--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have driven school buses, sold egg…" description: "\"I have driven school buses, sold egg rolls and painted houses, and I have often wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't gone into acting..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/john-malkovich-2387_acting_i-have-driven-school-buses-sold-egg-roll_109161.jpg" --- # I have driven school buses, sold egg rolls and painted… ![“I have driven school buses, sold egg rolls and painted houses, and I have often wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't gone into acting. Mind you, it's a great life, going around pretending you're other people and getting paid ridiculous sums of money for it.” quote by John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/john-malkovich-2387_acting_i-have-driven-school-buses-sold-egg-roll_109161.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/john-malkovich-2387_acting_i-have-driven-school-buses-sold-egg-roll_109161.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/76b/john-malkovich-2387_acting_i-have-driven-school-buses-sold-egg-roll_109161.jpg) > “I have driven school buses, sold egg rolls and painted houses, and I have often wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't gone into acting. Mind you, it's a great life, going around pretending you're other people and getting paid ridiculous sums of money for it.” [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The actor reflects on a varied past, acknowledging that the craft of embodying others offers both creative fulfillment and lucrative rewards. **In simple terms:** Acting lets you live many lives and earn well. Key Takeaway Performance blends art and profit. Themes career creativity identity money Mood reflective wry Type autobiographical philosophical When to use this quote - career counseling - artistic workshops - financial planning for creatives Key Concepts role‑playing self‑concept Practical Applications - leverage diverse experiences for richer performances - balance artistic passion with financial goals Questions to Reflect On - What non‑essential aspects of acting might be overlooked? - How does constantly adopting personas affect personal identity? A Different Perspective The statement romanticizes acting without addressing its instability and emotional toll. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Around](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around/) [Been](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/been/) [Buses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buses/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Egg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/egg/) [Getting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting/) [Going](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going/) [Going Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-pretending-1201446/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Gone Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone-acting-969207/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Great life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-life/) [Houses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/houses/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [My life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-life/) [Often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/often/) [Other](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/other/) [Paid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paid/) [Painted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/painted/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pretending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending/) [Pretending People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretending-people-253778/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Rolls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rolls/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Sold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sold/) [Sums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sums/) [Wondered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wondered/) [Would](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would/) [You](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you/) ## Related quotes > [We're investing record sums on buses and trains. We have a huge programme to encourage people to walk and cycle, and everyone up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-hoon/we-re-investing-record-sums-on-buses-and-trains-we-have-a-huge/) [Geoff Hoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-hoon/) > [Netflix is soo much better than going out and pretending to like people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/netflix-is-soo-much-better-than-going-out-and-pretending-to-like/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [“Max marvels that you can't tell at all from his voice how this type of thing--the casual prying, snooping and implications--royally pisses him off.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-kelling/max-marvels-that-you-can-t-tell-at-all-from-his-voice-how-this-type/) [Lynn Kelling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-kelling/) > [I think you chose the wrong career path. You should have gone into acting because you're so good at pretending to be something you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-think-you-chose-the-wrong-career-path-you-should-have-gone-into/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If I hadn't gone into acting, I would have been one of those weird runaways on Hollywood Boulevard. No, it'd be uglier. I'd probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/if-i-hadn-t-gone-into-acting-i-would-have-been-one-of-those-weird/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-james-waller/and-in-that-moment-everything-i-knew-to-be-true-about-myself-up-until/) [Robert James Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-james-waller/) > [I've never gone to acting school and I never will, so I'm learning about the business from the people who are in the business.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-rhys-meyers/i-ve-never-gone-to-acting-school-and-i-never-will-so-i-m-learning/) [Jonathan Rhys Meyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-rhys-meyers/) > [Pretending to be other people helped bring me out of my shell and shed my inhibitions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-musto/pretending-to-be-other-people-helped-bring-me-out-of-my-shell-and/) [Michael Musto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-musto/) > [“What’s clear is that no good can come from pretending that the people who participate in prostitution don’t exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-s-clear-is-that-no-good-can-come-from-pretending-that-the-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's not that Shakespeare is frivolous, but you spend your time just getting people to dress up in other people's costumes and pretending to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-miller/it-s-not-that-shakespeare-is-frivolous-but-you-spend-your-time-just/) [Jonathan Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-miller/) > [The happiest that I remember myself was putting on plays and pretending to be other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inbar-lavi/the-happiest-that-i-remember-myself-was-putting-on-plays-and/) [Inbar Lavi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inbar-lavi/) > [That is a strange phenomenon, people pretending to be other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-samberg/that-is-a-strange-phenomenon-people-pretending-to-be-other-people/) [Andy Samberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-samberg/) > [I love pretending to be other people. The more unlike me they are the better - I find other people endlessly fascinating and myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacki-weaver/i-love-pretending-to-be-other-people-the-more-unlike-me-they-are-the/) [Jacki Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacki-weaver/) > [All fiction is about people, unless it's about rabbits pretending to be people. It's all essentially characters in action, which means characters moving through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/all-fiction-is-about-people-unless-it-s-about-rabbits-pretending-to/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [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/) ## More by John Malkovich > [Films take too long. There's too much BS, too much nonsense. If I want to do a play, I just call the theater, whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/films-take-too-long-there-s-too-much-bs-too-much-nonsense-if-i-want/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I don't want a trillion-dollar empire to run.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-don-t-want-a-trillion-dollar-empire-to-run/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [Reviews are destructive by their very nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/reviews-are-destructive-by-their-very-nature/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I can see how, given a certain degree of sensitivities, proclivities and rage, I could have ended up differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-can-see-how-given-a-certain-degree-of-sensitivities-proclivities/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [Most filmmakers' entire body of knowledge is of other movies. When they describe things, they describe them in relation to other movies. That's why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/most-filmmakers-entire-body-of-knowledge-is-of-other-movies-when-they/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I wouldn't say anything I ever did in film would be something I'd use the word proud about. I've done better work in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-wouldn-t-say-anything-i-ever-did-in-film-would-be-something-i-d-use/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [You have to play your characters, not like them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/you-have-to-play-your-characters-not-like-them/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [One doesn't know if one had a happy childhood or not. I don't really know what it means.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/one-doesn-t-know-if-one-had-a-happy-childhood-or-not-i-don-t-really/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I'm more comfortable with whatever's wrong with me than my father was whenever he felt he failed or didn't measure up to the standard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-m-more-comfortable-with-whatever-s-wrong-with-me-than-my-father-was/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I was a very good baseball and football player, but my father always told me I was much more interested in how I looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-was-a-very-good-baseball-and-football-player-but-my-father-always/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I think people seem to sort of associate me with danger. And I don't see that at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-think-people-seem-to-sort-of-associate-me-with-danger-and-i-don-t/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I like to direct movies, but I don't like to goof around for eight years talking about it. And it's pretty irritating to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-like-to-direct-movies-but-i-don-t-like-to-goof-around-for-eight/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I love to watch good actors who surprise and amuse me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-love-to-watch-good-actors-who-surprise-and-amuse-me/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I find it hard to pre-plan every element of everything I do. It's not my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-find-it-hard-to-pre-plan-every-element-of-everything-i-do-it-s-not/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) > [I lost seventy pounds eating nothing but Jello for 4 months. But of course there is great variety in the colors! I think, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-malkovich/i-lost-seventy-pounds-eating-nothing-but-jello-for-4-months-but-of/) [John Malkovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) [Explore all 169 John Malkovich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-malkovich/) ## More Acting 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/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [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/) > [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/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) [Browse all 12,062 Acting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have driven school buses, sold egg rolls and painted houses, and I have often wondered what my life would have been like if I hadn't gone into acting. 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