---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think we all have the urge to be a…"
description: "\"I think we all have the urge to be a clown, whether we know it or not.\" — Ernest Borgnine"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/ernest-borgnine-17006_clown_i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clo_2287489.jpg"
---

#  I think we all have the urge to be a clown, whether we…

![“I think we all have the urge to be a clown, whether we know it or not.” quote by Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/ernest-borgnine-17006_clown_i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clo_2287489.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/ernest-borgnine-17006_clown_i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clo_2287489.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/ernest-borgnine-17006_clown_i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clo_2287489.jpg)

> “I think we all have the urge to be a clown, whether we know it or not.”

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

People often feel a hidden desire to entertain or be playful, even if they suppress it.

**In simple terms:** We all want to be funny sometimes.

Key Takeaway

Allow yourself moments of silliness.

Themes

self‑expression playfulness identity social masks

Mood

lighthearted reflective

Type

observational humorous

When to use this quote

- team building
- creative workshops
- social gatherings
- personal growth

Key Concepts

psychology human behavior performance

Questions to Reflect On

- When do you hide your playful side?
- How can humor improve relationships?

A Different Perspective

Not everyone can be a clown; context matters.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Clown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/)

## Related quotes

> [To expect truth to come from thinking signifies that we mistake the need to think with the urge to know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/to-expect-truth-to-come-from-thinking-signifies-that-we-mistake-the/)

[Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/)

> [“Sometimes I think the urge to believe in our own worldview is our most powerful intellectual imperative, the mind’s equivalent of feeding, fighting, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-eisler/sometimes-i-think-the-urge-to-believe-in-our-own-worldview-is-our/)

[Barry Eisler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-eisler/)

> [If I wasn't an actor and I watched my films, I could easily be like 'This guy's a clown,' you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-wasn-t-an-actor-and-i-watched-my-films-i-could-easily-be-like/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I was the class clown, you know, that kind of thing, and I gathered around me a group of guys who also were silly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-van-dyke/i-was-the-class-clown-you-know-that-kind-of-thing-and-i-gathered/)

[Dick Van Dyke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-van-dyke/)

> [To my family and friends, I'm very definitely a clown. But do you know what? Doing a drama would almost seem easy because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-jensen/to-my-family-and-friends-i-m-very-definitely-a-clown-but-do-you-know/)

[Ashley Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-jensen/)

> [They think I'm being serious when actually I'm a very big clown. But you have to know me to see that. I'm constantly cracking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/they-think-i-m-being-serious-when-actually-i-m-a-very-big-clown-but/)

[Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/)

> [Sometimes when you feel the urge, you've just gotta go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-shannon/sometimes-when-you-feel-the-urge-you-ve-just-gotta-go/)

[Mike Shannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-shannon/)

> [There is more in a human life than our theories of it allow. Sooner or later something seems to call us onto a particular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hillman/there-is-more-in-a-human-life-than-our-theories-of-it-allow-sooner-or/)

[James Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hillman/)

> [Nature or, that which I see, inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piet-mondrian/nature-or-that-which-i-see-inspires-me-puts-me-as-with-any-painter-in/)

[Piet Mondrian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piet-mondrian/)

> [If I want to make a grime tune I'll go ahead and do it, but I don't really have the urge to right now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-sovereign/if-i-want-to-make-a-grime-tune-i-ll-go-ahead-and-do-it-but-i-don-t/)

[Lady Sovereign](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-sovereign/)

> [Men in general are too material and do not make enough human contacts. If we search for the fundamentals which actually motivate us we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-s-jordan/men-in-general-are-too-material-and-do-not-make-enough-human-contacts/)

Edward S. Jordan

> [The urge to create, the urge to photograph, comes in part from the deep desire to live with more integrity, to live more in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynn-bullock/the-urge-to-create-the-urge-to-photograph-comes-in-part-from-the-deep/)

[Wynn Bullock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynn-bullock/)

> [We live in an age of 'urge'. We do nothing till somebody shoves us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-live-in-an-age-of-urge-we-do-nothing-till-somebody-shoves-us/)

[Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/)

> [I'd always have a sort of automatic urge to share what I'm doing with other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-soloway/i-d-always-have-a-sort-of-automatic-urge-to-share-what-i-m-doing-with/)

[Jill Soloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-soloway/)

> [Having the urge to write is one thing; acting on it is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-peter-clark/having-the-urge-to-write-is-one-thing-acting-on-it-is-another/)

[Roy Peter Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-peter-clark/)

## More by Ernest Borgnine

> [Three quarters of producers don't even know who I am. The other quarter think I am dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/three-quarters-of-producers-don-t-even-know-who-i-am-the-other/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/you-get-kicked-around-long-enough-you-become-a-professor-of-pain/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [I'm what you call a Depression sailor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-m-what-you-call-a-depression-sailor/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [Everything I do has a moral to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/everything-i-do-has-a-moral-to-it/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [I like to keep at my craft. I like to keep reading scripts, whether I'm in it or not because of the fact that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-like-to-keep-at-my-craft-i-like-to-keep-reading-scripts-whether-i-m/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [I've been to a number of places and seen for myself the caliber of people who are in the Navy today - in all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-ve-been-to-a-number-of-places-and-seen-for-myself-the-caliber-of/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [It's not your word that matters, it's who you give it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/it-s-not-your-word-that-matters-it-s-who-you-give-it-too/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [There's an awful lot to be desired. I've gone to places where people say to me, "What's your technique?" Technique? What the hell technique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/there-s-an-awful-lot-to-be-desired-i-ve-gone-to-places-where-people/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [I just want to do more work. Every time I step in front of a camera I feel young again. I really do. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-just-want-to-do-more-work-every-time-i-step-in-front-of-a-camera-i/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [I call myself a character actor all my life. I've done a certain amount as a leading man, but character actors in my estimation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-call-myself-a-character-actor-all-my-life-i-ve-done-a-certain/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [I wouldn't trade those 10 years for anything. The Navy taught me a lot of things. It molded me as a man, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-wouldn-t-trade-those-10-years-for-anything-the-navy-taught-me-a-lot/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [Fathers and mothers are just people, which means they make mistakes. Don't hold that against them. Whatever flaws they may have, they created you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/fathers-and-mothers-are-just-people-which-means-they-make-mistakes/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [You got to keep your hand in your craft, otherwise you can rot at the roots and first thing you know, you got nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/you-got-to-keep-your-hand-in-your-craft-otherwise-you-can-rot-at-the/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [Gary Cooper - the greatest listener in the world! And he used to answer in kind, which is wonderful because you don't see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/gary-cooper-the-greatest-listener-in-the-world-and-he-used-to-answer/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

> [The trick is not to become somebody else. You become somebody else when you're in front of a camera or when you're on stage.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/the-trick-is-not-to-become-somebody-else-you-become-somebody-else/)

[Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

[Explore all 37 Ernest Borgnine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/)

## More Clown quotes

> [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/)

[Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/)

> [There are two types of people in this world. People who hate clowns...and clowns. (Bobby Pendragon)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-j-machale-2/there-are-two-types-of-people-in-this-world-people-who-hate-clowns/)

[D. J. MacHale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-j-machale-2/)

> [I wanted to be a clown when I was a kid, so I love interacting and goofing around with kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stonestreet/i-wanted-to-be-a-clown-when-i-was-a-kid-so-i-love-interacting-and/)

[Eric Stonestreet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stonestreet/)

> [When fighting clowns, always go for the juggler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darynda-jones/when-fighting-clowns-always-go-for-the-juggler/)

[Darynda Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darynda-jones/)

> [I try to be the clown and court jester and make people laugh. At the same time, you have people in the hospital who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-simmons/i-try-to-be-the-clown-and-court-jester-and-make-people-laugh-at-the/)

[Richard Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-simmons/)

> [He's fat and a clown, Bill, a fat clown for all to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eamon-dunphy/he-s-fat-and-a-clown-bill-a-fat-clown-for-all-to-see/)

[Eamon Dunphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eamon-dunphy/)

> [You know, I was the class clown in Catholic school, but I never thought I would make a living out of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-vergara/you-know-i-was-the-class-clown-in-catholic-school-but-i-never-thought/)

[Sofia Vergara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-vergara/)

> [You see, this heart, won't settle down; just like a child, running, scared, from a clown. Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/you-see-this-heart-won-t-settle-down-just-like-a-child-running-scared/)

[Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/)

> [Circus clown. That's a new one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/circus-clown-that-s-a-new-one/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [When I first started getting into acting, I was doing improv in acting class, and I had done a serious monologue and everyone was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-teller/when-i-first-started-getting-into-acting-i-was-doing-improv-in-acting/)

[Miles Teller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-teller/)

> [Writing is for men who can think and feel, not mindless sensation seekers out of nightclubs and bars. But these are bad times. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naguib-mahfouz/writing-is-for-men-who-can-think-and-feel-not-mindless-sensation/)

[Naguib Mahfouz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naguib-mahfouz/)

> [“If i'm gonna be described as a clown for my actions, I might aswell be a whole circus”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bee/if-i-m-gonna-be-described-as-a-clown-for-my-actions-i-might-aswell-be/)

[Bee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bee/)

> [I had a dream that a clown named dimples keep leaving the radio on in my room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-had-a-dream-that-a-clown-named-dimples-keep-leaving-the-radio-on-in/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Is that love? It seems like a pale word, too easily tossed about by people who don’t know the meaning of it, who twist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-aguirre/is-that-love-it-seems-like-a-pale-word-too-easily-tossed-about-by/)

[Ann Aguirre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-aguirre/)

> [I'm an actor, not a clown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wilder/i-m-an-actor-not-a-clown/)

[Gene Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wilder/)

[Browse all 837 Clown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/clown/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "I think we all have the urge to be a clown, whether we know it or not.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ernest Borgnine"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clown-whether-we-know-it-or-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Clown"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clown-whether-we-know-it-or-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/ernest-borgnine-17006_clown_i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clo_2287489.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/ernest-borgnine-17006_clown_i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clo_2287489.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ef/ernest-borgnine-17006_clown_i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clo_2287489.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“I think we all have the urge to be a clown, whether we know it or not.” — Ernest Borgnine",
                "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": "Ernest Borgnine",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "I think we all have the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clown-whether-we-know-it-or-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/i-think-we-all-have-the-urge-to-be-a-clown-whether-we-know-it-or-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
