--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Acting is about animality. It's great to…" description: "\"Acting is about animality. It's great to be allowed to be animal. But I feel more alive as a director. Every morning, I have to write.\" — Mathieu Amalric" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/mathieu-amalric-29777_about_acting-is-about-animality-it-s-great-to_1971689.jpg" --- # Acting is about animality. It's great to be allowed to be… ![“Acting is about animality. It's great to be allowed to be animal. But I feel more alive as a director. Every morning, I have to write.” quote by Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/mathieu-amalric-29777_about_acting-is-about-animality-it-s-great-to_1971689.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/mathieu-amalric-29777_about_acting-is-about-animality-it-s-great-to_1971689.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/mathieu-amalric-29777_about_acting-is-about-animality-it-s-great-to_1971689.jpg) > “Acting is about animality. It's great to be allowed to be animal. But I feel more alive as a director. Every morning, I have to write.” [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acting embraces animal instincts; directing feels more alive, requiring daily writing. **In simple terms:** Acting is instinctual; directing demands writing. Key Takeaway Write daily, feel alive. Themes creativity instinct directing Mood introspective motivated Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - theatre rehearsals - film direction - creative routines Key Concepts artistic expression discipline Questions to Reflect On - How does writing fuel your directing? - Can instinct be harnessed in performance? A Different Perspective Balancing instinct and structure is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Director](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/director/) [Every morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/every-morning/) [Morning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/morning/) ## Related quotes > [Humans are able to give very good feedback. You can't tell with an animal what they feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-herr/humans-are-able-to-give-very-good-feedback-you-can-t-tell-with-an/) [Hugh Herr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-herr/) > [“What came next wasn't exactly silence, because although it was quiet, a thousand things were being said. I hated that part about an unhappy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/what-came-next-wasn-t-exactly-silence-because-although-it-was-quiet-a/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [“seems plausible that an animal might feel pain or thirst without having an “inner model” of the world,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-godfrey-smith/seems-plausible-that-an-animal-might-feel-pain-or-thirst-without/) [Peter Godfrey-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-godfrey-smith/) > [“Wolves fail to hide their integrity just like the way men fail to hide their own animality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/wolves-fail-to-hide-their-integrity-just-like-the-way-men-fail-to/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [If a man has to make a woman the center of his love, then why does he have to enter animality into it?...Can love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saadat-hasan-manto/if-a-man-has-to-make-a-woman-the-center-of-his-love-then-why-does-he/) [Saadat Hasan Manto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saadat-hasan-manto/) > [The laws of animality govern almost the whole of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/the-laws-of-animality-govern-almost-the-whole-of-history/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [“The relation of the human & animality is not a hierarchical relation, but lateral, an overcoming that does not abolish kinship”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/the-relation-of-the-human-animality-is-not-a-hierarchical-relation/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [“The only time they appear human is when you have a knife at their throats. The instant you remove it, they fall back into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-henry-abbott/the-only-time-they-appear-human-is-when-you-have-a-knife-at-their/) [Jack Henry Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-henry-abbott/) > [Unable to create a meaningful life for itself, the personality takes its own revenge: from the lower depths comes a regressive form of spontaneity:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/unable-to-create-a-meaningful-life-for-itself-the-personality-takes/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [“What exists are not separated animals, but an inter-animality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-merleau-ponty/what-exists-are-not-separated-animals-but-an-inter-animality/) [Maurice Merleau-Ponty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-merleau-ponty/) > [We might even define the human as a dynamic process produced by a series of identifications and misidentifications with animality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-critchley/we-might-even-define-the-human-as-a-dynamic-process-produced-by-a/) [Simon Critchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-critchley/) > [“Animals don't behave like men,' he said. 'If they have to fight, they fight; and if they have to kill they kill. But they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-adams/animals-don-t-behave-like-men-he-said-if-they-have-to-fight-they/) [Richard Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-adams/) > [If you deny animality present within, you deny your very source of life. And then you will always be false.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/if-you-deny-animality-present-within-you-deny-your-very-source-of/) Senoraroy > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) > [I just think that things should be allowed to run their course, and not turned into a Disney ride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fiona-shaw/i-just-think-that-things-should-be-allowed-to-run-their-course-and/) [Fiona Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fiona-shaw/) ## More by Mathieu Amalric > [ I directed three films and each time \[I act\] I hope it's the last time so I have time to do my film \[directing\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/i-directed-three-films-and-each-time-i-act-i-hope-it-s-the-last-time/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [Arnaud Desplechin invented me as an actor. I never imagined I'd be acting in movies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/arnaud-desplechin-invented-me-as-an-actor-i-never-imagined-i-d-be/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [I first started working in film when I was 17. I was a director's assistant, an editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/i-first-started-working-in-film-when-i-was-17-i-was-a-director-s/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [I keep meeting directors that are so irresistible. I only do irresistible films, because I don't need to act to feel myself alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/i-keep-meeting-directors-that-are-so-irresistible-i-only-do/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [Being an actor only came about because Arnaud Desplechin, the guy who did 'Kings and Queen', had this curious idea to think that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/being-an-actor-only-came-about-because-arnaud-desplechin-the-guy-who/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [I don't want to be a star!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/i-don-t-want-to-be-a-star/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [I'm always intrigued when you are travelling through a place and there is somebody who has lived there and done the same job for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/i-m-always-intrigued-when-you-are-travelling-through-a-place-and/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [Cannes is a circus, so you have to have fun with it. Everything suddenly becomes funny. And the promotion of a movie - that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/cannes-is-a-circus-so-you-have-to-have-fun-with-it-everything/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [If you approach Cannes with a sense of humor, nothing is that bad. You have to take it for what it is; otherwise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/if-you-approach-cannes-with-a-sense-of-humor-nothing-is-that-bad-you/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [Sometimes with anger you can be much more dangerous than with skill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/sometimes-with-anger-you-can-be-much-more-dangerous-than-with-skill/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [Im always intrigued when you are travelling through a place and there is somebody who has lived there and done the same job for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/im-always-intrigued-when-you-are-travelling-through-a-place-and-there/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [My life as an actor has submerged me completely because I dont know why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/my-life-as-an-actor-has-submerged-me-completely-because-i-dont-know/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [There is the melancholy of Europe. There is the romantic malaise. Feeling sad is almost a form of deepness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/there-is-the-melancholy-of-europe-there-is-the-romantic-malaise/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [My life as an actor has submerged me completely because I don't know why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/my-life-as-an-actor-has-submerged-me-completely-because-i-don-t-know/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) > [If you love movies, then you love America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-amalric/if-you-love-movies-then-you-love-america/) [Mathieu Amalric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) [Explore all 18 Mathieu Amalric quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-amalric/) ## More About quotes > [If you ask an introvert a question, wait until she thinks about it. Introverts think before speaking, not through speaking. 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That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [That's something a lot of folks don't know about me - I'm pretty darn funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-jai-white/that-s-something-a-lot-of-folks-don-t-know-about-me-i-m-pretty-darn/) [Michael Jai White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-jai-white/) > [I learned a lot about myself at Oakmont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-lowry/i-learned-a-lot-about-myself-at-oakmont/) [Shane Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-lowry/) > [I don't think about the press or the crowds or the other leaders of the race. The focus is only on myself. As soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magdalena-neuner/i-don-t-think-about-the-press-or-the-crowds-or-the-other-leaders-of/) [Magdalena Neuner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magdalena-neuner/) > [Sport is not just about entertainment. It is equally about winning and losing, pooling and galvanising the energy of the youth, upgrading people's physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nita-ambani/sport-is-not-just-about-entertainment-it-is-equally-about-winning-and/) [Nita Ambani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nita-ambani/) > [One of the ways that I discovered my confidence and my ability to overpower is becoming a mother. Suddenly, my world wasn't about myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lights/one-of-the-ways-that-i-discovered-my-confidence-and-my-ability-to/) [Lights](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lights/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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