--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I choose child actors, I chose them…" description: "\"When I choose child actors, I chose them for their personalities. And then I work with their own vocabulary, so I'm not imposing text or dialogue on th..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/hirokazu-kore-eda-10913_children_when-i-choose-child-actors-i-chose-them_1687647.jpg" --- # When I choose child actors, I chose them for their… ![“When I choose child actors, I chose them for their personalities. And then I work with their own vocabulary, so I'm not imposing text or dialogue on them: I'm just receiving.” quote by Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/hirokazu-kore-eda-10913_children_when-i-choose-child-actors-i-chose-them_1687647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/hirokazu-kore-eda-10913_children_when-i-choose-child-actors-i-chose-them_1687647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/474/hirokazu-kore-eda-10913_children_when-i-choose-child-actors-i-chose-them_1687647.jpg) > “When I choose child actors, I chose them for their personalities. And then I work with their own vocabulary, so I'm not imposing text or dialogue on them: I'm just receiving.” [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The director selects child actors for their natural personalities and works with their own language, letting performances emerge organically. **In simple terms:** Use kids’ real personalities and words in film. Key Takeaway Let authentic voices guide the story. Themes filmmaking authenticity child actors collaboration creativity Mood thoughtful creative Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - casting sessions - workshops - rehearsals - on‑set direction Key Concepts method acting directorial approach Questions to Reflect On - How can you balance authenticity with story structure? - What techniques help preserve a child’s spontaneity? A Different Perspective Risk of lacking narrative control or consistency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Vocabulary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocabulary/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I am a Gemini. We have split personalities. While at work, I am fully in it. I can be attached yet very detached. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-bedi/i-am-a-gemini-we-have-split-personalities-while-at-work-i-am-fully-in/) [Kiran Bedi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-bedi/) > [Good collaboration essentially boils down to personalities who work well together and are able to integrate each other's notes and ideas without killing each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-scott/good-collaboration-essentially-boils-down-to-personalities-who-work/) [Michael Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-scott/) > [Bringing together disparate personalities to form a team is like a jigsaw puzzle. You have to ask yourself: what is the whole picture here?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-summitt/bringing-together-disparate-personalities-to-form-a-team-is-like-a/) [Pat Summitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-summitt/) > [Keep all your personalities out of your work. Forget and forgive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ford-frick/keep-all-your-personalities-out-of-your-work-forget-and-forgive/) [Ford Frick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ford-frick/) > [If I can make a career for myself after Potter, and it goes well, and is varied and with longevity, then that puts to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-radcliffe/if-i-can-make-a-career-for-myself-after-potter-and-it-goes-well-and/) [Daniel Radcliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-radcliffe/) > [I don't know if child actors are necessarily more screwed up than most people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rider-strong/i-don-t-know-if-child-actors-are-necessarily-more-screwed-up-than/) [Rider Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rider-strong/) > [When child actors act well they're just reacting to situations, and they're acting very real because their life experience is so short; there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariel-hemingway/when-child-actors-act-well-they-re-just-reacting-to-situations-and/) [Mariel Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariel-hemingway/) > [I've never fancied that footballer lifestyle. 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But as easy as it is for me to say that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-cannon/most-aspiring-child-actors-or-child-stars-have-a-passion-for-it-but/) [Nick Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-cannon/) > [I feel like fame can get into people's head, and you always hear that child actors are doing this, or parents are making their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsai-martin/i-feel-like-fame-can-get-into-people-s-head-and-you-always-hear-that/) [Marsai Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsai-martin/) > [I was never really a child actor. I was working sporadically in indie films in Pennsylvania, but I was still living at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-mcdermott/i-was-never-really-a-child-actor-i-was-working-sporadically-in-indie/) Charlie McDermott > [Child actors going on to become adult actors never really works, apart from a few. Jodie Foster was the exception.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lester/child-actors-going-on-to-become-adult-actors-never-really-works-apart/) Mark Lester > [People often say that you should never work with child actors. I think that's all wrong. Children have not had the imagination kicked out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/people-often-say-that-you-should-never-work-with-child-actors-i-think/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) ## More by Hirokazu Kore-eda > [Sometimes when you watch children, you feel that they show emotions that you, as an adult, can relate to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/sometimes-when-you-watch-children-you-feel-that-they-show-emotions/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [We used to have prawn tempura: that was my mother's favourite dish. But she had to go out to work instead of my father,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/we-used-to-have-prawn-tempura-that-was-my-mother-s-favourite-dish-but/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [When I was 27, I won an honorable mention in a scriptwriting contest and got a television job as an assistant director.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/when-i-was-27-i-won-an-honorable-mention-in-a-scriptwriting-contest/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [It is righteous to receive state subsidies to make films that criticise the state - I want Japanese people to accept such European values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/it-is-righteous-to-receive-state-subsidies-to-make-films-that/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [I believe that any auteur categorised in terms of an -ist or an -ism wouldn't be able to capture the complex essence of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/i-believe-that-any-auteur-categorised-in-terms-of-an-ist-or-an-ism/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [When I have been told that my films remind people of Ozu, I have never been too convinced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/when-i-have-been-told-that-my-films-remind-people-of-ozu-i-have-never/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [I am hopeful that films can connect people who are in conflict in a separated world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/i-am-hopeful-that-films-can-connect-people-who-are-in-conflict-in-a/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [I am very happy that Japanese film can cross borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/i-am-very-happy-that-japanese-film-can-cross-borders/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [All my mother ever wanted to talk about was what she hated about my father and the times he cheated on her when he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/all-my-mother-ever-wanted-to-talk-about-was-what-she-hated-about-my/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [Yes, a family is interesting. You can get a lot of drama in the conflicts there. It's like the sea. It seems calm, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/yes-a-family-is-interesting-you-can-get-a-lot-of-drama-in-the/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [With 'Nobody Knows,' I consciously set out to make a fiction film, which is a different approach from 'Distance,' but I still applied a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/with-nobody-knows-i-consciously-set-out-to-make-a-fiction-film-which/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [I wanted to make 'Nobody Knows,' a kind of summation of the experiences I gained from making my first three films, the good ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/i-wanted-to-make-nobody-knows-a-kind-of-summation-of-the-experiences/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [I would say that 'After the Storm' is much more informed by my personal life than my other movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/i-would-say-that-after-the-storm-is-much-more-informed-by-my-personal/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > [The vividness of children is easier to see when they're completely left to their own devices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/the-vividness-of-children-is-easier-to-see-when-they-re-completely/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) > ['Like Father, Like Son' gave me the opportunity to show when it is not good with a father.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hirokazu-kore-eda/like-father-like-son-gave-me-the-opportunity-to-show-when-it-is-not/) [Hirokazu Kore-eda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) [Explore all 62 Hirokazu Kore-eda quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hirokazu-kore-eda/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. 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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. 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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. 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