--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's always my ambition is to create a…" description: "\"That's always my ambition is to create a character out of what will help tell the story. I've never been an actor to say my character wouldn't do that,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/harrison-ford-1782_actor_that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a_3070470.jpg" --- # That's always my ambition is to create a character out of… ![“That's always my ambition is to create a character out of what will help tell the story. I've never been an actor to say my character wouldn't do that, because he should do that in order to help tell the story.” quote by Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/harrison-ford-1782_actor_that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a_3070470.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/harrison-ford-1782_actor_that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a_3070470.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/harrison-ford-1782_actor_that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a_3070470.jpg) > “That's always my ambition is to create a character out of what will help tell the story. I've never been an actor to say my character wouldn't do that, because he should do that in order to help tell the story.” [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An actor should embody the story’s purpose, letting the character drive the narrative rather than personal ego. **In simple terms:** Let the character serve the story, not the actor’s self. Key Takeaway Prioritize story truth over personal image. Themes acting storytelling authenticity Mood reflective inspirational Type cinematic philosophical When to use this quote - film set - theater rehearsal - script analysis Key Concepts character immersion narrative integrity Questions to Reflect On - How does your personal experience inform your character? - When have you let a character dictate your choices? A Different Perspective Actors may struggle to separate self from role. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [Actually, I get a little say in what my character would or wouldn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-burton/actually-i-get-a-little-say-in-what-my-character-would-or-wouldn-t-do/) [Steve Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-burton/) > [Actors will say, 'My character wouldn't say that.' Who said it was your character?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gandolfini/actors-will-say-my-character-wouldn-t-say-that-who-said-it-was-your/) [James Gandolfini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gandolfini/) > ['My character wouldn't do that.' That was always my favorite thing people say: 'My character wouldn't do that.' I said, 'Well, it says right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-jenkins/my-character-wouldn-t-do-that-that-was-always-my-favorite-thing/) [Richard Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-jenkins/) > [For sheer strength of character, I wouldn't have dared to cross swords with Callas. I would rather have gone six rounds with Jack Dempsey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-huston/for-sheer-strength-of-character-i-wouldn-t-have-dared-to-cross-swords/) [John Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-huston/) > [We work with every one of them to see if their character wouldn't say a certain thing or if something is worded awkwardly -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-pegg/we-work-with-every-one-of-them-to-see-if-their-character-wouldn-t-say/) [Simon Pegg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-pegg/) > [A lot of actors are like, 'Why do I do this? My character wouldn't do this? This doesn't make sense.' And in a comedy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-hahn/a-lot-of-actors-are-like-why-do-i-do-this-my-character-wouldn-t-do/) [Kathryn Hahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-hahn/) > [You can't make a character do something they wouldn't do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-messud/you-can-t-make-a-character-do-something-they-wouldn-t-do/) [Claire Messud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-messud/) > [I have never been one of those actors who say, 'Oh, my character wouldn't do this,' or 'My character never wears an orange shirt,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-b-sweeney/i-have-never-been-one-of-those-actors-who-say-oh-my-character-wouldn/) [D. B. Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-b-sweeney/) > [I've never fooled anyone. I've let people fool themselves. They didn't bother to find out who and what I was. Instead they would invent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-monroe/i-ve-never-fooled-anyone-i-ve-let-people-fool-themselves-they-didn-t/) [Marilyn Monroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-monroe/) > [My ambition from the very beginning was to make a good part for myself, something differently to what lately I've been doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/my-ambition-from-the-very-beginning-was-to-make-a-good-part-for/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [I came to New York to be a fine artist - that was my ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-byrne/i-came-to-new-york-to-be-a-fine-artist-that-was-my-ambition/) [David Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-byrne/) > [For all may have, If they dare to try, a glorious life, or grave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/for-all-may-have-if-they-dare-to-try-a-glorious-life-or-grave/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [When I was doing Shakespeare and I had spent a lot of time and effort in trying to become a great Shakespearean actress. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-mirren/when-i-was-doing-shakespeare-and-i-had-spent-a-lot-of-time-and-effort/) [Helen Mirren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-mirren/) > [My ambition when I was four years old was to be married.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/my-ambition-when-i-was-four-years-old-was-to-be-married/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [My ambition is to one day shed my wardrobe and figure out how to look like Gilles Bensimon - or a famous stylist -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-finch/my-ambition-is-to-one-day-shed-my-wardrobe-and-figure-out-how-to-look/) [Charles Finch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-finch/) ## More by Harrison Ford > [Failures are inevitable. Unfortunately, in film they live for ever and they're 40 ft wide and 20 ft high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/failures-are-inevitable-unfortunately-in-film-they-live-for-ever-and/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [The kindest word to describe my performance in school was Sloth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/the-kindest-word-to-describe-my-performance-in-school-was-sloth/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [ When we were making it \[Star Wars\], none of the effects were in. So the first time, I thought it was, you know, that… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/when-we-were-making-it-star-wars-none-of-the-effects-were-in-so-the/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [A bad guy in a movie has a lot of latitude for acting. He can walk up the wall, crawl across the ceiling, go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/a-bad-guy-in-a-movie-has-a-lot-of-latitude-for-acting-he-can-walk-up/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [I wanted to live the life, a different life. I didn't want to go to the same place every day and see the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/i-wanted-to-live-the-life-a-different-life-i-didn-t-want-to-go-to-the/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [There are a lot of different paths through the jungle, but...the simplest thing you can do is make yourself useful. Be easy to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/there-are-a-lot-of-different-paths-through-the-jungle-but-the/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [My older kids are fantastic people. It can't be the result of my influence on them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/my-older-kids-are-fantastic-people-it-can-t-be-the-result-of-my/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [I think I did have a reputation for being grumpy. I don't think I'm grumpy. I have opinions. I have an independent vision. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/i-think-i-did-have-a-reputation-for-being-grumpy-i-don-t-think-i-m/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [ That \[film What's My Line\] was very useful to me because it had Branch Rickey in a social situation. Every other bit of film… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/that-film-what-s-my-line-was-very-useful-to-me-because-it-had-branch/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [Because the character is a fiction, he's a composite of other contributors to the science that brought this enzyme therapy through the process. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/because-the-character-is-a-fiction-he-s-a-composite-of-other/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [Henry: Well I'm sorry about your head though, but I thought you were one of them. Indiana: Dad, they come in through the doors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/henry-well-i-m-sorry-about-your-head-though-but-i-thought-you-were/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [ It's the primordial characters \[of the Star Wars\]. It's the beautiful princess and the callow youth and the smartass that I played and the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/it-s-the-primordial-characters-of-the-star-wars-it-s-the-beautiful/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [I love the comic opportunities that come up in the context of a father-son relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/i-love-the-comic-opportunities-that-come-up-in-the-context-of-a/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [I don't think I have something that's pronounceable as a philosophy. ... When it was fashionable to say, "May the Force be with you,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/i-don-t-think-i-have-something-that-s-pronounceable-as-a-philosophy/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) > [I prefer to be part of a positive statement. I'm not interested in the psyche of a serial killer. What I'm interested in is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/i-prefer-to-be-part-of-a-positive-statement-i-m-not-interested-in-the/) [Harrison Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) [Explore all 208 Harrison Ford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's always my ambition is to create a character out of what will help tell the story. I've never been an actor to say my character wouldn't do that, because he should do that in order to help tell the story.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harrison Ford" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a-character-out-of-what-will/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a-character-out-of-what-will/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/harrison-ford-1782_actor_that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a_3070470.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/harrison-ford-1782_actor_that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a_3070470.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/927/harrison-ford-1782_actor_that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a_3070470.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That's always my ambition is to create a character out of what will help tell the story. I've never been an…” — Harrison Ford", "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": "Harrison Ford", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-ford/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That's always my ambition is to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a-character-out-of-what-will/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-ford/that-s-always-my-ambition-is-to-create-a-character-out-of-what-will/#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 } } ] } ```