--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can play older than yourself. You can…" description: "\"You can play older than yourself. You can play younger than yourself up to a point, and then that just becomes impossible because you carry a weight wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/gary-oldman-3797_boyish_you-can-play-older-than-yourself-you-can_2041139.jpg" --- # You can play older than yourself. You can play younger… ![“You can play older than yourself. You can play younger than yourself up to a point, and then that just becomes impossible because you carry a weight with you that you can't shift, unless you have very boyish looks.” quote by Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/gary-oldman-3797_boyish_you-can-play-older-than-yourself-you-can_2041139.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/gary-oldman-3797_boyish_you-can-play-older-than-yourself-you-can_2041139.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/gary-oldman-3797_boyish_you-can-play-older-than-yourself-you-can_2041139.jpg) > “You can play older than yourself. You can play younger than yourself up to a point, and then that just becomes impossible because you carry a weight with you that you can't shift, unless you have very boyish looks.” [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Aging limits the roles an actor can convincingly portray; youthful appearance can be maintained only briefly before physical reality imposes constraints. **In simple terms:** Age restricts believable character ages; youthful looks fade. Key Takeaway Accept age limits and choose roles that fit your current image. Themes aging acting identity appearance career self-awareness Mood reflective realistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - casting decisions - career planning - personal branding - industry expectations Key Concepts typecasting physicality public perception Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance personal growth with industry expectations? - Can an actor reinvent their image beyond physical age? A Different Perspective Even with makeup, physical reality eventually reveals true age, limiting credibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boyish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boyish/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [Why would an actress retire? We don't have to because, when we are older, we can play older parts. Even if you are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-marsh/why-would-an-actress-retire-we-don-t-have-to-because-when-we-are/) [Jean Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-marsh/) > [I can play younger. It's better to be playing younger because you've got that experience, and it's hard to play older when you're younger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-keoghan/i-can-play-younger-it-s-better-to-be-playing-younger-because-you-ve/) [Barry Keoghan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-keoghan/) > [It's quite common for actors to have that, to play younger than themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dylan-llewellyn/it-s-quite-common-for-actors-to-have-that-to-play-younger-than/) [Dylan Llewellyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dylan-llewellyn/) > [There was a time when I wanted to play younger characters, but didn't fit the bill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alok-nath/there-was-a-time-when-i-wanted-to-play-younger-characters-but-didn-t/) [Alok Nath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alok-nath/) > [I think you have to be 30 years old or older to play for the Knicks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-you-have-to-be-30-years-old-or-older-to-play-for-the-knicks/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [As you get older, you play for different reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jozy-altidore/as-you-get-older-you-play-for-different-reasons/) [Jozy Altidore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jozy-altidore/) > [I think as you get older, you find you can play more things because you're moving to a different category. You play a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clint-eastwood/i-think-as-you-get-older-you-find-you-can-play-more-things-because/) [Clint Eastwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clint-eastwood/) > [When you get older, you cannot play the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goran-dragic/when-you-get-older-you-cannot-play-the-same/) [Goran Dragic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goran-dragic/) > [When you play with the older people it helps you mentally, because they're bigger and stronger than you. You have to live up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reiss-nelson/when-you-play-with-the-older-people-it-helps-you-mentally-because/) [Reiss Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reiss-nelson/) > [When you play against older players, it's always a challenge physically and mentally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-sessegnon/when-you-play-against-older-players-it-s-always-a-challenge/) [Ryan Sessegnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-sessegnon/) > [To play an older woman, 'til the look is not affected, it is never a problem for me. To play a matured character, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-hassanandani-reddy/to-play-an-older-woman-til-the-look-is-not-affected-it-is-never-a/) [Anita Hassanandani Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-hassanandani-reddy/) > [I always wanted to play with the older kids because they were better and it was more fun. It was harder, and I failed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerrit-cole/i-always-wanted-to-play-with-the-older-kids-because-they-were-better/) [Gerrit Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerrit-cole/) > [I've decided to just keep doing Oh, Hello, where I play an older man who thinks he's very cultured. That clearly has not gone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-kroll/i-ve-decided-to-just-keep-doing-oh-hello-where-i-play-an-older-man/) [Nick Kroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-kroll/) > [I used to play with all the older guys. I never played with, really, my age group when I was younger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lamar-jackson/i-used-to-play-with-all-the-older-guys-i-never-played-with-really-my/) [Lamar Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lamar-jackson/) > [Playing against the older dudes really benefited me, just because where I came from, I'd always been the best player in the area my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyrese-haliburton/playing-against-the-older-dudes-really-benefited-me-just-because/) [Tyrese Haliburton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyrese-haliburton/) ## More by Gary Oldman > [If one could have a wish, or an alternative life, I would've liked to have been John Lennon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/if-one-could-have-a-wish-or-an-alternative-life-i-would-ve-liked-to/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [The script is your map of the world, isn't it? And if someone knows that if it's well-written, you get all of the beats,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/the-script-is-your-map-of-the-world-isn-t-it-and-if-someone-knows/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [There are roles that you chase sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/there-are-roles-that-you-chase-sometimes/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [Well, I needed the work - that's the honest answer. I haven't worked for a while, a couple of years. So I thought it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/well-i-needed-the-work-that-s-the-honest-answer-i-haven-t-worked-for/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I want my weekends off and I want to put my kids to bed. Those are good reasons to want to be in 'Batman…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-want-my-weekends-off-and-i-want-to-put-my-kids-to-bed-those-are/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I think filmmaking should be a wonderfully free collaborative process, and it so very rarely is. I often see directors as jailers of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-think-filmmaking-should-be-a-wonderfully-free-collaborative-process/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I had what AA calls 'a convincer' - which made me realize that I couldn't do it any more. I went out drinking for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-had-what-aa-calls-a-convincer-which-made-me-realize-that-i-couldn-t/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [You always hope that the cloak of inspiration will fall, and you'll be O.K.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/you-always-hope-that-the-cloak-of-inspiration-will-fall-and-you-ll-be/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I still don't have a publicist. If I'm in a film, you have an obligation to promote it, I'll do as much as I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-still-don-t-have-a-publicist-if-i-m-in-a-film-you-have-an/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I don't think Hollywood knows what to do with me. I would imagine that when it comes to romantic comedies, my name would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-don-t-think-hollywood-knows-what-to-do-with-me-i-would-imagine-that/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I enjoy playing characters where the silence is loud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-enjoy-playing-characters-where-the-silence-is-loud/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I like a cheese and pickle. Nice cheese and pickle on a real old-fashioned bread. Ploughman's lunch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-like-a-cheese-and-pickle-nice-cheese-and-pickle-on-a-real-old/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [There will always be spies. We have to have them. Without them we wouldn't have got Osama bin Laden - it took us years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/there-will-always-be-spies-we-have-to-have-them-without-them-we/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [On set I keep myself to myself; I'd rather the director speak up. I'm not gonna direct a younger actor. I think the power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/on-set-i-keep-myself-to-myself-i-d-rather-the-director-speak-up-i-m/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) > [I've got kids of my own now, and they love me being in the Harry Potter films. I'm now part of a phenomenon. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-oldman/i-ve-got-kids-of-my-own-now-and-they-love-me-being-in-the-harry/) [Gary Oldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) [Explore all 122 Gary Oldman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-oldman/) ## More Boyish quotes > [And the other was this: the doctor did want to take off my leg because he thought it was necessary. But you must remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/and-the-other-was-this-the-doctor-did-want-to-take-off-my-leg-because/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [I'm boyish with a feminine twist. I definitely gravitate toward oversized things like shirts and jackets. I like a good trouser, but then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacquelyn-jablonski/i-m-boyish-with-a-feminine-twist-i-definitely-gravitate-toward/) [Jacquelyn Jablonski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacquelyn-jablonski/) > [Sex ages us. Priests are boyish, spinsters stay black-haired until after fifty. We others, the demon rots us out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/sex-ages-us-priests-are-boyish-spinsters-stay-black-haired-until/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I'm not ready to be a woman yet, I'd like it if my body were more boyish. Maybe I'll like my curves when I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vanessa-marcil/i-m-not-ready-to-be-a-woman-yet-i-d-like-it-if-my-body-were-more/) [Vanessa Marcil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vanessa-marcil/) > [“His room was dark until he switched on his desk lamp. I sat on the floor next to his bed and watched him counting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-anderson-kurk/his-room-was-dark-until-he-switched-on-his-desk-lamp-i-sat-on-the/) [Laura Anderson Kurk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-anderson-kurk/) > [I can't go to jail, not with his soft skin and these boyish good looks. I'll be snapped up before the first lights out!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedric-the-entertainer/i-can-t-go-to-jail-not-with-his-soft-skin-and-these-boyish-good-looks/) [Cedric The Entertainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedric-the-entertainer/) > [It's sad that the BBC is toning down Dennis the Menace for a cartoon series. He is losing his weapons, catapult and peashooter, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/it-s-sad-that-the-bbc-is-toning-down-dennis-the-menace-for-a-cartoon/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [Most women in leading roles are very boyish looking. The one girl working right now who I think is a real beauty in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/most-women-in-leading-roles-are-very-boyish-looking-the-one-girl/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [All wars are boyish, and are fought by boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herman-melville/all-wars-are-boyish-and-are-fought-by-boys/) [Herman Melville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herman-melville/) > [One of the things that make Liars so fascinating after five albums, each one so completely different from the others, is that even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-things-that-make-liars-so-fascinating-after-five-albums/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [You get tough when you grow up unloved. People described me as a boyish girl - rather shy, but I didn't show it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maj-sjowall/you-get-tough-when-you-grow-up-unloved-people-described-me-as-a/) [Maj Sjowall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maj-sjowall/) > [War is a survival among us from savage times and affects now chiefly the boyish and unthinking element of the nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percival-lowell/war-is-a-survival-among-us-from-savage-times-and-affects-now-chiefly/) [Percival Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percival-lowell/) > [“...oh that short hair, a la garcon that evokes unfamiliar, boyish kinds of sex.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alaa-al-aswany/oh-that-short-hair-a-la-garcon-that-evokes-unfamiliar-boyish-kinds-of/) [Alaa Al Aswany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alaa-al-aswany/) > [I'm very moody, so I dress for whatever mood I'm in. Sometimes I want to be a little more boyish and flowy and comfortable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banks/i-m-very-moody-so-i-dress-for-whatever-mood-i-m-in-sometimes-i-want/) [Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banks/) > [I arrived at school pensive, introverted, and not very sporty, so magic became a place of mystery and intrigue, an escape for my boyish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drummond-money-coutts/i-arrived-at-school-pensive-introverted-and-not-very-sporty-so-magic/) [Drummond Money-Coutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drummond-money-coutts/) [Browse all 71 Boyish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boyish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can play older than yourself. 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