two-children-then-i-got-eye-disease-and-five-rounds-of/)

[John Patrick Shanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-patrick-shanley/)

> [I started off in theater; I did exclusively theater for four or five years. In the last few years, television has come along but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/i-started-off-in-theater-i-did-exclusively-theater-for-four-or-five/)

[Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/)

> [I'm working in theater. I did not grow up loving or even knowing anything about it, except for 'Jesus Christ Superstar' and 'Tommy.' But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-caffey/i-m-working-in-theater-i-did-not-grow-up-loving-or-even-knowing/)

[Charlotte Caffey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-caffey/)

> [I was in New York for a little while, doing some really bad theater. I did some great stuff, too, but there were Saturday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-weir-mitchell/i-was-in-new-york-for-a-little-while-doing-some-really-bad-theater-i/)

[Silas Weir Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-weir-mitchell/)

> [I started in theater; I did theater in New York for 14 years before I even thought about doing movies - I never thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lin-shaye/i-started-in-theater-i-did-theater-in-new-york-for-14-years-before-i/)

[Lin Shaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lin-shaye/)

> [I love the theater, and I did tons of theater before I ever did anything in front of the camera, but I haven't done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-smart/i-love-the-theater-and-i-did-tons-of-theater-before-i-ever-did/)

[Jean Smart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-smart/)

## More by Christopher Guest

> [The main thing that's important to me is getting to do whatever project it is the way that I do what I do, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/the-main-thing-that-s-important-to-me-is-getting-to-do-whatever/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [My passion is more specific, in the sense that I've always liked doing comedy. I've always liked doing music. I like acting. And apparently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/my-passion-is-more-specific-in-the-sense-that-i-ve-always-liked-doing/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [People ask me, 'What's your next film?' And I never know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/people-ask-me-what-s-your-next-film-and-i-never-know/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [In 'Waiting for Guffman,' the character I played, the Corky character, he's very serious about what he does, and it's not meant to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/in-waiting-for-guffman-the-character-i-played-the-corky-character-he/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [They sell these golf aids that attach to your knee and your head and are supposed to keep your swing correct. It's futile beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/they-sell-these-golf-aids-that-attach-to-your-knee-and-your-head-and/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [Music means a great deal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/music-means-a-great-deal-to-me/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [It's infrequent that that happens - great performances and magical cinematography and great direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/it-s-infrequent-that-that-happens-great-performances-and-magical/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [I rarely joke unless I'm in front of a camera. It's not what I am in real life. It's what I do for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-rarely-joke-unless-i-m-in-front-of-a-camera-it-s-not-what-i-am-in/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [We all know many people who have been through this reality, and how it changes them. This happens to be an area I know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/we-all-know-many-people-who-have-been-through-this-reality-and-how-it/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [I'm fascinated by real-time behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-m-fascinated-by-real-time-behavior/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [People who take themselves too seriously, who can't see anything else, are usually funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/people-who-take-themselves-too-seriously-who-can-t-see-anything-else/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [Many times I'll improvise it, which isn't done a lot in movies or commercials. But a lot of my commercials are improvised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/many-times-i-ll-improvise-it-which-isn-t-done-a-lot-in-movies-or/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> ['Waiting For Guffman' was different right away from 'Spinal Tap,' because we didn't show the interviewer. That person became invisible immediately. That created a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/waiting-for-guffman-was-different-right-away-from-spinal-tap-because/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [If you're deluded, you live in a place where there isn't everyone else's reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/if-you-re-deluded-you-live-in-a-place-where-there-isn-t-everyone-else/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

> [I myself delve into very arcane things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-myself-delve-into-very-arcane-things/)

[Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

[Explore all 106 Christopher Guest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/)

## 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": "I went to Bard College for a year. And then, even though I didn't think I should give my blood to the theater, I did go to N.Y.U., which is where I met Michael McKean.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Christopher Guest"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-then-even-though-i-didn-t-think/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Actor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-then-even-though-i-didn-t-think/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/christopher-guest-4803_blood_i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-th_2030525.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/christopher-guest-4803_blood_i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-th_2030525.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c69/christopher-guest-4803_blood_i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-th_2030525.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I went to Bard College for a year. And then, even though I didn't think I should give my blood to the…” — Christopher Guest",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Christopher Guest",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I went to Bard College for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-then-even-though-i-didn-t-think/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-went-to-bard-college-for-a-year-and-then-even-though-i-didn-t-think/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
