--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes an actor performs a character…" description: "\"Sometimes an actor performs a character, but sometimes an actor just performs. With writing, I don't think it's performing a character, really, if the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/joan-didion-497_actors_sometimes-an-actor-performs-a-character_2169039.jpg" --- # Sometimes an actor performs a character, but sometimes an… ![“Sometimes an actor performs a character, but sometimes an actor just performs. With writing, I don't think it's performing a character, really, if the character you're performing is yourself. I don't see that as playing a role. It's just appearing in public.” quote by Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/joan-didion-497_actors_sometimes-an-actor-performs-a-character_2169039.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/joan-didion-497_actors_sometimes-an-actor-performs-a-character_2169039.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/47a/joan-didion-497_actors_sometimes-an-actor-performs-a-character_2169039.jpg) > “Sometimes an actor performs a character, but sometimes an actor just performs. With writing, I don't think it's performing a character, really, if the character you're performing is yourself. I don't see that as playing a role. It's just appearing in public.” [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## 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 can either embody a role or simply present themselves; authenticity differs from character acting. **In simple terms:** Being yourself on stage is not acting a role. Key Takeaway Embrace authenticity over performance. Themes authenticity performance identity Mood reflective thoughtful Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - public speaking - theatre - personal branding Key Concepts self‑presentation role theory Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel more genuine when you are yourself? - How does audience perception affect authenticity? A Different Perspective Authenticity may be limited by audience expectations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actor Performs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor-performs-1663502/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Appearing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/appearing/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-actor/) [Character Performing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-performing-4637069/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Performing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performing/) [Performing Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performing-character-4637068/) [Performs Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performs-character-4637070/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [Life as a performance is just a way to look at life choices as character choices. Every morning you choose what to wear, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-franco/life-as-a-performance-is-just-a-way-to-look-at-life-choices-as/) [James Franco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-franco/) > [I am an artist. An actor performs, whether it's in front of the camera or a live audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/puneet-issar/i-am-an-artist-an-actor-performs-whether-it-s-in-front-of-the-camera/) [Puneet Issar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/puneet-issar/) > [You can't be upset for someone's loyalty to a character. As an actor, that's a gift to see fans care that much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliana-harkavy/you-can-t-be-upset-for-someone-s-loyalty-to-a-character-as-an-actor/) [Juliana Harkavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliana-harkavy/) > [If you're a 'character actor,' you get hired to play baddies a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-mendelsohn/if-you-re-a-character-actor-you-get-hired-to-play-baddies-a-lot/) [Ben Mendelsohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-mendelsohn/) > [I always wanted to be a character actor rather than the poster boy that they tried to make me 100 years ago. An actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-depp/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-character-actor-rather-than-the-poster-boy/) [Johnny Depp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-depp/) > [I started off as an actor thinking that I would be this Romeo, this dashing leading man. It turns out that I'm a character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alessandro-nivola/i-started-off-as-an-actor-thinking-that-i-would-be-this-romeo-this/) [Alessandro Nivola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alessandro-nivola/) > [I have about as much control over how I look as the guy who's short and looks more like a character actor - we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/armie-hammer/i-have-about-as-much-control-over-how-i-look-as-the-guy-who-s-short/) [Armie Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/armie-hammer/) > [Well, I'm a character actor, and actually throughout my life I've... I have relatively speaking played few heroic leads, but I've done it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-auberjonois/well-i-m-a-character-actor-and-actually-throughout-my-life-i-ve-i/) [Rene Auberjonois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-auberjonois/) > [My sense of myself is that I'm a character actor, and character actors are ready, willing, and able to do anything, to be totally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lithgow/my-sense-of-myself-is-that-i-m-a-character-actor-and-character-actors/) [John Lithgow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lithgow/) > [I haven't aged into a character actor. I'm an old leading man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-granger/i-haven-t-aged-into-a-character-actor-i-m-an-old-leading-man/) [Stewart Granger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-granger/) > [I've always considered myself a character actor. That's the way I was trained, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-quaid/i-ve-always-considered-myself-a-character-actor-that-s-the-way-i-was/) [Dennis Quaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-quaid/) > [I never really thought of myself as being an action hero or a leading man or any of that. I'm a character actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-paul/i-never-really-thought-of-myself-as-being-an-action-hero-or-a-leading/) [Aaron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-paul/) > [The people I've respected most in the industry over the years - Paul Newman, for instance. I just loved the way he handled growing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-people-i-ve-respected-most-in-the-industry-over-the-years-paul/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [Well, Ive always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-meaney/well-ive-always-been-a-character-actor-you-know-and-you-always-get/) [Colm Meaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-meaney/) > [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/) ## More by Joan Didion > [To shift the structure of a sentence alters the meaning of that sentence, as definitely and inflexibly as the position of a camera alters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-shift-the-structure-of-a-sentence-alters-the-meaning-of-that/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I work every day. Sometimes I don't accomplish anything every day, but if I don't work every day, I get depressed and get afraid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-work-every-day-sometimes-i-don-t-accomplish-anything-every-day-but/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Style is character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/style-is-character/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I went because I was interested in the alchemy of issues.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-went-because-i-was-interested-in-the-alchemy-of-issues/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Why did I write it down? In order to remember, of course, but exactly what was it I wanted to remember? How much of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/why-did-i-write-it-down-in-order-to-remember-of-course-but-exactly/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I no longer want reminders of what was, what got broken, what got lost, what got wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-no-longer-want-reminders-of-what-was-what-got-broken-what-got-lost/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [My mother 'gave teas' the way other mothers breathed. Her own mother 'gave teas.' All of their friends 'gave teas,' each involving butter cookies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/my-mother-gave-teas-the-way-other-mothers-breathed-her-own-mother/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [I'm not very interested in people. I recognize it in myself - there is a basic indifference toward people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-m-not-very-interested-in-people-i-recognize-it-in-myself-there-is-a/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Was there ever in anyone's life span a point free in time, devoid of memory, a point when choice was any more than sum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/was-there-ever-in-anyone-s-life-span-a-point-free-in-time-devoid-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“Research to date has shown that, like many other stressors, grief frequently leads to changes in the endocrine, immune, autonomic nervous, and cardiovascular systems;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/research-to-date-has-shown-that-like-many-other-stressors-grief/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“By the end of the week she was thinking constantly about where her body stopped and the air began about the exact point in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/by-the-end-of-the-week-she-was-thinking-constantly-about-where-her/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation. Later he said that if John had been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-just-can-t-see-the-upside-in-this-i-heard-myself-say-by-way-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [ I read so ravenously that I would read through whole categories. I was crazy about reading biographies. \[...\] I think biographies are very urgent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/i-read-so-ravenously-that-i-would-read-through-whole-categories-i-was/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) [Explore all 515 Joan Didion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) ## 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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