--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By the time I could have played football…" description: "\"By the time I could have played football, I was already into acting and that's what I wanted to do.\" — David Morse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/david-morse-11828_acting_by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football_2074264.jpg" --- # By the time I could have played football, I was already… ![“By the time I could have played football, I was already into acting and that's what I wanted to do.” quote by David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/david-morse-11828_acting_by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football_2074264.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/david-morse-11828_acting_by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football_2074264.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/david-morse-11828_acting_by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football_2074264.jpg) > “By the time I could have played football, I was already into acting and that's what I wanted to do.” [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He chose acting over football early, following his true passion. **In simple terms:** Acting was his early passion over sports. Key Takeaway Follow your true calling. Themes career passion choice Mood inspirational decisive Type motivational career When to use this quote - career planning - talent development - life coaching Key Concepts Early decision sports vs arts personal fulfillment Questions to Reflect On - What early passion drives you? - How to evaluate passion vs practicality? A Different Perspective Early specialization may limit broader experiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [College football, acting, opera singing - I approached them all in the same obsessive way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/college-football-acting-opera-singing-i-approached-them-all-in-the/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [People don't understand the analogy of football and acting, but there's a great deal of it that's the same. You get dressed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-reynolds/people-don-t-understand-the-analogy-of-football-and-acting-but-there/) [Burt Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-reynolds/) > [I don't regret giving up football for acting. I love football and am very proud I played for Morton. But the truth is, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-compston/i-don-t-regret-giving-up-football-for-acting-i-love-football-and-am/) [Martin Compston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-compston/) > [It took a while to find a passion for another career that was as strong as the passion that I had for football. Once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-hall/it-took-a-while-to-find-a-passion-for-another-career-that-was-as/) Maurice Hall > [I've always felt that people put me down, and I'd fight back. I played football 15 years, and nobody gave me any credit, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-jones/i-ve-always-felt-that-people-put-me-down-and-i-d-fight-back-i-played/) [Vinnie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-jones/) > [My dad played in the National Soccer League in Australia and also played football in Malaysia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/montaigne/my-dad-played-in-the-national-soccer-league-in-australia-and-also/) [Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/montaigne/) > [I played football for Leeds United under-18s, but at 17 my eyes started to go and I had to wear glasses. The football had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-boycott/i-played-football-for-leeds-united-under-18s-but-at-17-my-eyes/) [Geoffrey Boycott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-boycott/) > [I played football in eighth grade, and even though I had a passion for it, it turned out I'm no good at playing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-mathews/i-played-football-in-eighth-grade-and-even-though-i-had-a-passion-for/) [Ross Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-mathews/) > [I always played football as a kid and never really thought about anything else. I always wanted to do that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gylfi-sigurdsson/i-always-played-football-as-a-kid-and-never-really-thought-about/) [Gylfi Sigurdsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gylfi-sigurdsson/) > [I decided at age 5 to start acting and I have never wanted to do anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-robbins/i-decided-at-age-5-to-start-acting-and-i-have-never-wanted-to-do/) Lois Robbins > [Before acting, I wanted to become a journalist. I also toyed with the idea of being a chef - but that's only when people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mckellen/before-acting-i-wanted-to-become-a-journalist-i-also-toyed-with-the/) [Ian Mckellen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mckellen/) > [I was about 15 when I decided that acting was what I wanted to pursue professionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-purser/i-was-about-15-when-i-decided-that-acting-was-what-i-wanted-to-pursue/) [Shannon Purser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-purser/) > [When I initially started acting, all I wanted to do was to be in one movie. That's it. That was my goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-beach/when-i-initially-started-acting-all-i-wanted-to-do-was-to-be-in-one/) [Adam Beach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-beach/) > [Acting is something I always wanted to try after wrestling, and I felt like this was a perfect fit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-michaels/acting-is-something-i-always-wanted-to-try-after-wrestling-and-i-felt/) [Shawn Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-michaels/) > [I'd always wanted to act, but it was a question of whether acting wanted me and whether the movies wanted me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/i-d-always-wanted-to-act-but-it-was-a-question-of-whether-acting/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) ## More by David Morse > [When I was in school, in eighth grade, someone recognized something in me. She was an English teacher, and we read a play out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/when-i-was-in-school-in-eighth-grade-someone-recognized-something-in/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [Because I'd only done theater, that's really what I thought most of my life would be. I always figured that movies would be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/because-i-d-only-done-theater-that-s-really-what-i-thought-most-of-my/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [One year, I went to Cannes with the film 'The Indian Runner' that Sean Penn directed. Everyone else in the film was all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/one-year-i-went-to-cannes-with-the-film-the-indian-runner-that-sean/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I'm acting for the pleasure of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-m-acting-for-the-pleasure-of-it/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I thought, "I don't want to be the only unfunny guy in this movie. I really would like to be somehow involved in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-thought-i-don-t-want-to-be-the-only-unfunny-guy-in-this-movie-i/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I have so many people who still talk to me about The Long Kiss Goodnight, about that being one of their favorite movies, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-have-so-many-people-who-still-talk-to-me-about-the-long-kiss/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [There's been one movie star that would not work with me because of my height. I had so many people who had to stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/there-s-been-one-movie-star-that-would-not-work-with-me-because-of-my/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I didn't want to do television at all. I really didn't want to do it. I really thought I was just going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-didn-t-want-to-do-television-at-all-i-really-didn-t-want-to-do-it-i/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I was a teenager and it was tough years for me. Being able to bring myself into a character and live in somebody else's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-was-a-teenager-and-it-was-tough-years-for-me-being-able-to-bring/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I've always tried to not let movie, television or theatre be all that my life is about. I've always tried to get involved in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-ve-always-tried-to-not-let-movie-television-or-theatre-be-all-that/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I'd never done any film or television. Well, I'd done one little stupid commercial in Boston when I was doing theater, but that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-d-never-done-any-film-or-television-well-i-d-done-one-little-stupid/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I gave up planning when our children were born, when I had three children to feed and a roof to keep over our head…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-gave-up-planning-when-our-children-were-born-when-i-had-three/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I try to do things I haven't been able to before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-try-to-do-things-i-haven-t-been-able-to-before/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [I had the great good fortune of working with Christopher Plummer, Frances Sternhagen, and Arthur Hill early in my career, and it set a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/i-had-the-great-good-fortune-of-working-with-christopher-plummer/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) > [Everything is interesting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/everything-is-interesting-to-me/) [David Morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) [Explore all 57 David Morse quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/) ## More Acting 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/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. 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. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [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/) > [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/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) [Browse all 12,062 Acting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "By the time I could have played football, I was already into acting and that's what I wanted to do.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Morse" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football-i-was-already-into-acting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football-i-was-already-into-acting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/david-morse-11828_acting_by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football_2074264.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/david-morse-11828_acting_by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football_2074264.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/david-morse-11828_acting_by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football_2074264.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“By the time I could have played football, I was already into acting and that's what I wanted to do.” — David Morse", "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": "David Morse", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-morse/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "By the time I could have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football-i-was-already-into-acting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-morse/by-the-time-i-could-have-played-football-i-was-already-into-acting/#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 } } ] } ```