--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the popular actor John Hodgkinson…" description: "\"“When the popular actor John Hodgkinson appeared in the red coat of a British officer, hecklers wouldn’t allow him to continue until he had explained, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/mike-wallace-5222_actor_when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-a_69816.png" --- # When the popular actor John Hodgkinson appeared in the red… ![“When the popular actor John Hodgkinson appeared in the red coat of a British officer, hecklers wouldn’t allow him to continue until he had explained, at length, that he was merely playing the part of an unworthy character. Between” quote by Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/mike-wallace-5222_actor_when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-a_69816.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/mike-wallace-5222_actor_when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-a_69816.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/mike-wallace-5222_actor_when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-a_69816.png) > ““When the popular actor John Hodgkinson appeared in the red coat of a British officer, hecklers wouldn’t allow him to continue until he had explained, at length, that he was merely playing the part of an unworthy character. Between”” [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The anecdote illustrates how audiences demand authenticity and moral justification from performers, even when the role is fictional. **In simple terms:** Audience expects actors to justify questionable characters. Key Takeaway Performance can be judged by perceived morality. Themes authenticity audience expectation moral responsibility performance art identity Mood intrigued critical reflective Type anecdote observation commentary When to use this quote - theatre criticism - film interviews - live comedy - political satire - social media commentary Key Concepts role-play public perception ethical framing Practical Applications - guiding actors on handling controversial roles - educating audiences about fictional vs. real personas Questions to Reflect On - How does knowing an actor is playing a role affect your judgment? - Should performers be obligated to explain morally ambiguous characters? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Hecklers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hecklers/) ## Related quotes > [My choices are made out of love. When I go on stage now, I want to make people happy. I mean, when I get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-mencia/my-choices-are-made-out-of-love-when-i-go-on-stage-now-i-want-to-make/) [Carlos Mencia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-mencia/) > [If Mandela were a comedian, I bet he would never get mad at a heckler, he'd give him or her a hug.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey/if-mandela-were-a-comedian-i-bet-he-would-never-get-mad-at-a-heckler/) [Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey/) > [ “COMEDIAN: \[...\] What is it you do for a living? HECKLER: I mind my own business. COMEDIAN: Self-employed, eh? No really, what do you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-ross-clara/comedian-what-is-it-you-do-for-a-living-heckler-i-mind-my-own/) [J. Ross Clara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-ross-clara/) > [When hecklers stand up, I get a mental jump for joy. It gives me something to get my teeth into - and the audiences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/when-hecklers-stand-up-i-get-a-mental-jump-for-joy-it-gives-me/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [I'm a comic; we get hecklers every night! It's really just part of the job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-fowler/i-m-a-comic-we-get-hecklers-every-night-it-s-really-just-part-of-the/) [Jermaine Fowler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-fowler/) > [I don't get many hecklers now but answering them is an art form in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-daniels/i-don-t-get-many-hecklers-now-but-answering-them-is-an-art-form-in/) [Paul Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-daniels/) > [I think a theater show is a pure version of me doing my material. The theater crowd is a bit more polite, there really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-think-a-theater-show-is-a-pure-version-of-me-doing-my-material-the/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [I think my comedy, the put-downs I do to hecklers, are the accumulated bitterness of years of people feeling that it's perfectly acceptable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/i-think-my-comedy-the-put-downs-i-do-to-hecklers-are-the-accumulated/) [Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/) > [I always find a couple of hecklers... I'll kinda look at them, stare at 'em, and let them know I can't be stopped.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jermaine-o-neal/i-always-find-a-couple-of-hecklers-i-ll-kinda-look-at-them-stare-at/) [Jermaine O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jermaine-o-neal/) > [On stage it's just a wild setting - we have a big screen - hecklers, I'm fighting. It's entertainment, but I want to pierce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/on-stage-it-s-just-a-wild-setting-we-have-a-big-screen-hecklers-i-m/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [Even if you get a joke right you've done it a thousand times and sometimes there's times where it just doesn't work or someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey/even-if-you-get-a-joke-right-you-ve-done-it-a-thousand-times-and/) [Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey/) > [I love hecklers. They remind you that you are a comedian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/i-love-hecklers-they-remind-you-that-you-are-a-comedian/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [I'll get to the force field of this hostility, why it's there, why the rage is in any of us, why the trash takes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-richards/i-ll-get-to-the-force-field-of-this-hostility-why-it-s-there-why-the/) [Michael Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-richards/) > [In the old days, that was my ad-lib for hecklers in the joints I worked. It stuck with me. I hardly say it now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/in-the-old-days-that-was-my-ad-lib-for-hecklers-in-the-joints-i/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [There are two kinds of hecklers: the destructive and constructive hecklers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oliver/there-are-two-kinds-of-hecklers-the-destructive-and-constructive/) [John Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oliver/) ## More by Mike Wallace > [It's astonishing what you learn and feel and see along the way. That's why a reporter's job, as you know, is such a joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/it-s-astonishing-what-you-learn-and-feel-and-see-along-the-way-that-s/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Residents grimly spoke of the crisis as “O Grab Me”—“embargo” spelled backward.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/residents-grimly-spoke-of-the-crisis-as-o-grab-me-embargo-spelled/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“The key to success in the Gold Room was information. Knowledge of a battle’s outcome obtained an hour before one’s competitors could be parlayed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/the-key-to-success-in-the-gold-room-was-information-knowledge-of-a/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [When I came to CBS it was the mother church. I mean that was - everybody wanted to go to work for CBS News.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-i-came-to-cbs-it-was-the-mother-church-i-mean-that-was-everybody/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Even though Jack Kennedy and I were about the same age and lived in the same neighborhood and attended the same elementary school, our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/even-though-jack-kennedy-and-i-were-about-the-same-age-and-lived-in/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Warner took to writing in hopes of making money and submitted a pious and sentimental novel to Harpers, which rebuffed it with the single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/warner-took-to-writing-in-hopes-of-making-money-and-submitted-a-pious/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Horace Greeley cautioned one upstate hopeful: “You do not realize how little the mere talent of writing well has to do with success or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/horace-greeley-cautioned-one-upstate-hopeful-you-do-not-realize-how/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“Political editors were a truculent breed. Leggett’s boss, William Cullen Bryant, took a cowskin whip to William Leete Stone of the Commercial Advertiser in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/political-editors-were-a-truculent-breed-leggett-s-boss-william/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [But I was never, you know, when I see some kids today who are close to their parents, close to their friends... I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/but-i-was-never-you-know-when-i-see-some-kids-today-who-are-close-to/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“And among the prissiest. Gilder’s method of raising public standards of taste and morality required the production of bloodless pages. As custodian of genteel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/and-among-the-prissiest-gilder-s-method-of-raising-public-standards/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Covering Richard Nixon's triumphant run in 1968 turned out to be my last major assignment as a general correspondent for CBS News. In September…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/covering-richard-nixon-s-triumphant-run-in-1968-turned-out-to-be-my/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [There's not a better job in journalism than the one we have, seriously on '60 Minutes' - not a better job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/there-s-not-a-better-job-in-journalism-than-the-one-we-have-seriously/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [Both my parents came from Russia and suddenly they wound up in Boston, Massachusetts, Brookline, Massachusetts and they felt the sun rose and set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/both-my-parents-came-from-russia-and-suddenly-they-wound-up-in-boston/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“In the symphonic world, musically inclined industrialists and financiers were having problems of a different sort with the New York Philharmonic. The old German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/in-the-symphonic-world-musically-inclined-industrialists-and/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) > [“By 1864 Wall Streeters had spies in the Confederate high command and could learn southern battle plans before colonels in the Army of Virginia did.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/by-1864-wall-streeters-had-spies-in-the-confederate-high-command-and/) [Mike Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) [Explore all 102 Mike Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/) ## More Actor quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [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/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [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/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“When the popular actor John Hodgkinson appeared in the red coat of a British officer, hecklers wouldn’t allow him to continue until he had explained, at length, that he was merely playing the part of an unworthy character. Between”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mike Wallace" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-appeared-in-the-red-coat-of-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-appeared-in-the-red-coat-of-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/mike-wallace-5222_actor_when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-a_69816.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/mike-wallace-5222_actor_when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-a_69816.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f8f/mike-wallace-5222_actor_when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-a_69816.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the popular actor John Hodgkinson appeared in the red coat of a British officer, hecklers wouldn’t…” — Mike Wallace", "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": "Mike Wallace", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-wallace/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“When the popular actor John Hodgkinson...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-appeared-in-the-red-coat-of-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-wallace/when-the-popular-actor-john-hodgkinson-appeared-in-the-red-coat-of-a/#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 } } ] } ```