--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I submerged myself in all the information…" description: "\"I submerged myself in all the information that I could find about Idi Amin. I mean, before I left Los Angeles, I was studying Kiswahili. I was working ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/forest-whitaker-3022_documentary_i-submerged-myself-in-all-the-informatio_3165481.jpg" --- # I submerged myself in all the information that I could… ![“I submerged myself in all the information that I could find about Idi Amin. I mean, before I left Los Angeles, I was studying Kiswahili. I was working on the dialect. I was studying every documentary and tape of him that I could find - not just visual, but also audiocassettes, even in other…” quote by Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/forest-whitaker-3022_documentary_i-submerged-myself-in-all-the-informatio_3165481.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/forest-whitaker-3022_documentary_i-submerged-myself-in-all-the-informatio_3165481.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1b1/forest-whitaker-3022_documentary_i-submerged-myself-in-all-the-informatio_3165481.jpg) > “I submerged myself in all the information that I could find about Idi Amin. I mean, before I left Los Angeles, I was studying Kiswahili. I was working on the dialect. I was studying every documentary and tape of him that I could find - not just visual, but also audiocassettes, even in other languages when he was speaking in other dialects.” [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He immersed himself in extensive research to authentically portray a complex dictator. **In simple terms:** He studied everything about Idi Amin to act convincingly. Key Takeaway Deep research builds credible, nuanced performances. Themes research method acting historical figures Mood focused introspective Type analytical educational When to use this quote - film preparation - theatre roles - documentary work - educational projects Key Concepts character immersion cultural study language acquisition Questions to Reflect On - How do you separate self from character? - What limits should guide intense preparation? A Different Perspective Excessive immersion can blur personal boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dialect Studying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dialect-studying-5740201/) [Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) [Find](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/find/) [Idi Amin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idi-amin/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Kiswahili Working](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kiswahili-working-5740199/) [Los angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/los-angeles/) [Myself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/myself/) [Studying Documentary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studying-documentary-5740200/) [Studying Kiswahili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/studying-kiswahili-5089688/) ## Related quotes > [I started by studying Kiswahili to learn the dialect. Then, I studied tapes, documentaries, footage, and audio cassettes of Idi Amin's speeches. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-started-by-studying-kiswahili-to-learn-the-dialect-then-i-studied/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I'm really excited that people are receiving my performance like this. It makes me feel good, because I've been working really hard. And this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-m-really-excited-that-people-are-receiving-my-performance-like-this/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [ I was trying to capture this man's \[Idi Amin\] energy, and I did a lot of research in studying him. I tried to capture… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-was-trying-to-capture-this-man-s-idi-amin-energy-and-i-did-a-lot-of/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [Since Idi Amin was from the Sudanese section in the north of Uganda, he was darker skinned. He had more of a blue undertone.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/since-idi-amin-was-from-the-sudanese-section-in-the-north-of-uganda/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [Because I was playing Idi Amin, who dealt with the colonisation issue, I became aware of this internalised conflict of what it means to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/because-i-was-playing-idi-amin-who-dealt-with-the-colonisation-issue/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [ I certainly don' think I could've played the character \[Idi Amin\] the same way without being in Uganda. I loved working in Uganda. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-certainly-don-think-i-could-ve-played-the-character-idi-amin-the/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [ On the very last day of shooting \[of The Last King of Scotlang\], I remember wanting to get the \[Idi Amin\] character out of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/on-the-very-last-day-of-shooting-of-the-last-king-of-scotlang-i/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I think the place fed me completely. Not only was I in Uganda, but I was around many people who had a personal relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-think-the-place-fed-me-completely-not-only-was-i-in-uganda-but-i/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [ As an artist, it's a great opportunity to play a character like this \[Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland\]. And… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/as-an-artist-it-s-a-great-opportunity-to-play-a-character-like-this/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [ There are people \[in Uganda\] who hate Idi Amin, a small amount. And then there are the people who really admire him, like a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/there-are-people-in-uganda-who-hate-idi-amin-a-small-amount-and-then/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [“All cultures seem to find a slightly alien local population to carry the Hermes projection. For the Vietnamese it is the Chinese, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-hyde/all-cultures-seem-to-find-a-slightly-alien-local-population-to-carry/) [Lewis Hyde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-hyde/) > [I am drawn to characters so full of internal contradictions. Idi Amin was one. I loved writing him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-morgan/i-am-drawn-to-characters-so-full-of-internal-contradictions-idi-amin/) [Peter Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-morgan/) > [If religion is a reaction of man, and nothing more, it seems to me that it represents a human desire for wrongdoers to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-gilligan/if-religion-is-a-reaction-of-man-and-nothing-more-it-seems-to-me-that/) [Vince Gilligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-gilligan/) > [America has had to deal with eccentric dictators in the past: Idi Amin, Muammar Qaddafi, Ming the Merciless... but now the security of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/america-has-had-to-deal-with-eccentric-dictators-in-the-past-idi-amin/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [It's the camel's nose in the tent. Look at Stalin, Mussolini, Hitler, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, Idi Amin--every one of these monsters, on seizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/it-s-the-camel-s-nose-in-the-tent-look-at-stalin-mussolini-hitler-mao/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) ## More by Forest Whitaker > [To try and act like we haven't had great progress is not true. Obama didn't fail - he changed the psyche of the nation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/to-try-and-act-like-we-haven-t-had-great-progress-is-not-true-obama/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [In high school, I did some musicals, but I never took acting until college. I was studying opera, classical voice, and a speech teacher…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/in-high-school-i-did-some-musicals-but-i-never-took-acting-until/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I'm really excited that people are receiving my performance like this. It makes me feel good, because I've been working really hard. And this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-m-really-excited-that-people-are-receiving-my-performance-like-this/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [If I go to a reunion in east Texas, my mother's side or my father's, one out of ten is a preacher or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/if-i-go-to-a-reunion-in-east-texas-my-mother-s-side-or-my-father-s/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [ As an artist, it's a great opportunity to play a character like this \[Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland\]. And… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/as-an-artist-it-s-a-great-opportunity-to-play-a-character-like-this/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I can play a man who's despicable. But I'll still look inside him to find a point of connection. If I can find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-can-play-a-man-who-s-despicable-but-i-ll-still-look-inside-him-to/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [It's all about destiny. That's why people look at the zodiac or the I Ching - because there's a certain order to life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/it-s-all-about-destiny-that-s-why-people-look-at-the-zodiac-or-the-i/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [My wife is completely different from me: she's good with everyone, whereas I'm good at directed conversation when I have a purpose for it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/my-wife-is-completely-different-from-me-she-s-good-with-everyone/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I was a curious child. I'd debate with anyone who came to the door - people from the Islamic community... Jehovah's Witnesses... anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-was-a-curious-child-i-d-debate-with-anyone-who-came-to-the-door/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [There was a time in my acting career, where I was trying to figure out if acting was the thing to do. You know?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/there-was-a-time-in-my-acting-career-where-i-was-trying-to-figure-out/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [The first time I ever went out of the country, it was to London. I was with the choir from my college, and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/the-first-time-i-ever-went-out-of-the-country-it-was-to-london-i-was/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [If I were to mark three, I'd mark Bird, because I grew immensely as an artist, I learned a lot, and also, I think,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/if-i-were-to-mark-three-i-d-mark-bird-because-i-grew-immensely-as-an/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I try to be like a forest: revitalizing and constantly growing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-try-to-be-like-a-forest-revitalizing-and-constantly-growing/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [I stay true, because whatever the project is, I'm still looking for inside of that character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/i-stay-true-because-whatever-the-project-is-i-m-still-looking-for/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) > [It's a contract of connection to be in the same space and watch and listen to stories and be caught in them. When you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forest-whitaker/it-s-a-contract-of-connection-to-be-in-the-same-space-and-watch-and/) [Forest Whitaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) [Explore all 142 Forest Whitaker quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forest-whitaker/) ## More Documentary quotes > [When I speak a serious subject in an informal and humorous way, it has bigger impact. So much so, when BBC made a small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arunachalam-muruganantham/when-i-speak-a-serious-subject-in-an-informal-and-humorous-way-it-has/) [Arunachalam Muruganantham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arunachalam-muruganantham/) > [The documentary style is an incredibly flexible and useful one. It's a wonderful tool for establishing the credibility of the version of things that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-gohlke/the-documentary-style-is-an-incredibly-flexible-and-useful-one-it-s-a/) [Frank Gohlke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-gohlke/) > [In the spring of 1984, I went to the northwest of France, to Normandy, to prepare an NBC documentary on the 40th anniversary of D-Day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/in-the-spring-of-1984-i-went-to-the-northwest-of-france-to-normandy/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) > [Most of the photographs people take with their cameraphones are of little value in terms of documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-parr/most-of-the-photographs-people-take-with-their-cameraphones-are-of/) [Martin Parr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-parr/) > [My senior thesis was a documentary. By the time I graduated from college, I thought I was going to make films, and my interest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaby-hoffmann/my-senior-thesis-was-a-documentary-by-the-time-i-graduated-from/) [Gaby Hoffmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaby-hoffmann/) > [Most of my life, I thought that I would end up a novelist. But then, in New York City, after college, I started a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-spaihts/most-of-my-life-i-thought-that-i-would-end-up-a-novelist-but-then-in/) [Jon Spaihts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-spaihts/) > [By calling it a memoir, I meant is as a collection of memories. I thought it was (a more) artful (title) than documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-merchant/by-calling-it-a-memoir-i-meant-is-as-a-collection-of-memories-i/) [Natalie Merchant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-merchant/) > [I'm a documentary photographer. That's what I've always wanted to be; that's where my heart and soul is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-ellen-mark/i-m-a-documentary-photographer-that-s-what-i-ve-always-wanted-to-be/) [Mary Ellen Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-ellen-mark/) > [Yeah I'm telling real stories, but if you pick up a documentary on strippers, you're going to want to see some stripping, so we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/method-man/yeah-i-m-telling-real-stories-but-if-you-pick-up-a-documentary-on/) [Method Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/method-man/) > [The pictures that were coming from Vietnam were showing us what was really happening on the ground level. It was in contradiction to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nachtwey/the-pictures-that-were-coming-from-vietnam-were-showing-us-what-was/) [James Nachtwey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nachtwey/) > [It's supposed to be entertainment. It's not supposed to be a documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeri-ryan/it-s-supposed-to-be-entertainment-it-s-not-supposed-to-be-a/) [Jeri Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeri-ryan/) > [If you merely focus on what we already know, then it's not revelatory. You may as well just go and watch a documentary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-oyelowo/if-you-merely-focus-on-what-we-already-know-then-it-s-not-revelatory/) [David Oyelowo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-oyelowo/) > [Helen Weaver’s book was a revelation to me! Although I was a young woman in the fifties, I was there, but I wasn’t there!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-cassady/helen-weaver-s-book-was-a-revelation-to-me-although-i-was-a-young/) [Carolyn Cassady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-cassady/) > [If you want to see the real Pablo Escobar, go see a documentary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wagner-moura/if-you-want-to-see-the-real-pablo-escobar-go-see-a-documentary/) [Wagner Moura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wagner-moura/) > [There's a tradition of reenactment in documentary which is about sort of illustrating what the past might have been like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-oppenheimer/there-s-a-tradition-of-reenactment-in-documentary-which-is-about-sort/) [Joshua Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-oppenheimer/) [Browse all 655 Documentary quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/documentary/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I submerged myself in all the information that I could find about Idi Amin. 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