--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you're an actor, you get your eyes put…" description: "\"If you're an actor, you get your eyes put out; you get everything done to you.\" — John Mortimer" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/john-mortimer-7362_actor_if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put_2785338.jpg" --- # If you're an actor, you get your eyes put out; you get… ![“If you're an actor, you get your eyes put out; you get everything done to you.” quote by John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/john-mortimer-7362_actor_if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put_2785338.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/john-mortimer-7362_actor_if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put_2785338.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/john-mortimer-7362_actor_if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put_2785338.jpg) > “If you're an actor, you get your eyes put out; you get everything done to you.” [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Actors sacrifice personal comfort and autonomy, enduring intense scrutiny and control in their profession. **In simple terms:** Actors lose personal freedom. Key Takeaway Recognize artistic sacrifice. Themes sacrifice control performance Mood dramatic empathetic Type theatrical critical When to use this quote - rehearsal - theatrical production - media interview Key Concepts industry pressures personal boundaries Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms do actors relinquish? - How does this shape their identity? A Different Perspective May dramatize for effect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Eyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eyes/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like, for an actor, eyes are the most important thing. So I'm a little obsessed with eye creams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kriti-kharbanda/i-feel-like-for-an-actor-eyes-are-the-most-important-thing-so-i-m-a/) [Kriti Kharbanda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kriti-kharbanda/) > [I'm looking into a different actor's eyes every couple days, and I'm learning so much just to see the different processes people go through,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oren-moverman/i-m-looking-into-a-different-actor-s-eyes-every-couple-days-and-i-m/) [Oren Moverman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oren-moverman/) > [I often think that could we creep behind the actor's eyes, we would find an attic of forgotten toys and a copy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-olivier/i-often-think-that-could-we-creep-behind-the-actor-s-eyes-we-would/) [Laurence Olivier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-olivier/) > [Well, for me, my favourite 'Indiana Jones' is 'The Last Crusade,' because you get tears in your eyes when you see the old guard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/well-for-me-my-favourite-indiana-jones-is-the-last-crusade-because/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [One needs to constantly read up, practice and work, irrespective of your profession. If I feel as an actor that I know everything, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonam-kapoor/one-needs-to-constantly-read-up-practice-and-work-irrespective-of/) [Sonam Kapoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonam-kapoor/) > [I have to say I really was surprised on my first world tour. It was amazing to see what we've always dreamed of, right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-have-to-say-i-really-was-surprised-on-my-first-world-tour-it-was/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the print I have read in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/what-is-that-you-express-in-your-eyes-it-seems-to-me-more-than-all/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Many time you have to open your eyes in the shadow to know the truth of this world. Starting at the beginning with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-evans/many-time-you-have-to-open-your-eyes-in-the-shadow-to-know-the-truth/) [Adrian Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-evans/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [your eyes... they're beautiful.you're beautiful." \*sigh\*](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/your-eyes-they-re-beautiful-you-re-beautiful-sigh/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [Sit down, hold your back up, close your eyes and think about nothing' - that's not on the table for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-povitsky/sit-down-hold-your-back-up-close-your-eyes-and-think-about-nothing/) [Esther Povitsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-povitsky/) > [A great artist transforms our world, removes scales from our eyes, plugs from our ears, gloves from our fingertips, teaches us to perceive reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edgar-wideman/a-great-artist-transforms-our-world-removes-scales-from-our-eyes/) [John Edgar Wideman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edgar-wideman/) > [Kiss me with your eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/kiss-me-with-your-eyes/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Look with all your eyes, look.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jules-verne/look-with-all-your-eyes-look/) [Jules Verne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jules-verne/) > [“I fell in love with your eyes first because I looked into their depths and saw the other half of my soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-k-lilley/i-fell-in-love-with-your-eyes-first-because-i-looked-into-their/) [R.K. Lilley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-k-lilley/) ## More by John Mortimer > [“Take sex, for instance.' 'What do you want me to do with it?' 'Try to be serious for a moment. Take the sex life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/take-sex-for-instance-what-do-you-want-me-to-do-with-it-try-to-be/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [I knew nothing about farce until I read Puce a l'Oreille, and had no idea what a deadly serious business it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-knew-nothing-about-farce-until-i-read-puce-a-l-oreille-and-had-no/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Do we want blanks, asterisks and exclamation marks which people can fill in with their own imaginations, or are we prepared and strong enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/do-we-want-blanks-asterisks-and-exclamation-marks-which-people-can/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Voting Liberal is a non-thing. Historically, it might be a good idea to have a Conservative government, because change is a good thing. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/voting-liberal-is-a-non-thing-historically-it-might-be-a-good-idea-to/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“I sent out words like soldiers to battle and they never returned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-sent-out-words-like-soldiers-to-battle-and-they-never-returned/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Dying is a matter of slapstick and pratfalls. The ageing process is not gradual or gentle. It rushes up, pushes you over and runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/dying-is-a-matter-of-slapstick-and-pratfalls-the-ageing-process-is/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [No brilliance is required in law, just common sense and relatively clean fingernails.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/no-brilliance-is-required-in-law-just-common-sense-and-relatively/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [The people look forbidding, solemn, marked by that impossible ideal, Communism, which, like Christianity, seemed to demand too much of humanity and, falling into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/the-people-look-forbidding-solemn-marked-by-that-impossible-ideal/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [There is always time for failure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/there-is-always-time-for-failure/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Irritable Judges suffer from a bad case of premature adjudication.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/irritable-judges-suffer-from-a-bad-case-of-premature-adjudication/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [I try and treat my children from the age of ten months as if they were totally grown up, which I think is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-try-and-treat-my-children-from-the-age-of-ten-months-as-if-they/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [Check-ups are, in my experience, a grave mistake; all they do is allow the quack of your choice to tell you that you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/check-ups-are-in-my-experience-a-grave-mistake-all-they-do-is-allow/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [I don't believe in children's books. I think after you've read Kidnapped, Treasure Island, and Huckleberry Finn, you're ready for anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/i-don-t-believe-in-children-s-books-i-think-after-you-ve-read/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [“The main aim of education should be to send children out into the world with a reasonably sized anthology in their heads so that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/the-main-aim-of-education-should-be-to-send-children-out-into-the/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) > [On the three pigs he and his wife own: "We acquired the pigs last year. My wife was born on a pig farm and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/on-the-three-pigs-he-and-his-wife-own-we-acquired-the-pigs-last-year/) [John Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) [Explore all 92 John Mortimer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/) ## 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": "If you're an actor, you get your eyes put out; you get everything done to you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Mortimer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put-out-you-get-everything-done/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put-out-you-get-everything-done/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/john-mortimer-7362_actor_if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put_2785338.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/john-mortimer-7362_actor_if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put_2785338.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd5/john-mortimer-7362_actor_if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put_2785338.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you're an actor, you get your eyes put out; you get everything done to you.” — John Mortimer", "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": "John Mortimer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mortimer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you're an actor, you get...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put-out-you-get-everything-done/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mortimer/if-you-re-an-actor-you-get-your-eyes-put-out-you-get-everything-done/#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 } } ] } ```