--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Actors are cave dwellers in a rich…" description: "\"Actors are cave dwellers in a rich darkness which they love and hate.\" — Iris Murdoch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/iris-murdoch-993_actor_actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkn_1309071.png" --- # Actors are cave dwellers in a rich darkness which they… ![“Actors are cave dwellers in a rich darkness which they love and hate.” quote by Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/iris-murdoch-993_actor_actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkn_1309071.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/iris-murdoch-993_actor_actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkn_1309071.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/iris-murdoch-993_actor_actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkn_1309071.png) > “Actors are cave dwellers in a rich darkness which they love and hate.” [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Actors inhabit a metaphorical darkness, loving and hating its depth, reflecting the paradox of artistic immersion. **In simple terms:** Actors love and hate the darkness of their craft. Key Takeaway Embrace artistic tension, but stay grounded. Themes art performance paradox darkness love hate Mood thoughtful introspective Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - theatre - film - method acting - creative burnout Key Concepts existentialism creativity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance immersion and detachment? - What boundaries protect you from artistic burnout? A Different Perspective The darkness can become consuming, harming well‑being. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Caves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/caves/) [Darkness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/darkness/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [Love and hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-hate/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [“People are gregarious by necessity. Since the days of the first cave dwellers, humans—hairless, weak, and helpless save for cunning—have survived by joining together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/people-are-gregarious-by-necessity-since-the-days-of-the-first-cave/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [“People are gregarious by necessity. Since the days of the first cave dwellers, humans -- hairless, weak, and helpless save for cunning -- have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/people-are-gregarious-by-necessity-since-the-days-of-the-first-cave-2/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [Light is to darkness what love is to fear; in the presence of one the other disappears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/light-is-to-darkness-what-love-is-to-fear-in-the-presence-of-one-the/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Embracing our dark side gives us a new found freedom to be with the darkness in others. For when I can love all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-ford/embracing-our-dark-side-gives-us-a-new-found-freedom-to-be-with-the/) [Debbie Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-ford/) > [“From within the abysmal depths of a heart, the soul echoes A Lover's Tale of an Eternal Love (Through the Darkness, WIth Love -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandeep-n-tripathi/from-within-the-abysmal-depths-of-a-heart-the-soul-echoes-a-lover-s/) [Sandeep N. Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandeep-n-tripathi/) > [“I loved her, but the dark side of her. Any girl can play innocent, but her demons are what drove me wild, her secrets,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-marquez/i-loved-her-but-the-dark-side-of-her-any-girl-can-play-innocent-but/) Michael Marquez > [“Love one another as he loves. Love with strength and purpose and passion and no matter what comes against you. Don’t weaken. Stand against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/love-one-another-as-he-loves-love-with-strength-and-purpose-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [“Rachel, I love you. I loved you then, I love you now, and I loved you in all the light and darkness in-between. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karina-halle/rachel-i-love-you-i-loved-you-then-i-love-you-now-and-i-loved-you-in/) [Karina Halle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karina-halle/) > [“Shower the darkness with love and watch light illuminate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-lee/shower-the-darkness-with-love-and-watch-light-illuminate/) [Melody Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-lee/) > [If light can come out of darkness, then alone can love emerge from hatred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/if-light-can-come-out-of-darkness-then-alone-can-love-emerge-from/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“In the darkness, even love will become hate”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ikuko-itoh/in-the-darkness-even-love-will-become-hate/) Ikuko Itoh > [“Hate hides in darkness; love hides in light.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/hate-hides-in-darkness-love-hides-in-light/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Love is so sweet and so marvelous buh its also the darkest thing on earth even u can focus wen eva u are covered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damilare/love-is-so-sweet-and-so-marvelous-buh-its-also-the-darkest-thing-on/) Damilare > [Being human signifies, for each one of us, belonging to a class, a society, a country, a continent and a civilization; and for us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/being-human-signifies-for-each-one-of-us-belonging-to-a-class-a/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [But this is predicated upon the man's becoming in very fact an American and nothing but an American. If he tries to keep segregated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/but-this-is-predicated-upon-the-man-s-becoming-in-very-fact-an/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) ## More by Iris Murdoch > [Falling out of love is chiefly a matter of forgetting how charming someone is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/falling-out-of-love-is-chiefly-a-matter-of-forgetting-how-charming/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [One doesn't have to get anywhere in a marriage. It's not a public conveyance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/one-doesn-t-have-to-get-anywhere-in-a-marriage-it-s-not-a-public/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I think being a woman is like being Irish... Everyone says you're important and nice, but you take second place all the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-think-being-a-woman-is-like-being-irish-everyone-says-you-re/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art is the final cunning of the human soul which would rather do anything than face the gods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-is-the-final-cunning-of-the-human-soul-which-would-rather-do/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [The sending of a letter constitutes a magical grasp upon the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/the-sending-of-a-letter-constitutes-a-magical-grasp-upon-the-future/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [emotions really exist at the bottom of the personality or at the top. in the middle they are acted. this is why all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/emotions-really-exist-at-the-bottom-of-the-personality-or-at-the-top/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I have used the word "attention," which I borrow from Simone Weil, to express the idea of a just and loving gaze directed upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-have-used-the-word-attention-which-i-borrow-from-simone-weil-to/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Starting a novel is opening a door on a misty landscape; you can still see very little but you can smell the earth and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/starting-a-novel-is-opening-a-door-on-a-misty-landscape-you-can-still/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [Art and morality are, with certain provisos…one. Their essence is the same. The essence of both of them is love. Love is the perception…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/art-and-morality-are-with-certain-provisos-one-their-essence-is-the/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [being homosexual doesn't determine a man's whole character any more than being heterosexual does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/being-homosexual-doesn-t-determine-a-man-s-whole-character-any-more/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [All artists dream of a silence which they must enter, as some creatures return to the sea to spawn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/all-artists-dream-of-a-silence-which-they-must-enter-as-some/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“Oh if only I could take my mother away and never know of these things again. But it was impossible, the machine would go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/oh-if-only-i-could-take-my-mother-away-and-never-know-of-these-things/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [We defend ourselves by descriptions and tame the world by generalizing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/we-defend-ourselves-by-descriptions-and-tame-the-world-by-generalizing/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [“I'm sorry I was awful. I'm so full of terrors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-m-sorry-i-was-awful-i-m-so-full-of-terrors/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) > [I live, I live, with an absolutely continuous sense of failure. I am always defeated, always. Every book is the wreck of a perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/i-live-i-live-with-an-absolutely-continuous-sense-of-failure-i-am/) [Iris Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) [Explore all 306 Iris Murdoch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/) ## 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! 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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": "Actors are cave dwellers in a rich darkness which they love and hate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris Murdoch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkness-which-they-love-and-hate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkness-which-they-love-and-hate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/iris-murdoch-993_actor_actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkn_1309071.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/iris-murdoch-993_actor_actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkn_1309071.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7e/iris-murdoch-993_actor_actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkn_1309071.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Actors are cave dwellers in a rich darkness which they love and hate.” — Iris Murdoch", "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": "Iris Murdoch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-murdoch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Actors are cave dwellers in a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkness-which-they-love-and-hate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-murdoch/actors-are-cave-dwellers-in-a-rich-darkness-which-they-love-and-hate/#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 } } ] } ```