---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From the time I became an actor my whole…"
description: "\"From the time I became an actor my whole approach was to try to do as many different things as possible. It never occurred to me that I might be typeca..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lance-reddick-17333_actors_from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole_1342651.jpg"
---

#  From the time I became an actor my whole approach was to…

![“From the time I became an actor my whole approach was to try to do as many different things as possible. It never occurred to me that I might be typecast.” quote by Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lance-reddick-17333_actors_from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole_1342651.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lance-reddick-17333_actors_from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole_1342651.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lance-reddick-17333_actors_from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole_1342651.jpg)

> “From the time I became an actor my whole approach was to try to do as many different things as possible. It never occurred to me that I might be typecast.”

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

He embraced diverse roles to avoid being pigeonholed, believing variety builds skill and resilience.

**In simple terms:** He tried many roles to stay flexible.

Key Takeaway

Seek varied experiences.

Themes

career growth versatility self‑development

Mood

reflective optimistic

Type

advice inspirational

When to use this quote

- acting auditions
- career planning
- skill workshops
- networking events

Key Concepts

typecasting skill diversification

Questions to Reflect On

- How can you balance breadth and depth?
- What risks does diversification pose?

A Different Perspective

May spread focus too thin, limiting mastery.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/)

## Related quotes

> [Actually two films is too short a time for an actor to get typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-raj-bhasin/actually-two-films-is-too-short-a-time-for-an-actor-to-get-typecast/)

[Tahir Raj Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-raj-bhasin/)

> [In terms of likeability, that's something that I don't think about as an actor when I approach a role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duchovny/in-terms-of-likeability-that-s-something-that-i-don-t-think-about-as/)

[David Duchovny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duchovny/)

> [When I came to Mumbai, I only wanted to be an actor, and my approach hasn't digressed over the years. I never really hoped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashish-sharma/when-i-came-to-mumbai-i-only-wanted-to-be-an-actor-and-my-approach/)

[Ashish Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashish-sharma/)

> [Regardless of how dark and heavy the character is the actor has to approach it with that frame of mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-mison/regardless-of-how-dark-and-heavy-the-character-is-the-actor-has-to/)

[Tom Mison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-mison/)

> [Every actor has his own approach towards acting. I believe you do not become the character you are playing. You may get closer to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaideep-ahlawat/every-actor-has-his-own-approach-towards-acting-i-believe-you-do-not/)

[Jaideep Ahlawat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaideep-ahlawat/)

> [Web series is a new format, where everything, from the writing to storytelling is different. As an actor you have to approach it differently…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-kulkarni/web-series-is-a-new-format-where-everything-from-the-writing-to/)

[Atul Kulkarni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-kulkarni/)

> [I like to be a lot of different things at once and dress different ways and I change my hair all the time, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-whitman/i-like-to-be-a-lot-of-different-things-at-once-and-dress-different/)

[Mae Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-whitman/)

> [I'm a full-time dad; I'm a part-time actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-prinze-jr/i-m-a-full-time-dad-i-m-a-part-time-actor/)

[Freddie Prinze, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-prinze-jr/)

> [Over time as an actor, your life with a project can be so short lived because you come on, you do it, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-siff/over-time-as-an-actor-your-life-with-a-project-can-be-so-short-lived/)

[Maggie Siff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-siff/)

> [I’ve never taken time off from being an actor. This is the kind of career I’d be so happy to do until I die.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-elgort/i-ve-never-taken-time-off-from-being-an-actor-this-is-the-kind-of/)

[Ansel Elgort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-elgort/)

> [You are exposing yourself all the time as an actor. There's the risk of being thought of as bad or boring or unattractive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/you-are-exposing-yourself-all-the-time-as-an-actor-there-s-the-risk/)

[Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/)

> [I've enjoyed my time as an actor, but felt work was becoming repetitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thalaivasal-vijay/i-ve-enjoyed-my-time-as-an-actor-but-felt-work-was-becoming-repetitive/)

[Thalaivasal Vijay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thalaivasal-vijay/)

> [There is a time in every actor's life when he has to face the self-created hurdle after he starts getting bored of work and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-madhavan/there-is-a-time-in-every-actor-s-life-when-he-has-to-face-the-self/)

[R. Madhavan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-madhavan/)

> [There's always down time when you're an actor, especially a character actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cariani/there-s-always-down-time-when-you-re-an-actor-especially-a-character/)

[John Cariani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cariani/)

> [By the time an actor knows how to act any sort of part he is often too old to act any but a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/by-the-time-an-actor-knows-how-to-act-any-sort-of-part-he-is-often/)

[W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/)

## More by Lance Reddick

> [I can only speak as an American, but most journalism here isn't doing its job any more. It's about selling stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/i-can-only-speak-as-an-american-but-most-journalism-here-isn-t-doing/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [I grew up studying music. I went to conservatory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/i-grew-up-studying-music-i-went-to-conservatory/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [That's what David Caruso said to me. We were talking about the whole Emmy thing, and he said that one of the things about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/that-s-what-david-caruso-said-to-me-we-were-talking-about-the-whole/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [I'm an artist at heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/i-m-an-artist-at-heart/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [A very odd thing happened to my career when I got The Wire. My career was pretty much a steady climb; I didn't really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/a-very-odd-thing-happened-to-my-career-when-i-got-the-wire-my-career/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [Most of the characters I'd played were so different from me, so far from me that I had to transform.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/most-of-the-characters-i-d-played-were-so-different-from-me-so-far/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [The Wire' really drew on a lot of real-life situations and real-life organizations - it created fiction to make a social statement about reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/the-wire-really-drew-on-a-lot-of-real-life-situations-and-real-life/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [Notes are tricky in an audition, because I find, more often than not, my instinct is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/notes-are-tricky-in-an-audition-because-i-find-more-often-than-not-my/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [If you're going to come at me, come at me respectfully, and I will respond respectfully.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/if-you-re-going-to-come-at-me-come-at-me-respectfully-and-i-will/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [I started to realize, a lot of times if you go into your memory, your sense memory, you know more than you think you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/i-started-to-realize-a-lot-of-times-if-you-go-into-your-memory-your/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [Notes are tricky in an audition, because I find, more often than not, my instinct is right. If they have a preconceived notion about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/notes-are-tricky-in-an-audition-because-i-find-more-often-than-not-my-2/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [The African American community is so under-served in the entertainment industry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/the-african-american-community-is-so-under-served-in-the/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [I feel like my public life isn't necessarily my own. I'm starting to get used to how to maneuver and operate in New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/i-feel-like-my-public-life-isn-t-necessarily-my-own-i-m-starting-to/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [It's funny, 90 percent of what I've done has been television, and I never really wanted to do it that much. I was really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/it-s-funny-90-percent-of-what-i-ve-done-has-been-television-and-i/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

> [It's funny, because in drama school, my greatest strength was my range. So my early career was like that: I played all kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/it-s-funny-because-in-drama-school-my-greatest-strength-was-my-range/)

[Lance Reddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

[Explore all 37 Lance Reddick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/)

## 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": "From the time I became an actor my whole approach was to try to do as many different things as possible. It never occurred to me that I might be typecast.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Lance Reddick"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole-approach-was-to-try-to-do-as/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Actor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole-approach-was-to-try-to-do-as/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lance-reddick-17333_actors_from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole_1342651.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lance-reddick-17333_actors_from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole_1342651.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8d9/lance-reddick-17333_actors_from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole_1342651.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“From the time I became an actor my whole approach was to try to do as many different things as possible. It…” — Lance Reddick",
                "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": "Lance Reddick",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-reddick/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "From the time I became an...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole-approach-was-to-try-to-do-as/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-reddick/from-the-time-i-became-an-actor-my-whole-approach-was-to-try-to-do-as/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
