--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But it's interesting being directed by…" description: "\"But it's interesting being directed by someone who is a very good actor. There's nothing like it. It might sound like a territorial thing about what I ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/colin-firth-2891_actors_but-it-s-interesting-being-directed-by-s_3007989.png" --- # But it's interesting being directed by someone who is a… ![“But it's interesting being directed by someone who is a very good actor. There's nothing like it. It might sound like a territorial thing about what I do, but I don't think you can understand what it is until you've done it. I know that to be a fact.” quote by Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/colin-firth-2891_actors_but-it-s-interesting-being-directed-by-s_3007989.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/colin-firth-2891_actors_but-it-s-interesting-being-directed-by-s_3007989.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0a1/colin-firth-2891_actors_but-it-s-interesting-being-directed-by-s_3007989.png) > “But it's interesting being directed by someone who is a very good actor. There's nothing like it. It might sound like a territorial thing about what I do, but I don't think you can understand what it is until you've done it. I know that to be a fact.” [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acting offers unique insight; only through experience can one truly understand it. **In simple terms:** Acting is best understood by doing. Key Takeaway Practice to grasp your craft. Themes experience acting understanding Mood introspective enthusiastic Type advice observational When to use this quote - theatre - film - career development Key Concepts craft empathy identity Questions to Reflect On - What does acting teach you about yourself? - How does experience shape perception? A Different Perspective Experience may not convey all aspects of artistic intent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor-like/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Directed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directed/) [Directed Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/directed-good-4808119/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Good actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-actor/) [Good actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-actors/) [Interesting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting/) [Interesting Directed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interesting-directed-2666421/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Territorial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/territorial/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Very good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very-good/) ## Related quotes > [“...what they have to say about themselves makes me think that there is a lot of ill-directed good in them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/what-they-have-to-say-about-themselves-makes-me-think-that-there-is-a/) [Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/) > [ The script \[of Regression\] wasn't the draw for me. It was largely Alejandro \[Amenabar\] and his way of talking. To hear him talking about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethan-hawke/the-script-of-regression-wasn-t-the-draw-for-me-it-was-largely/) [Ethan Hawke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethan-hawke/) > [God will never allow any action against you that is not in accord with His will for you. And His will is always directed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-bridges/god-will-never-allow-any-action-against-you-that-is-not-in-accord/) [Jerry Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-bridges/) > [After I directed, when I went back to being an actor, I was like, 'God, this is the life!' Because you only have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/campbell-scott/after-i-directed-when-i-went-back-to-being-an-actor-i-was-like-god/) [Campbell Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/campbell-scott/) > [I had to learn that a good actor, like an iceberg, reveals only a small part of his ability on the surface. You suggest;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lilli-palmer/i-had-to-learn-that-a-good-actor-like-an-iceberg-reveals-only-a-small/) [Lilli Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lilli-palmer/) > [A good actor is like a racehorse or a Ferrari. If a cylinder is missing on a Chevy, it's doesn't matter that much. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-walken/a-good-actor-is-like-a-racehorse-or-a-ferrari-if-a-cylinder-is/) [Christopher Walken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-walken/) > [The skill of a good actor is to make it always seem like you're in that fantastically spontaneous moment. Very often, a stand-up comedian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/the-skill-of-a-good-actor-is-to-make-it-always-seem-like-you-re-in/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Wealth from trade was the mainspring of Western material advance; the visible agents of change were great guns. These came of age in Europe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-padfield/wealth-from-trade-was-the-mainspring-of-western-material-advance-the/) [Peter Padfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-padfield/) > [Call me territorial or narcissistic, but I avoid novels about people who share my vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/call-me-territorial-or-narcissistic-but-i-avoid-novels-about-people/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [In seeking an empire of liberty, Jefferson wished not only to expand the country's territorial holdings, but also to extend American institutions around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-dallek/in-seeking-an-empire-of-liberty-jefferson-wished-not-only-to-expand/) [Robert Dallek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-dallek/) > [For it is a mad world and it will get madder if we allow the minorities, be they dwarf or giant, orangutan or dolphin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/for-it-is-a-mad-world-and-it-will-get-madder-if-we-allow-the/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [ There is progress in the sense that the Prime Minister \[Shinzō Abe\] has proposed, outlined, as it were, directions for movement toward a peace… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/there-is-progress-in-the-sense-that-the-prime-minister-shinz-abe-has/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [The Oslo Accords in 1993 determined that the Gaza Strip and the West Bank are a single territorial entity which cannot be divided. Immediately,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-oslo-accords-in-1993-determined-that-the-gaza-strip-and-the-west/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There cannot be an animal body without a territorial body: three bodies are grafted over each other: the territorial body - the planet, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-virilio/there-cannot-be-an-animal-body-without-a-territorial-body-three/) [Paul Virilio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-virilio/) ## More by Colin Firth > [My grandmother was a minister as well, which was not that common in the 1930s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/my-grandmother-was-a-minister-as-well-which-was-not-that-common-in/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [My looks aren't something that come dazzlingly through in everything I do. I can be made to look one way or the other fairly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/my-looks-aren-t-something-that-come-dazzlingly-through-in-everything/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [People have the idea of missionaries as going out with the Bible and hitting natives with it. It's not really what they were doing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/people-have-the-idea-of-missionaries-as-going-out-with-the-bible-and/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [I do notice that when I've been away and I come back to London. People look at you. People are ready to pick arguments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/i-do-notice-that-when-i-ve-been-away-and-i-come-back-to-london-people/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [As much as the next person, I want to be approved of, but I'm not greedy for that stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/as-much-as-the-next-person-i-want-to-be-approved-of-but-i-m-not/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [A life of very, very serious, po-faced films would drive me nuts. I need - and I'm fortunate to have - a fairly varied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/a-life-of-very-very-serious-po-faced-films-would-drive-me-nuts-i-need/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Nothing brings you closer together than blind terror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/nothing-brings-you-closer-together-than-blind-terror/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [“when im really into a movel i'm seeing the world differntly during that time- not just for the hour or so in the day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/when-im-really-into-a-movel-i-m-seeing-the-world-differntly-during/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [You have to be ill if you want to get better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/you-have-to-be-ill-if-you-want-to-get-better/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Hollywood hasn't aggressively pursued me. Neither have I aggressively pursued Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/hollywood-hasn-t-aggressively-pursued-me-neither-have-i-aggressively/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [Looking in the mirror, staring back at me isn't so much a face as the expression of a predicament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/looking-in-the-mirror-staring-back-at-me-isn-t-so-much-a-face-as-the/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [I think England has served me very well. I like living in London for the reasons I gave. I have absolutely no intentions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/i-think-england-has-served-me-very-well-i-like-living-in-london-for/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [We all know the dangers of sequels. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place too often, and I think you've got to move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/we-all-know-the-dangers-of-sequels-lightning-doesn-t-strike-twice-in/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [I can actually get involved in getting stories off the ground that no one would ask me to be in because I'm the wrong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/i-can-actually-get-involved-in-getting-stories-off-the-ground-that-no/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) > [There's a paraphrase about Orson Welles saying: "Great films are made by great directors and the rest are made by everyone else." I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-firth/there-s-a-paraphrase-about-orson-welles-saying-great-films-are-made/) [Colin Firth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) [Explore all 146 Colin Firth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-firth/) ## More Actors quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/) [Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [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/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [When we watch a film as actors, you have to understand that we always see much more than what's on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-khemu/when-we-watch-a-film-as-actors-you-have-to-understand-that-we-always/) [Kunal Khemu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-khemu/) > [As actors, you become an expert at starting over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-actors-you-become-an-expert-at-starting-over/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [A rapper is about being completely true to yourself. Being an actor is about changing who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/a-rapper-is-about-being-completely-true-to-yourself-being-an-actor-is/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [I've been a professional actor for almost 40 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-perlman/i-ve-been-a-professional-actor-for-almost-40-years/) [Ron Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-perlman/) > [American actors are coy. We all have pricks and cunts, or are you different from the rest of us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/american-actors-are-coy-we-all-have-pricks-and-cunts-or-are-you/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) [Browse all 11,394 Actors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But it's interesting being directed by someone who is a very good actor. There's nothing like it. 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