Actor Quote by Martin Landau
“The talented actor needs craft. When you do a stage play, you do it once each night in chronological order. In a film you're going to wind up doing a scene 15-20 times, just by the nature of the process. If I tell you a joke once, it's funny. The more times I tell, the less funny it is. How do you get to the point where you can laugh again? You also may have to cry again and again.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Discussing acting craft, date unknown
An actor must adapt to varying repetition; stage is live and unique, film repeats scenes, humor loses edge with overuse, requiring fresh emotional access.
In simple terms: Acting needs fresh emotional; repetition dulls humor and emotion.
Key Takeaway
Find ways to renew emotional truth each take.
Themes
acting
repetition
emotion
humor
craft
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
educational
inspirational
When to use this quote
- stage performance
- film shooting
- stand‑up comedy
- rehearsal
- emotional preparation
Key Concepts
performance dynamics
emotional resilience
creative process
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you keep a joke fresh after many retellings?
- What techniques help recapture genuine emotion?
A Different Perspective
Over‑repetition can cause fatigue and loss of spontaneity.
![“I am a fan of rehearsal. I like doing it [scene] over and over and over and over until it looks like you never did it before.” quote by Bill Nighy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/904/bill-nighy-4521_fans_i-am-a-fan-of-rehearsal-i-like-doing-it_1496616.jpg)
