--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are expectations in how you play…" description: "\"There are expectations in how you play your character as a black woman, to be sassy and the same kind of feel, as if there are no quirky black women. I..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/nicole-beharie-39331_add_there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-y_3014910.jpg" --- # There are expectations in how you play your character as a… ![“There are expectations in how you play your character as a black woman, to be sassy and the same kind of feel, as if there are no quirky black women. I struggle with those things constantly, trying to add dimension to my work, and that's the goal, too.” quote by Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/nicole-beharie-39331_add_there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-y_3014910.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/nicole-beharie-39331_add_there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-y_3014910.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/nicole-beharie-39331_add_there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-y_3014910.jpg) > “There are expectations in how you play your character as a black woman, to be sassy and the same kind of feel, as if there are no quirky black women. I struggle with those things constantly, trying to add dimension to my work, and that's the goal, too.” [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Black women face narrow stereotypes; expanding portrayals requires intentional effort to show diverse personalities. **In simple terms:** Break stereotypes by adding depth. Key Takeaway Create multifaceted characters. Themes representation stereotypes diversity identity media Mood critical empowering Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - scriptwriting - casting decisions - media criticism - educational workshops - personal storytelling Key Concepts cultural studies character development social justice Questions to Reflect On - How can creators resist typecasting? - What stories are missing from mainstream media? A Different Perspective Industry pressures may limit risk‑taking. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-women/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Dimensions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dimensions/) [Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expectations/) [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Sassy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sassy/) [Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/struggle/) ## Related quotes > [When I started, it was all meter maids or the sassy nurse, or the sassy receptionist in the hospital. And I felt like: Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/retta/when-i-started-it-was-all-meter-maids-or-the-sassy-nurse-or-the-sassy/) [Retta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/retta/) > [The black characters on TV are the sidekicks, or they're insignificant. You could put all the black sidekicks on one show, and it would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/issa-rae/the-black-characters-on-tv-are-the-sidekicks-or-they-re-insignificant/) [Issa Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/issa-rae/) > [I’m a black woman who is from Central Falls, Rhode Island. I’m dark skinned. I’m quirky. I’m shy. I’m strong. I’m guarded. I’m weak…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viola-davis/i-m-a-black-woman-who-is-from-central-falls-rhode-island-i-m-dark/) [Viola Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viola-davis/) > [I think thy horse will sooner con an oration than thou learn a prayer without book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-think-thy-horse-will-sooner-con-an-oration-than-thou-learn-a-prayer/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [My cousin's a fool, and thou art another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-cousin-s-a-fool-and-thou-art-another/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The best thing about Sassy Seats is that grandmothers cannot figure out how they work and are in constant fear of the child's falling.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/the-best-thing-about-sassy-seats-is-that-grandmothers-cannot-figure/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [My cats are really sassy and sophisticated, but most importantly, they are picky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-wu/my-cats-are-really-sassy-and-sophisticated-but-most-importantly-they/) [Jason Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-wu/) > [Performers like Tommy Cooper, who are always getting things wrong, are much more endearing than comedians who are sassy and smart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/performers-like-tommy-cooper-who-are-always-getting-things-wrong-are/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's ok to be sassy, but I'll never be trashy, it's ok to be nasty, but you got to keep it classy now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-stone/it-s-ok-to-be-sassy-but-i-ll-never-be-trashy-it-s-ok-to-be-nasty-but/) [Joss Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-stone/) > [More of your conversation would infect my brain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/more-of-your-conversation-would-infect-my-brain/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [They are hare-brain'd slaves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/they-are-hare-brain-d-slaves/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Playing normal is hard; especially playing normal that's not you. The biggest challenge in playing Alicia is trying to make a teenage girl seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alycia-debnam-carey-2/playing-normal-is-hard-especially-playing-normal-that-s-not-you-the/) [Alycia Debnam Carey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alycia-debnam-carey-2/) > [Thy food is such As hath been belch'd on by infected lungs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/thy-food-is-such-as-hath-been-belch-d-on-by-infected-lungs/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [When you're the only girl in a family of men, you have to be pretty sassy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-ford/when-you-re-the-only-girl-in-a-family-of-men-you-have-to-be-pretty/) [Susan Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-ford/) > [I don't know, I like the word sassy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kat-dennings/i-don-t-know-i-like-the-word-sassy/) [Kat Dennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kat-dennings/) ## More by Nicole Beharie > [I was kind of a bully, even though I'm tiny, 5' 2". As a child, I'd boss other kids around and dress my little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/i-was-kind-of-a-bully-even-though-i-m-tiny-5-2-as-a-child-i-d-boss/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [Stone Mountain, Georgia, still had Ku Klux Klan marches, and I had a wild and courageous mother who'd put us in the car to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/stone-mountain-georgia-still-had-ku-klux-klan-marches-and-i-had-a/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [I kind of feel like I have grown as just like a human being as a human being by being able to adapt and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/i-kind-of-feel-like-i-have-grown-as-just-like-a-human-being-as-a/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [When I was younger, my father was in the Foreign Service and we lived in Nigeria, Panama, and London, but for the most part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/when-i-was-younger-my-father-was-in-the-foreign-service-and-we-lived/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [I was the jokester, the one who made the family laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/i-was-the-jokester-the-one-who-made-the-family-laugh/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [I think it's a great time to be a person of color and with talent. And actually, to be a woman as well. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/i-think-it-s-a-great-time-to-be-a-person-of-color-and-with-talent-and/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [I've been fortunate to work with Alfre Woodard and Jeffrey Wright; people who are artists, have careers, longevity and full lives. That looks good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/i-ve-been-fortunate-to-work-with-alfre-woodard-and-jeffrey-wright/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [My mom has an English accent, so we always referred to the trunk as the 'boot.' And then, suddenly, we moved to Georgia and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/my-mom-has-an-english-accent-so-we-always-referred-to-the-trunk-as/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [Everything about us black people is complicated, us being here, being a minority, being a woman, all those things are complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/everything-about-us-black-people-is-complicated-us-being-here-being-a/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) > [I went to Juilliard in New York and used to do cabarets just for fun. Occasionally, I would get together with a jazz musician…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/i-went-to-juilliard-in-new-york-and-used-to-do-cabarets-just-for-fun/) [Nicole Beharie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) [Explore all 11 Nicole Beharie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/) ## More Add quotes > [Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/most-marriages-don-t-add-two-people-together-they-subtract-one-from/) [Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/) > [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/) [James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/) [Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/) > [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/) [Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/) > [I may add that we have more than once stated our willingness to conclude nonaggression pacts with the states neighboring our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-may-add-that-we-have-more-than-once-stated-our-willingness-to/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/) [Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/) > [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/) [John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/) > [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/) [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/) > [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [Global is a unifying bond for people. Once they get outside their own heads and their own communities and see themselves in a broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-calvin/global-is-a-unifying-bond-for-people-once-they-get-outside-their-own/) [Kathy Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-calvin/) Browse all 2,710 Add quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are expectations in how you play your character as a black woman, to be sassy and the same kind of feel, as if there are no quirky black women. I struggle with those things constantly, trying to add dimension to my work, and that's the goal, too.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nicole Beharie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-your-character-as-a-black/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Add" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-your-character-as-a-black/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/nicole-beharie-39331_add_there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-y_3014910.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/nicole-beharie-39331_add_there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-y_3014910.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/251/nicole-beharie-39331_add_there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-y_3014910.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are expectations in how you play your character as a black woman, to be sassy and the same kind of…” — Nicole Beharie", "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": "Nicole Beharie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-beharie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There are expectations in how you...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-your-character-as-a-black/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-beharie/there-are-expectations-in-how-you-play-your-character-as-a-black/#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 } } ] } ```