--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Movie stars exaggerate certain things to…" description: "\"Movie stars exaggerate certain things to let the audience know they're just playing a character, as if they're saying, \"Look at me, I'm not really an o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/curtis-hanson-9380_actor_movie-stars-exaggerate-certain-things-to_2350388.jpg" --- # Movie stars exaggerate certain things to let the audience… ![“Movie stars exaggerate certain things to let the audience know they're just playing a character, as if they're saying, "Look at me, I'm not really an old man, I'm just playing one." Or "I'm not really a homosexual, I'm just playing a gay character. Or an alcoholic. Or somebody who's mentally…” quote by Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/curtis-hanson-9380_actor_movie-stars-exaggerate-certain-things-to_2350388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/curtis-hanson-9380_actor_movie-stars-exaggerate-certain-things-to_2350388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/999/curtis-hanson-9380_actor_movie-stars-exaggerate-certain-things-to_2350388.jpg) > “Movie stars exaggerate certain things to let the audience know they're just playing a character, as if they're saying, "Look at me, I'm not really an old man, I'm just playing one." Or "I'm not really a homosexual, I'm just playing a gay character. Or an alcoholic. Or somebody who's mentally impaired." They often do it very successfully and win awards for it.” [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Actors amplify traits to signal performance, helping viewers distinguish character from actor. **In simple terms:** Actors exaggerate to show they're acting. Key Takeaway Recognize performance cues. Themes acting identity performance perception celebrity Mood critical analytical Type observational commentary When to use this quote - theatre - film - television - award ceremonies Key Concepts method acting character construction audience perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you tell performance from reality? - What impact does this have on audience empathy? A Different Perspective Exaggeration may reinforce stereotypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Alcoholics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholics/) [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Awards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awards/) [Certain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/certain/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character Saying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-saying-2783312/) [Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay/) [Gay Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gay-character-250119/) [Homosexual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/homosexual/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Look at me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/look-at-me/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Movie star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie-star/) [Movie stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie-stars/) [Old man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-man/) [Playing Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-gay-829122/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [Stars Exaggerate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars-exaggerate-5719620/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [I’m quite flirtatious with anyone. Some people, because I’m playing a gay character, get quite nervous. And I have to reassure them. I’m like,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-james-collier/i-m-quite-flirtatious-with-anyone-some-people-because-i-m-playing-a/) [Rob James-Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-james-collier/) > [Honestly, I think some of my family members of a certain generation were more skittish about me playing a gay character on Six Feet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/honestly-i-think-some-of-my-family-members-of-a-certain-generation/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [Once you're sort of pigeonholed into something, it's quite difficult to get out of it. I have no aversion to playing a gay character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-shahi/once-you-re-sort-of-pigeonholed-into-something-it-s-quite-difficult/) [Sarah Shahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-shahi/) > [The question people ask me all the time is, 'How was it playing a gay character? How was it pretending to love a man?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevante-rhodes/the-question-people-ask-me-all-the-time-is-how-was-it-playing-a-gay/) [Trevante Rhodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevante-rhodes/) > [If someone doesn't want to work with me because I'm playing a gay character, I don't want to work with them. They can fck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-harold/if-someone-doesn-t-want-to-work-with-me-because-i-m-playing-a-gay/) [Gale Harold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-harold/) > [“Great men speak secrets about themselves with nods and gestures, walking away from jokes about women rather than condemn the jokester; if with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-goff/great-men-speak-secrets-about-themselves-with-nods-and-gestures/) [Lee Goff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-goff/) > [Sometimes I think too much, or sometimes I don't think enough as the character. Sometimes you just miss a moment, or sometimes you hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taissa-farmiga/sometimes-i-think-too-much-or-sometimes-i-don-t-think-enough-as-the/) [Taissa Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taissa-farmiga/) > [“Love the overuse of exclamation points!!!! Yes!!! They add a lot of emphasis!!! to what your character is saying!!!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-r-w-lee/love-the-overuse-of-exclamation-points-yes-they-add-a-lot-of-emphasis/) [L.R.W. Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-r-w-lee/) > [The writer must always leave room for the characters to grow and change. If you move your characters from plot point to plot point,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-north-patterson/the-writer-must-always-leave-room-for-the-characters-to-grow-and/) [Richard North Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-north-patterson/) > [I prefer not to wink out from behind the character as myself, saying to the audience, "It's just me here, right, guys?" Peter Sellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-daly/i-prefer-not-to-wink-out-from-behind-the-character-as-myself-saying/) [Andy Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-daly/) > [The taboo for straight actors playing gay is gone... My mother was squirming a bit in the theater because she comes from a different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-cain/the-taboo-for-straight-actors-playing-gay-is-gone-my-mother-was/) [Dean Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-cain/) > [I'm obviously comfortable with my feminine side! I didn't have any reservations playing a gay guy as it was kind of a neat idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-perry/i-m-obviously-comfortable-with-my-feminine-side-i-didn-t-have-any/) [Matthew Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-perry/) > [I didn't have enough trepidation about playing a gay funeral director not to play it. I didn't have enough trepidation about playing a serial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall-2/i-didn-t-have-enough-trepidation-about-playing-a-gay-funeral-director/) [Michael C Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall-2/) > [There have been amazing performances by straight people playing gay and by gay people playing straight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-bailey/there-have-been-amazing-performances-by-straight-people-playing-gay/) [Jonathan Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-bailey/) > [It's hard enough to be a heterosexual playing gay and not having the gay gestures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-sieber/it-s-hard-enough-to-be-a-heterosexual-playing-gay-and-not-having-the/) [Christopher Sieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-sieber/) ## More by Curtis Hanson > [I very much had wanted to do a picture with more humor than what I had been allowed to do earlier, which is what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/i-very-much-had-wanted-to-do-a-picture-with-more-humor-than-what-i/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [That's what I love about Michael Douglas' performance in Wonder Boys, because I feel like he surprises audiences that know him from very different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/that-s-what-i-love-about-michael-douglas-performance-in-wonder-boys/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [I love suspense movies, because in a sense they're the most dreamlike of any genre, and I'm sure I'll make another one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/i-love-suspense-movies-because-in-a-sense-they-re-the-most-dreamlike/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [I had a checkered early career, for sure, with a lot of very unhappy experiences where pictures got taken away, re-cut, re-titled... all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/i-had-a-checkered-early-career-for-sure-with-a-lot-of-very-unhappy/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [My very first professional writing credit was on a movie called The Dunwich Horror, and Roger Corman was the executive producer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/my-very-first-professional-writing-credit-was-on-a-movie-called-the/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [There was a long period of time when Sam Fuller had a lot of projects fall through and had a lot of difficulties getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/there-was-a-long-period-of-time-when-sam-fuller-had-a-lot-of-projects/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [What I try to do is give each actor an environment in which they can do their best work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/what-i-try-to-do-is-give-each-actor-an-environment-in-which-they-can/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [Hollywood, of course, is the city of illusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/hollywood-of-course-is-the-city-of-illusion/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [ I can't speak to how Michael \[Douglas\] approached it in terms of his process. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/i-can-t-speak-to-how-michael-douglas-approached-it-in-terms-of-his/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [Put simply, there are many people who want to make movies and very few opportunities for them to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/put-simply-there-are-many-people-who-want-to-make-movies-and-very-few/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [ I had the great fortune to actually become friends with Sam \[Fuller\] and ultimately collaborate with him on White Dog, which we wrote together. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/i-had-the-great-fortune-to-actually-become-friends-with-sam-fuller/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [You can dress it up, but it comes down to the fact that a movie is only as good as its script.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/you-can-dress-it-up-but-it-comes-down-to-the-fact-that-a-movie-is/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [A day doesn't go by when I don't get a compliment on L.A. Confidential, for example.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/a-day-doesn-t-go-by-when-i-don-t-get-a-compliment-on-l-a-confidential/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [I make that distinction only because I came to it strictly as someone who was just a lover of storytellers and cinematic storytellers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/i-make-that-distinction-only-because-i-came-to-it-strictly-as-someone/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) > [ Roger \[Corman\] didn't actually hire me, though. I was hired by AIP \[American International Pictures\], the studio that made the picture, which was Sam… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-hanson/roger-corman-didn-t-actually-hire-me-though-i-was-hired-by-aip/) [Curtis Hanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) [Explore all 73 Curtis Hanson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-hanson/) ## 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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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": "Movie stars exaggerate certain things to let the audience know they're just playing a character, as if they're saying, \"Look at me, I'm not really an old man, I'm just playing one.\" Or \"I'm not really a homosexual, I'm just playing a gay character. Or an alcoholic. 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