--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The older I've gotten, the more the need…" description: "\"The older I've gotten, the more the need to exert comedy no matter how tragic a character I may be portraying because they are essentials for presentin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/ed-asner-14022_because_the-older-i-ve-gotten-the-more-the-need_334259.jpg" --- # The older I've gotten, the more the need to exert comedy… ![“The older I've gotten, the more the need to exert comedy no matter how tragic a character I may be portraying because they are essentials for presenting truth.” quote by Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/ed-asner-14022_because_the-older-i-ve-gotten-the-more-the-need_334259.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/ed-asner-14022_because_the-older-i-ve-gotten-the-more-the-need_334259.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/ed-asner-14022_because_the-older-i-ve-gotten-the-more-the-need_334259.jpg) > “The older I've gotten, the more the need to exert comedy no matter how tragic a character I may be portraying because they are essentials for presenting truth.” [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy can reveal truth even in tragic roles, using humor to expose deeper realities. **In simple terms:** Humor helps show truth in sad characters. Key Takeaway Use humor to highlight truth. Themes humor truth performance Mood reflective insightful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - theatre - film - personal storytelling Key Concepts dramatic irony emotional honesty Questions to Reflect On - How does humor change audience perception? - When is humor inappropriate? A Different Perspective Comedy may undermine seriousness of tragedy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Exert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exert/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Tragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tragic/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [It's interesting because with a lot of people who I've met in comedy, it seems not to matter what your background is. In terms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-kemper/it-s-interesting-because-with-a-lot-of-people-who-i-ve-met-in-comedy/) [Ellie Kemper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-kemper/) > [The population increasing, some of it could be in countries we haven't thought of making art in. I've never entertained making comedy in China.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-armisen/the-population-increasing-some-of-it-could-be-in-countries-we-haven-t/) [Fred Armisen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-armisen/) > [I feel it's very important for an actor to believe in the character that he/she is playing and do full justice to it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmin-bhasin/i-feel-it-s-very-important-for-an-actor-to-believe-in-the-character/) [Jasmin Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmin-bhasin/) > [It definitely does take some time to get accustomed to the character you're portraying and takes an equal amount of time to get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanya-malhotra/it-definitely-does-take-some-time-to-get-accustomed-to-the-character/) [Sanya Malhotra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanya-malhotra/) > [It is really tragic, character of this man's ideas and both are poised to fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/it-is-really-tragic-character-of-this-man-s-ideas-and-both-are-poised/) Mak\_786 > [Nor does the idea of a moral order asserting itself against attack or want of conformity answer in full to our feelings regarding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-coyle-bradley/nor-does-the-idea-of-a-moral-order-asserting-itself-against-attack-or/) [Andrew Coyle Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-coyle-bradley/) > [One of the many reasons for the bewildering and tragic character of human existence is the fact that social organization is at once necessary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/one-of-the-many-reasons-for-the-bewildering-and-tragic-character-of/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Whereas the comic confronts simply logical contradictions, the tragic confronts a moral predicament. Not minor matters of true andfalse but crucial questions of right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-taylor-collins-swabey/whereas-the-comic-confronts-simply-logical-contradictions-the-tragic/) Marie Taylor Collins Swabey > [“The hero, the villain, or modern tragic character. A modern Achilles who inflicts his own arrow. "The Wings of the Seraph”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-leblanc/the-hero-the-villain-or-modern-tragic-character-a-modern-achilles-who/) Jeffrey LeBlanc > [There are no living beings who exert more power over others, pound for pound, than tiny babies and extremely thin moguls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-bing/there-are-no-living-beings-who-exert-more-power-over-others-pound-for/) [Stanley Bing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-bing/) > [A large majority of Americans believe that corporations exert too much influence on our daily lives and our political process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-mcgovern/a-large-majority-of-americans-believe-that-corporations-exert-too/) [Jim McGovern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-mcgovern/) > [Whatever power I exert is collegial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-graham/whatever-power-i-exert-is-collegial/) [Katharine Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-graham/) > [The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on my gender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-day-o-connor/the-power-i-exert-on-the-court-depends-on-the-power-of-my-arguments/) [Sandra Day O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-day-o-connor/) > [Better exert power than justify it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/better-exert-power-than-justify-it/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [We have a terror of seeming to exert ourselves, lest it be noticed that we exerted ourselves and did not succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-have-a-terror-of-seeming-to-exert-ourselves-lest-it-be-noticed/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) ## More by Ed Asner > [All capitalists should be like Warren Buffett, and he says he should be taxed more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/all-capitalists-should-be-like-warren-buffett-and-he-says-he-should/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [There are genuinely sufficient resources in the world to ensure that no one, nowhere, at no time, should go hungry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/there-are-genuinely-sufficient-resources-in-the-world-to-ensure-that/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [“And there you have your Founders and Framers in all their elite glory—the 1 percent of their time. Many spent more than they made.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/and-there-you-have-your-founders-and-framers-in-all-their-elite-glory/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [To my knowledge, there is no blacklist. But there is a mindset, even among liberal producers, that says 'He may be difficult so let's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/to-my-knowledge-there-is-no-blacklist-but-there-is-a-mindset-even/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [I've never stopped loving cartoons. I loved cartoons as a kid. I can still look at them and enjoy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/i-ve-never-stopped-loving-cartoons-i-loved-cartoons-as-a-kid-i-can/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [The treasure shouldn't do the hunting, and you're a treasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/the-treasure-shouldn-t-do-the-hunting-and-you-re-a-treasure/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [Always keep yourself engaged, in theater, in whatever job you can get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/always-keep-yourself-engaged-in-theater-in-whatever-job-you-can-get/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [If you can't get an acting job, then go backstage. Or take tickets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/if-you-can-t-get-an-acting-job-then-go-backstage-or-take-tickets/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [“Of all the Founders, Adams may have been the most churchgoing. But as a Unitarian, he did not believe in the Holy Trinity, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/of-all-the-founders-adams-may-have-been-the-most-churchgoing-but-as-a/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [I went into acting as psychotherapy, and it's still a work in progress.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/i-went-into-acting-as-psychotherapy-and-it-s-still-a-work-in-progress/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [Never thought acting was something you could make a living at. It wasn't until I was in college, and got a lead in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/never-thought-acting-was-something-you-could-make-a-living-at-it-wasn/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [“Pissed off by the lies, misrepresentations, and outright horseshit, I decided it was time to strike back. It was time to reclaim the Constitution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/pissed-off-by-the-lies-misrepresentations-and-outright-horseshit-i/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [Some of my earliest political feelings were based on the anti-Japanese bubblegum cards I got. There were also Spanish Civil War bubblegum cards. Awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/some-of-my-earliest-political-feelings-were-based-on-the-anti/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [“Roughly speaking: more than forty held government bonds. More than twenty were moneylenders. Over fifteen were slave owners. The rest an assortment of land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/roughly-speaking-more-than-forty-held-government-bonds-more-than/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [Raising kids is part joy and part guerrilla warfare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/raising-kids-is-part-joy-and-part-guerrilla-warfare/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) [Explore all 48 Ed Asner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. 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Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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