--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think one thing that's always a concern…" description: "\"I think one thing that's always a concern to me is you see a role, and you're not seeing the character; you're seeing so-and-so do it. Then I'm taken o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/debra-granik-4495_character_i-think-one-thing-that-s-always-a-concer_2674008.jpg" --- # I think one thing that's always a concern to me is you see… ![“I think one thing that's always a concern to me is you see a role, and you're not seeing the character; you're seeing so-and-so do it. Then I'm taken out of the story considerably, personally.” quote by Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/debra-granik-4495_character_i-think-one-thing-that-s-always-a-concer_2674008.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/debra-granik-4495_character_i-think-one-thing-that-s-always-a-concer_2674008.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b9d/debra-granik-4495_character_i-think-one-thing-that-s-always-a-concer_2674008.jpg) > “I think one thing that's always a concern to me is you see a role, and you're not seeing the character; you're seeing so-and-so do it. Then I'm taken out of the story considerably, personally.” [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When a story emphasizes plot over character, audiences feel disconnected, reducing personal impact and emotional investment. **In simple terms:** Focusing on plot over character disconnects viewers. Key Takeaway Prioritize character depth for engagement. Themes storytelling character audience empathy focus Mood reflective analytical thoughtful Type critical educational creative When to use this quote - film analysis - screenwriting - character-driven projects Key Concepts narrative structure character development viewer identification Questions to Reflect On - How can balance be achieved? - What techniques deepen character presence? A Different Perspective May limit plot-driven genres. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) ## Related quotes > [Casting is everything. Getting the person that you imagined is this character and then seeing what they bring to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/casting-is-everything-getting-the-person-that-you-imagined-is-this/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [I choose jobs quite selfishly. I do them for me and the exploration you get to go on with a character... seeing how they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-cassidy/i-choose-jobs-quite-selfishly-i-do-them-for-me-and-the-exploration/) [Elaine Cassidy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-cassidy/) > [A novel can do something that films and TV usually can't - a glimpse inside the characters' heads. I write very tight third person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/a-novel-can-do-something-that-films-and-tv-usually-can-t-a-glimpse/) [Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/) > [There's nothing like getting yourself into character and seeing a different person. It really wears on your vanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-moss/there-s-nothing-like-getting-yourself-into-character-and-seeing-a/) [Elisabeth Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-moss/) > [Casting is everything. Getting the person that you imagined is this character and then seeing what they bring to it.That's why you hire them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-buscemi/casting-is-everything-getting-the-person-that-you-imagined-is-this-2/) [Steve Buscemi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-buscemi/) > [Any time you're playing a character, you're seeing the world through their lens and their experience. That extends to how they experience music, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-reid/any-time-you-re-playing-a-character-you-re-seeing-the-world-through/) [Noah Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-reid/) > [I'm not actually a psychopath. I don't look evil. People don't normally want to put me in the same kind of things afterward, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oakes/i-m-not-actually-a-psychopath-i-don-t-look-evil-people-don-t-normally/) [David Oakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oakes/) > [When you graduate is when you start to find yourself looking at the information in the audition breakdown and it says tall black African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/when-you-graduate-is-when-you-start-to-find-yourself-looking-at-the/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [I'm obsessed with modes, and making sure you're seeing the character in different modes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-demetriou/i-m-obsessed-with-modes-and-making-sure-you-re-seeing-the-character/) [Jamie Demetriou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-demetriou/) > [I really loved it because it really informed his way of seeing my character and the story. If you look closely he always had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mia-wasikowska/i-really-loved-it-because-it-really-informed-his-way-of-seeing-my/) [Mia Wasikowska](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mia-wasikowska/) > [I love the idea of seeing a character - I mean, there's nothing like seeing a character and having the huge detail and roundness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-baxendale/i-love-the-idea-of-seeing-a-character-i-mean-there-s-nothing-like/) [Helen Baxendale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-baxendale/) > [I love doing theater so much - being in front of an audience and seeing how a character grows and develops with every performance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-hall/i-love-doing-theater-so-much-being-in-front-of-an-audience-and-seeing/) [Jerry Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-hall/) > [I'm always writing from some difficult place and seeing how the character survives... or doesn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-silvera/i-m-always-writing-from-some-difficult-place-and-seeing-how-the/) [Adam Silvera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-silvera/) > [Believe me, most of the people in Russia are seeing the West as a threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-simonyan/believe-me-most-of-the-people-in-russia-are-seeing-the-west-as-a/) [Margarita Simonyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-simonyan/) > [I don't own designer clothes, or a sports car, or a huge house, but I am seeing the world, experiencing amazing things, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-savage/i-don-t-own-designer-clothes-or-a-sports-car-or-a-huge-house-but-i-am/) [Roz Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-savage/) ## More by Debra Granik > [I have, obviously, a very complex relationship with the more industrial side of filmmaking and the machinery that can take an actor or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-have-obviously-a-very-complex-relationship-with-the-more-industrial/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I feel like reality TV has thrown a difficult wrench in the system - on the programming and making side, and on the curating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-feel-like-reality-tv-has-thrown-a-difficult-wrench-in-the-system-on/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I'm someone who's always looking for hope - if there's a ray of hope, a shrapnel, shred, a flake of hope - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-m-someone-who-s-always-looking-for-hope-if-there-s-a-ray-of-hope-a/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [In documentary, mostly, people are going to say untoward things; people are going to have gnarly beliefs. People aren't perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/in-documentary-mostly-people-are-going-to-say-untoward-things-people/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [For documentaries, I think streaming plays an amazing role, but it's a problem when the one service you initially relied on to have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/for-documentaries-i-think-streaming-plays-an-amazing-role-but-it-s-a/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [In documentary, you are sometimes burdened, or you feel very responsible for dealing with - I want to say - more complicated themes. Fiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/in-documentary-you-are-sometimes-burdened-or-you-feel-very/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [#TimesUp is you can't hold it in anymore: Time's up! The doors have to give way. It can't be that every 27-year-old born into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/timesup-is-you-can-t-hold-it-in-anymore-time-s-up-the-doors-have-to/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [My first narrative films developed out of a documentary process - finding someone who was willing to be filmed, watching, listening, taking copious notes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/my-first-narrative-films-developed-out-of-a-documentary-process/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [It's funny: your happiness is contingent on a bigger picture besides just yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/it-s-funny-your-happiness-is-contingent-on-a-bigger-picture-besides/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [You gotta call it out first; it always has to be called out when we need social change, but this is how social change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/you-gotta-call-it-out-first-it-always-has-to-be-called-out-when-we/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [There has to be a continuation of the communal experience of filmgoing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/there-has-to-be-a-continuation-of-the-communal-experience-of-filmgoing/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I'm always searching to learn more about our large and diverse country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-m-always-searching-to-learn-more-about-our-large-and-diverse-country/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [The struggle to have a living wage doesn't come easy. You're ready to work, you want it, you seek it... but it's not like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/the-struggle-to-have-a-living-wage-doesn-t-come-easy-you-re-ready-to/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [It's been a pleasure to see female comedians be prominent and flourish - like Kate McKinnon's Rudy Giuliani impressions, which are uncanny in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/it-s-been-a-pleasure-to-see-female-comedians-be-prominent-and/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) > [I swing with a lot of torque from non-fiction to fiction, and I really like that place in between.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-granik/i-swing-with-a-lot-of-torque-from-non-fiction-to-fiction-and-i-really/) [Debra Granik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) [Explore all 110 Debra Granik quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-granik/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [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/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [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/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think one thing that's always a concern to me is you see a role, and you're not seeing the character; you're seeing so-and-so do it. 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