Actors Quote by Emma Thompson
“If you can't fail then how can you possible develop as a communicator or as a creator of anything? We are locked into a deeply unhealthy notion that somehow you've got to succeed all the time. An appalling notion. Any painter or writer will tell you that that is no way to proceed. One of the things that will kill off a decent actor, especially a young actor early on and they will never recover from it, is too much success. It's disastrous. You stop being criticized, therefore you stop challenging yourself. You then can't afford to fail because there's too far to fall.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Guardian, 2015
Success can stifle growth; constant pressure to win prevents learning from mistakes and hampers creative development.
In simple terms: Too much success blocks learning from failure.
Embrace failure to grow.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- acting
- writing
- painting
- career development
- personal improvement
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you create safe spaces for failure?
- What habits can protect against fear of success?
Failure is necessary for skill refinement; without it, stagnation occurs.