--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It becomes more and more popular to call…" description: "\"It becomes more and more popular to call actors who play characters \"character actors.\" But I've always been somebody who is much more invested in who ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/melissa-leo-9231_actors_it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call_742025.jpg" --- # It becomes more and more popular to call actors who play… ![“It becomes more and more popular to call actors who play characters "character actors." But I've always been somebody who is much more invested in who I am playing than how they look.” quote by Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/melissa-leo-9231_actors_it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call_742025.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/melissa-leo-9231_actors_it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call_742025.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/melissa-leo-9231_actors_it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call_742025.jpg) > “It becomes more and more popular to call actors who play characters "character actors." But I've always been somebody who is much more invested in who I am playing than how they look.” [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes the importance of embodying a role beyond appearance, focusing on internal investment in the character. **In simple terms:** Focus on inner performance, not just looks. Key Takeaway Prioritize depth over surface. Themes acting identity craft Mood reflective introspective Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - auditions - stage performance - film roles - character study Key Concepts method acting character immersion Questions to Reflect On - How does internal focus affect audience perception? - When is visual appearance essential? A Different Perspective May overlook visual storytelling needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Character actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character-actors/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think you can discriminate against budgets, you know? I'm an actor, I guess, so I'm just trying to play as many characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-gosling/i-don-t-think-you-can-discriminate-against-budgets-you-know-i-m-an/) [Ryan Gosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-gosling/) > [There's two types of character actors. There's character actors who play all different characters. Or there's actors who always play the same part; they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-spall/there-s-two-types-of-character-actors-there-s-character-actors-who/) [Timothy Spall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-spall/) > [Just like how male actors get to play varied characters, I would also like to play characters that people don't normally see female characters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/song-hye-kyo/just-like-how-male-actors-get-to-play-varied-characters-i-would-also/) [Song Hye-kyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/song-hye-kyo/) > [Actors play a small part in all the things that go into the making of a movie. I want to know about pre-production, post-production,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nushrat-bharucha/actors-play-a-small-part-in-all-the-things-that-go-into-the-making-of/) [Nushrat Bharucha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nushrat-bharucha/) > [Actors are different. Some actors play themselves very successfully, but I come from the theater. Having done Shakespeare, we sometimes did three or four…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stellan-skarsgard/actors-are-different-some-actors-play-themselves-very-successfully/) [Stellan Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stellan-skarsgard/) > [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/) > [Well, Ive always been a character actor, you know, and you always get your share of character actors who are bad guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colm-meaney/well-ive-always-been-a-character-actor-you-know-and-you-always-get/) [Colm Meaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colm-meaney/) > [As far as playing different characters within the character, I think that's fun. Very rarely, on TV, do you get to do that on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldis-hodge/as-far-as-playing-different-characters-within-the-character-i-think/) [Aldis Hodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldis-hodge/) > [I abhor badly-written characters and any character, be it man, woman, any character in the film. If it is a well-written character, it will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sayani-gupta/i-abhor-badly-written-characters-and-any-character-be-it-man-woman/) [Sayani Gupta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sayani-gupta/) > [“...although stories are about characters, they're mostly about "character". There's a difference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-parker/although-stories-are-about-characters-they-re-mostly-about-character/) [Morgan Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-parker/) > [You're always working in the movie. Never was I me, and never have I been me, nor was he him. We were the two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-sutherland/you-re-always-working-in-the-movie-never-was-i-me-and-never-have-i/) [Donald Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-sutherland/) > [When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters. A character is a caricature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/when-writing-a-novel-a-writer-should-create-living-people-people-not-2/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I try to do as much as possible for every character. Some of them, it is easier to do the research because you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-cruz/i-try-to-do-as-much-as-possible-for-every-character-some-of-them-it/) [Penelope Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-cruz/) > [I feel that my characters all have some part of my character. I feel that they're all me in some way, certainly not in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kirby/i-feel-that-my-characters-all-have-some-part-of-my-character-i-feel/) [Jack Kirby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kirby/) > [My action follows my characters. If a character is a cop, you cannot be posing all the time, you cannot fly off the roof…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/my-action-follows-my-characters-if-a-character-is-a-cop-you-cannot-be/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) ## More by Melissa Leo > [My mom was a '70s mom. She paved a road that no one had yet walked.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/my-mom-was-a-70s-mom-she-paved-a-road-that-no-one-had-yet-walked/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I love acting. I really do. I think that's maybe the one thing that is known about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-love-acting-i-really-do-i-think-that-s-maybe-the-one-thing-that-is/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [You have to let the costume inform you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/you-have-to-let-the-costume-inform-you/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [That's what acting is. You're not alone. It's reacting. That's what we do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/that-s-what-acting-is-you-re-not-alone-it-s-reacting-that-s-what-we-do/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I'm interested in what the fans think, in what would make them feel connected to the Wayward Pines they had grown to love. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-m-interested-in-what-the-fans-think-in-what-would-make-them-feel/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I always wanted to play a nun, and to play the Reverend Mother was a thrill of a lifetime for me. But, generations back,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-always-wanted-to-play-a-nun-and-to-play-the-reverend-mother-was-a/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I know that one of my difficulties as an actor is to try to do too much, from all those years ago when my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-know-that-one-of-my-difficulties-as-an-actor-is-to-try-to-do-too/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I'm a very lucky girl who gets to act for a living! So why sit around griping and grousing about what's not there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-m-a-very-lucky-girl-who-gets-to-act-for-a-living-so-why-sit-around/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [Well, I don't think of myself as a feminist at all. As soon as we start labeling and categorizing ourselves and others, that's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/well-i-don-t-think-of-myself-as-a-feminist-at-all-as-soon-as-we-start/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [There were not enough women like Kay on TV and now there are none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/there-were-not-enough-women-like-kay-on-tv-and-now-there-are-none/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I think this notion of acting and glamour is getting in everybody's way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-think-this-notion-of-acting-and-glamour-is-getting-in-everybody-s/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > ["I'm going to show you I haven't given you permission because clearly you're not grown up enough to understand that, not having given you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-m-going-to-show-you-i-haven-t-given-you-permission-because-clearly/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [Why do we have to pretend we're not in the sales game? I didn't sign on to be a salesman. I signed on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/why-do-we-have-to-pretend-we-re-not-in-the-sales-game-i-didn-t-sign/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [I got none. I mean, I have no religion. I like the quote unquote 'Virgin Mary,' but no Catholicism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/i-got-none-i-mean-i-have-no-religion-i-like-the-quote-unquote-virgin/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) > [The director is the captain of the ship, without question. No matter what their talent or energy level is, everyone on the crew has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/the-director-is-the-captain-of-the-ship-without-question-no-matter/) [Melissa Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) [Explore all 74 Melissa Leo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/) ## More Actors quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/) [Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [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/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [When we watch a film as actors, you have to understand that we always see much more than what's on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-khemu/when-we-watch-a-film-as-actors-you-have-to-understand-that-we-always/) [Kunal Khemu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-khemu/) > [As actors, you become an expert at starting over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-actors-you-become-an-expert-at-starting-over/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [A rapper is about being completely true to yourself. Being an actor is about changing who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/a-rapper-is-about-being-completely-true-to-yourself-being-an-actor-is/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [I've been a professional actor for almost 40 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-perlman/i-ve-been-a-professional-actor-for-almost-40-years/) [Ron Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-perlman/) > [American actors are coy. We all have pricks and cunts, or are you different from the rest of us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/american-actors-are-coy-we-all-have-pricks-and-cunts-or-are-you/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) [Browse all 11,394 Actors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It becomes more and more popular to call actors who play characters \"character actors.\" But I've always been somebody who is much more invested in who I am playing than how they look.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Melissa Leo" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call-actors-who-play-characters/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call-actors-who-play-characters/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/melissa-leo-9231_actors_it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call_742025.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/melissa-leo-9231_actors_it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call_742025.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/melissa-leo-9231_actors_it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call_742025.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It becomes more and more popular to call actors who play characters \"character actors.\" But I've always been…” — Melissa Leo", "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": "Melissa Leo", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-leo/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It becomes more and more popular...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call-actors-who-play-characters/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-leo/it-becomes-more-and-more-popular-to-call-actors-who-play-characters/#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 } } ] } ```