--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was…" description: "\"Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. He gave me credit for my intelligence.\" — Ethel Waters" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/ethel-waters-9047_able_elia-kazan-understood-my-problems-he-was_2923515.jpg" --- # Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring… ![“Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. He gave me credit for my intelligence.” quote by Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/ethel-waters-9047_able_elia-kazan-understood-my-problems-he-was_2923515.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/ethel-waters-9047_able_elia-kazan-understood-my-problems-he-was_2923515.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c5/ethel-waters-9047_able_elia-kazan-understood-my-problems-he-was_2923515.jpg) > “Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. He gave me credit for my intelligence.” [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes Kazan as recognizing her intelligence and bringing out her best. **In simple terms:** Kazan valued her intellect. Key Takeaway Seek mentors who empower you. Themes mentorship recognition growth Mood appreciative inspirational Type personal professional When to use this quote - acting - career coaching - creative collaboration - personal development Key Concepts psychology career artistic development Questions to Reflect On - What qualities make a good mentor? - How to honor your strengths? A Different Perspective Mentor bias can limit perspectives. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best/) [Bring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bring/) [Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/credit/) [Elia Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elia-kazan-2019973/) [Gave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave/) [Gave Credit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gave-credit-346053/) [He](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/he/) [Intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligence/) [Kazan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kazan-563427/) [Kazan Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kazan-understood-4272383/) [Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/me/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problems/) [Understood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understood/) [Very](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/very/) ## Related quotes > [Elia Kazan - the films he made were such a big deal for me when I was growing up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alden-ehrenreich/elia-kazan-the-films-he-made-were-such-a-big-deal-for-me-when-i-was/) [Alden Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alden-ehrenreich/) > [My best film composing experience was with Elia Kazan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-north/my-best-film-composing-experience-was-with-elia-kazan/) [Alex North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-north/) > [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/) > [Kazan was an old friend, I met him in 1938. He picked up radio jobs for eating money, so I met him on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-widmark/kazan-was-an-old-friend-i-met-him-in-1938-he-picked-up-radio-jobs-for/) [Richard Widmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-widmark/) > [Napoli wanted to send me to Rubin Kazan, and I knew nothing about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fabio-quagliarella/napoli-wanted-to-send-me-to-rubin-kazan-and-i-knew-nothing-about-it/) [Fabio Quagliarella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fabio-quagliarella/) > [As an actor, you're continually riding the waves of whether you're in or out, getting work or not getting work, and Kazan was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-pullman/as-an-actor-you-re-continually-riding-the-waves-of-whether-you-re-in/) [Bill Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-pullman/) > [“One’s missing.” Kazan was livid. He searched the dead faces and saw no sign of Anastasia Romanov. “The conniving little witch is gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-meade/one-s-missing-kazan-was-livid-he-searched-the-dead-faces-and-saw-no/) [Glenn Meade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-meade/) > [Oh, Zoe Kazan - I'd move back to Brooklyn for her. She makes me happy with my life. Knowing her, being at her dinner…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-williams/oh-zoe-kazan-i-d-move-back-to-brooklyn-for-her-she-makes-me-happy/) [Michelle Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-williams/) > [All in all, I think Kazan is Russia's sportiest city after Moscow, leaving all the others far behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marat-safin/all-in-all-i-think-kazan-is-russia-s-sportiest-city-after-moscow/) [Marat Safin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marat-safin/) > [“She had told Kazan that she was bored with the roles she was playing because so many of them had been basically the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-randy-taraborrelli/she-had-told-kazan-that-she-was-bored-with-the-roles-she-was-playing/) [J. Randy Taraborrelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-randy-taraborrelli/) > [I've never met any strong critic of the United States anywhere in the world who gave us any credit for having limit on government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/i-ve-never-met-any-strong-critic-of-the-united-states-anywhere-in-the/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [I know what I have achieved. I don't care or want to change anyone's perception or opinion of me. But do I sometimes wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-kournikova/i-know-what-i-have-achieved-i-don-t-care-or-want-to-change-anyone-s/) [Anna Kournikova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-kournikova/) > [I thought the Runaways always got brushed under the rug. The Go-Go's, at least they always gave us credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cherie-currie/i-thought-the-runaways-always-got-brushed-under-the-rug-the-go-go-s/) [Cherie Currie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cherie-currie/) > [Jesus took your punishment, and God gave you credit for Jesus' perfection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/jesus-took-your-punishment-and-god-gave-you-credit-for-jesus/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [“People always knew more than you gave them credit for. Perhaps, in the end, no one had any secrets at all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-russell/people-always-knew-more-than-you-gave-them-credit-for-perhaps-in-the/) [Paul Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-russell/) ## More by Ethel Waters > [Whenever I write for hotel reservations, I always enclose a set of rules I have made for the hotels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/whenever-i-write-for-hotel-reservations-i-always-enclose-a-set-of/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [Today I blame only certain agents for my long eclipse as a public entertainer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/today-i-blame-only-certain-agents-for-my-long-eclipse-as-a-public/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [I had always loved John Ford's pictures. And I came to love him, too, but I was frightened to death working for him. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/i-had-always-loved-john-ford-s-pictures-and-i-came-to-love-him-too/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [All my life I've been prejudiced against wealthy people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/all-my-life-i-ve-been-prejudiced-against-wealthy-people/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [The big compliment came from the beer drinkers who didn't know me. They wouldn't drink or move when I sang. If they had their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/the-big-compliment-came-from-the-beer-drinkers-who-didn-t-know-me/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [I was born out of wedlock. Nobody brought me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/i-was-born-out-of-wedlock-nobody-brought-me-up/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [I dressed plain, but my partners were always spending more money on clothes than I could afford.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/i-dressed-plain-but-my-partners-were-always-spending-more-money-on/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [After years in white theaters I dreaded working in colored houses. The noise, the stomping, whistling, and cheering that hadn't annoyed me when I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/after-years-in-white-theaters-i-dreaded-working-in-colored-houses-the/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [Many people know how to criticize, but few know how to praise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/many-people-know-how-to-criticize-but-few-know-how-to-praise/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [Negroes are human beings with exactly the same faults and virtues as members of the other races.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/negroes-are-human-beings-with-exactly-the-same-faults-and-virtues-as/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [There is a great supply of amateur undertakers in show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/there-is-a-great-supply-of-amateur-undertakers-in-show-business/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [My father came back one day and forced my mother to submit to him. He raped her, holding a knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/my-father-came-back-one-day-and-forced-my-mother-to-submit-to-him-he/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [Though I was excited about the Sojourner Truth play, it was not reassuring to think that my entire future might depend on the success…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/though-i-was-excited-about-the-sojourner-truth-play-it-was-not/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [I found that a couple of bottles of beer would give me a lift, but the third bottle would sober me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/i-found-that-a-couple-of-bottles-of-beer-would-give-me-a-lift-but-the/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) > [The white audiences thought I was white, my features being what they are, and at every performance I'd have to take off my gloves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/the-white-audiences-thought-i-was-white-my-features-being-what-they/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) [Explore all 75 Ethel Waters quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) [Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/) > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) [Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Elia Kazan understood my problems. He was able to bring out the very best in me. 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