--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: [Success] always starts with the…" description: "\"[Success] always starts with the material; it always starts with the truth and honesty of the characters that you read in the screenplay and that's rar..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/leonardo-dicaprio-997_character_success-always-starts-with-the-material_1284016.jpg" --- # \[Success\] always starts with the material; it always… ![“[Success] always starts with the material; it always starts with the truth and honesty of the characters that you read in the screenplay and that's rarely something that can be remedied if it's simply not there by the time you shoot the film. Thank God we had that.” quote by Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/leonardo-dicaprio-997_character_success-always-starts-with-the-material_1284016.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/leonardo-dicaprio-997_character_success-always-starts-with-the-material_1284016.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdf/leonardo-dicaprio-997_character_success-always-starts-with-the-material_1284016.jpg) > “\[Success\] always starts with the material; it always starts with the truth and honesty of the characters that you read in the screenplay and that's rarely something that can be remedied if it's simply not there by the time you shoot the film. Thank God we had that.” [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A screenplay’s success depends on authentic, truthful characters; without them, the film cannot be salvaged during production. **In simple terms:** Good characters are essential for a film’s success. Key Takeaway Prioritize character truth. Themes storytelling authenticity film production Mood analytical pragmatic Type industry educational When to use this quote - advertising - marketing - low‑budget projects Key Concepts character development script integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure character depth early? - What role does casting play in authenticity? A Different Perspective Strong characters can be compensated by visual effects. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Screenplay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenplay/) [Screenplays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/screenplays/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth and honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-and-honesty/) ## Related quotes > [Normally you read a screenplay - and I read a lot of them - and the characters don't feel like people. They feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/normally-you-read-a-screenplay-and-i-read-a-lot-of-them-and-the/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [Usually if you read a screenplay, no matter who's writing it, the bad guy is always written as a one-dimensional bad guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rourke/usually-if-you-read-a-screenplay-no-matter-who-s-writing-it-the-bad/) [Mickey Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rourke/) > [To my knowledge, I don't believe I've taken a role that I didn't feel I could do when I read the screenplay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-walter-hauser/to-my-knowledge-i-don-t-believe-i-ve-taken-a-role-that-i-didn-t-feel/) [Paul Walter Hauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-walter-hauser/) > [I loved the tone and the characters. They're all very different and they're all very typical for their time. When you read the screenplay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lone-scherfig/i-loved-the-tone-and-the-characters-they-re-all-very-different-and/) Lone Scherfig > [I've never read a screenplay in advance. You trust the artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrice-dalle/i-ve-never-read-a-screenplay-in-advance-you-trust-the-artist/) [Beatrice Dalle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrice-dalle/) > [What I learned is that I should probably read a screenplay every once in a while before I said 'yes'. You could make bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/what-i-learned-is-that-i-should-probably-read-a-screenplay-every-once/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [I read every screenplay that was being sent to the other directors. None were being sent to me, but I was reading what others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sanders/i-read-every-screenplay-that-was-being-sent-to-the-other-directors/) [Rupert Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sanders/) > [I truly loved Jason Reitman. I was there on his first film, 'Thank You For Smoking,' and I'd go work with him to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-elliott/i-truly-loved-jason-reitman-i-was-there-on-his-first-film-thank-you/) [Sam Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-elliott/) > [When Surender Reddy told me that I should play a serious role, I was quite confused; however, a lot of people told me that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brahmanandam/when-surender-reddy-told-me-that-i-should-play-a-serious-role-i-was/) [Brahmanandam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brahmanandam/) > [I thank you for taking a chance on this film. And thank you for waiting 15 years to get me to do it. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-foxx/i-thank-you-for-taking-a-chance-on-this-film-and-thank-you-for/) [Jamie Foxx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-foxx/) > [I think my love of truth and honesty forces me to notice that the liberal intelligentsia of Western countries is betraying itself where Islam…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/i-think-my-love-of-truth-and-honesty-forces-me-to-notice-that-the/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Acting means nothing unless it's truth. And honesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-wilkinson/acting-means-nothing-unless-it-s-truth-and-honesty/) [Colm Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-wilkinson/) > [“There is no distance between these 8 things: intelligence and sanity, wisdom and stability, ignorance and stupidity, truth and honesty, time and reality, space…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/there-is-no-distance-between-these-8-things-intelligence-and-sanity/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [“The bourgeois novel is the greatest enemy of truth and honesty that was ever invented.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard-2/the-bourgeois-novel-is-the-greatest-enemy-of-truth-and-honesty-that/) [J.G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard-2/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More by Leonardo DiCaprio > [To believe in love, to be ready to give up anything for it, to be willing to risk your life for it, is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/to-believe-in-love-to-be-ready-to-give-up-anything-for-it-to-be/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I've gotten to go to far-off places in the world, have very unique, isolated, intense experiences for four or five months at a time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-ve-gotten-to-go-to-far-off-places-in-the-world-have-very-unique/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [At first I thought I would have to put on an English accent and try a sort of affected Shakespeare thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/at-first-i-thought-i-would-have-to-put-on-an-english-accent-and-try-a/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [It gets to the point where you're hot, you're hot, and when you're not, you're not. It's so true. I have to slow down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/it-gets-to-the-point-where-you-re-hot-you-re-hot-and-when-you-re-not/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I did imitations of anyone who came to my parents' house, and that was my identity at school - if there were ten minutes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-did-imitations-of-anyone-who-came-to-my-parents-house-and-that-was/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I think people read the tabloids because they want to see you eating a burger, or out of your makeup or doing something stupid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-think-people-read-the-tabloids-because-they-want-to-see-you-eating/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [When I can't immediately define the character, and there's an element of mystery to it and still a lot to be explored, that's when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/when-i-can-t-immediately-define-the-character-and-there-s-an-element/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I remember when I first started having these interpretations of these images, these clichés of what movie stars are and this and that, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-remember-when-i-first-started-having-these-interpretations-of-these/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [It's my first sort of commercial attempt, but it made sense for me because I'm not that kind of guy and I'm not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/it-s-my-first-sort-of-commercial-attempt-but-it-made-sense-for-me/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [We must all move shoulder to shoulder in a unified front to show this administration that the true majority of people are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/we-must-all-move-shoulder-to-shoulder-in-a-unified-front-to-show-this/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I get unhappy doing things that I'm not passionate about. Because I feel like I'm squandering this incredible gift I've been given to finance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-get-unhappy-doing-things-that-i-m-not-passionate-about-because-i/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I haven't died in a movie in a while,'The Departed,' 'Body of Lies,' 'Revolutionary Road,' 'Shutter Island' and 'Inception.' I guess I did die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-haven-t-died-in-a-movie-in-a-while-the-departed-body-of-lies/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [Obviously people don't want other people to tell them how to think or what to believe, or to tell them what's right politically and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/obviously-people-don-t-want-other-people-to-tell-them-how-to-think-or/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [I've always been spontaneous and outgoing... I've tried lots of things so I've got some good life experiences, which is great 'cause it means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/i-ve-always-been-spontaneous-and-outgoing-i-ve-tried-lots-of-things/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Explore all 311 Leonardo DiCaprio quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) ## More Character quotes > [This may sound strange, but although I feel like I know everything about my characters, the brand of shampoo they use, how many cavities…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-honeyman/this-may-sound-strange-but-although-i-feel-like-i-know-everything/) [Gail Honeyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-honeyman/) > [I always like a character who makes me laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-stirling/i-always-like-a-character-who-makes-me-laugh/) [Rachael Stirling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-stirling/) > [Social responsibility above the level of family, or at most of tribe, requires imagination-- devotion, loyalty, all the higher virtues -- which a man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-heinlein/social-responsibility-above-the-level-of-family-or-at-most-of-tribe/) [Robert A. Heinlein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-a-heinlein/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I'm often moved by the circumstances around some of my characters, but I don't think I've actually cried watching myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-winslet/i-m-often-moved-by-the-circumstances-around-some-of-my-characters-but/) [Kate Winslet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-winslet/) > [When you're on a daytime drama you get one page, you better damn well know your character. You better know what she would do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hudgins/when-you-re-on-a-daytime-drama-you-get-one-page-you-better-damn-well/) David Hudgins > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [If you are well-mannered towards those whose views are similar to yours, you may be said to exhibit a fairly good character. But, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-well-mannered-towards-those-whose-views-are-similar-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Democracy is based on the conviction that man has the moral and intellectual capacity, as well as the inalienable right, to govern himself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-s-truman/democracy-is-based-on-the-conviction-that-man-has-the-moral-and/) [Harry S. Truman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-s-truman/) > [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/) [Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/) > [Your looks don't make you pretty, it's the person inside who makes you pretty!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-chan/your-looks-don-t-make-you-pretty-it-s-the-person-inside-who-makes-you/) [Aaron Chan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-chan/) > [I'm not a huge social media kind of guy, so I don't really know, I don't really ever get... at least in real life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-stroma/i-m-not-a-huge-social-media-kind-of-guy-so-i-don-t-really-know-i-don/) [Freddie Stroma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-stroma/) > [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/) > [Courage: the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/courage-the-most-important-of-all-the-virtues-because-without-courage/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [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/) [Browse all 32,707 Character quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "[Success] always starts with the material; it always starts with the truth and honesty of the characters that you read in the screenplay and that's rarely something that can be remedied if it's simply not there by the time you shoot the film. 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