--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The reason that most British actors are…" description: "\"The reason that most British actors are better than most American actors in the end is that they don't make any money. At the very end of their lives, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/mike-nichols-6630_accounts_the-reason-that-most-british-actors-are_381323.jpg" --- # The reason that most British actors are better than most… ![“The reason that most British actors are better than most American actors in the end is that they don't make any money. At the very end of their lives, they get into a space movie and they make a lot of money, but until that happens, basically, they don't have bank accounts. They live from day to…” quote by Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/mike-nichols-6630_accounts_the-reason-that-most-british-actors-are_381323.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/mike-nichols-6630_accounts_the-reason-that-most-british-actors-are_381323.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6a/mike-nichols-6630_accounts_the-reason-that-most-british-actors-are_381323.jpg) > “The reason that most British actors are better than most American actors in the end is that they don't make any money. At the very end of their lives, they get into a space movie and they make a lot of money, but until that happens, basically, they don't have bank accounts. They live from day to day.” [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. British actors often lack financial stability, unlike American actors who may earn big later, because they work day‑to‑day without lucrative contracts. **In simple terms:** British actors struggle financially, working modestly until a big break. Key Takeaway Support sustainable careers for artists early on. Themes acting economics career culture industry Mood critical empathetic analytical Type industry economic When to use this quote - theatre budgeting - film casting - union negotiations - career counseling Key Concepts labor economics artistic livelihood cross‑cultural comparison Questions to Reflect On - What systems could provide steadier income for actors? - How does financial pressure affect creative choices? A Different Perspective Financial instability can limit artistic risk‑taking and growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Bank account](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bank-account/) [British](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/british/) [Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [Reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Space movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space-movie/) ## Related quotes > [Coming from documentaries, my biggest challenge was to understand actors' psychologies. American actors take it all very seriously; British actors don't enter into all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-macdonald/coming-from-documentaries-my-biggest-challenge-was-to-understand/) [Kevin Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-macdonald/) > [The actors in Britain are incredible, and I didn't appreciate that until I got there. They interpret your words and you realize how deliberate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-spotnitz/the-actors-in-britain-are-incredible-and-i-didn-t-appreciate-that/) [Frank Spotnitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-spotnitz/) > [ There are three huge, titanic, space movies which if you ever make a film \[about space\] you cannot avoid. You may want to avoid… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/there-are-three-huge-titanic-space-movies-which-if-you-ever-make-a/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [These are extremely talented actors who are all putting their talents into the Lost in Space movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-goddard/these-are-extremely-talented-actors-who-are-all-putting-their-talents/) [Mark Goddard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-goddard/) > [It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-livingston/it-s-not-that-i-m-lazy-it-s-that-i-just-don-t-care/) [Ron Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-livingston/) > [I want to go to places that are unexpected of me, because people really think they have me pegged. I want to do something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-daniels/i-want-to-go-to-places-that-are-unexpected-of-me-because-people/) [Lee Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-daniels/) > [At the moment I'm doing this space movie, so I'm obsessed with physics and space travel. I know three months down the line it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/at-the-moment-i-m-doing-this-space-movie-so-i-m-obsessed-with-physics/) [Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/) > [Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-livingston/human-beings-were-not-meant-to-sit-in-little-cubicles-staring-at/) [Ron Livingston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-livingston/) > [I'm not smart enough to write about something that didn't actually happen to me. But I couldn't write a space movie if you put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-reiser/i-m-not-smart-enough-to-write-about-something-that-didn-t-actually/) [Paul Reiser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-reiser/) > [I've always wanted to do a space movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-boyle/i-ve-always-wanted-to-do-a-space-movie/) [Danny Boyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-boyle/) > [I'm not a futurist, and my taste in science fiction was sort of in the gothic horror vein, not space movies and futuristic stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/i-m-not-a-futurist-and-my-taste-in-science-fiction-was-sort-of-in-the/) [Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/) > [Looks like you've been missing a lot of work lately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-porter/looks-like-you-ve-been-missing-a-lot-of-work-lately/) Bob Porter > [“Every space movie has a nutjob on the space ship, Henry says. And until you kill the nutjob, everybody's in danger.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-gurley/every-space-movie-has-a-nutjob-on-the-space-ship-henry-says-and-until/) [Jason Gurley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-gurley/) > [They may take our lives, but they'll never take our freedom!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-gibson/they-may-take-our-lives-but-they-ll-never-take-our-freedom/) [Mel Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-gibson/) > [In Hilbert space no one can hear you scream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yakir-aharonov/in-hilbert-space-no-one-can-hear-you-scream/) Yakir Aharonov ## More by Mike Nichols > [Stand-up comedy is a very hard thing on the spirit. There are people who transcend it, like Jack Benny and Steve Martin, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/stand-up-comedy-is-a-very-hard-thing-on-the-spirit-there-are-people/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I used to say that winning the Oscar means being back at the Beverly Hills Hotel at 1 A.M. feeling empty. It's the industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-used-to-say-that-winning-the-oscar-means-being-back-at-the-beverly/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I'm an enormous fan of 'The West Wing.' It was one of the very few shows I would watch every week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-m-an-enormous-fan-of-the-west-wing-it-was-one-of-the-very-few-shows/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [The only safe thing in filmmaking is to take a chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/the-only-safe-thing-in-filmmaking-is-to-take-a-chance/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [I don't expect anything from reviews. Sometimes I am bemused by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/i-don-t-expect-anything-from-reviews-sometimes-i-am-bemused-by-them/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [My first memory in the world is my gym teacher ripping my mother's necklace off her neck and throwing it out the window and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/my-first-memory-in-the-world-is-my-gym-teacher-ripping-my-mother-s/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Whether something is a success or not has never had much to do with what you do next.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/whether-something-is-a-success-or-not-has-never-had-much-to-do-with/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Fear of comedy is all so much about who you do it with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/fear-of-comedy-is-all-so-much-about-who-you-do-it-with/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [If you lose a parent, it never goes away. As a kid, I dreamed about my father coming back for 15 or 20 years.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/if-you-lose-a-parent-it-never-goes-away-as-a-kid-i-dreamed-about-my/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Nerves provide me with energy... It's when I don't have them, when I feel at ease, that I get worried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/nerves-provide-me-with-energy-it-s-when-i-don-t-have-them-when-i-feel/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Technically, maybe I learned most of all from George Stevens, and among his movies I learned the most from 'A Place in the Sun.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/technically-maybe-i-learned-most-of-all-from-george-stevens-and-among/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > [Jewish introspection and Jewish humor is a way of surviving . . . if you're not handsome and you're not athletic and you're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/jewish-introspection-and-jewish-humor-is-a-way-of-surviving-if-you-re/) [Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/) > ['Streetcar' is no longer about the moment at all. There is no Blanche DuBois anywhere; south, north, east or west. 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But like all important works of nonfiction, it goes further… This book is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-ly-hayslip/a-great-read-an-exciting-frightening-account-of-organized-crime-today/) [Le Ly Hayslip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-ly-hayslip/) > [I had a very blessed journey with the upbringing I had. When you're working on sets as a stuntman, you have a firsthand account…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ric-roman-waugh/i-had-a-very-blessed-journey-with-the-upbringing-i-had-when-you-re/) [Ric Roman Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ric-roman-waugh/) > [The suppression of uncomfortable ideas may be common in religion or in politics, but it is not the path to knowledge; it has no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-suppression-of-uncomfortable-ideas-may-be-common-in-religion-or/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [You've got to exercise. Your health account, your bank account, they're the same thing. The more you put in, the more you can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/you-ve-got-to-exercise-your-health-account-your-bank-account-they-re/) [Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/) > [No physiologist who calmly considers the question in connection with the general truths of his science, can long resist the conviction that different parts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/no-physiologist-who-calmly-considers-the-question-in-connection-with/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [Stop trying to treat music like it's a tennis shoe, something to be branded. 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