--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The first two pictures I did, I played a…" description: "\"The first two pictures I did, I played a young student in prep school. When I did Lifeguard, everyone was saying, You're so Southern California. It was..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/parker-stevenson-18618_california_the-first-two-pictures-i-did-i-played-a_65348.jpg" --- # The first two pictures I did, I played a young student in… ![“The first two pictures I did, I played a young student in prep school. When I did Lifeguard, everyone was saying, You're so Southern California. It was a surprise to me” quote by Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/parker-stevenson-18618_california_the-first-two-pictures-i-did-i-played-a_65348.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/parker-stevenson-18618_california_the-first-two-pictures-i-did-i-played-a_65348.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f89/parker-stevenson-18618_california_the-first-two-pictures-i-did-i-played-a_65348.jpg) > “The first two pictures I did, I played a young student in prep school. When I did Lifeguard, everyone was saying, You're so Southern California. It was a surprise to me” [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker recounts early acting roles that typecast him as a Southern Californian, expressing surprise at how external perception can shape an actor’s identity. **In simple terms:** Unexpected typecasting based on location. Key Takeaway Perception can override personal intent. Themes acting typecasting regional identity self‑image Mood surprised reflective Type industry anecdote personal narrative When to use this quote - auditioning for a role that doesn't match your background - receiving feedback that emphasizes a stereotype Key Concepts social labeling media representation Practical Applications - diversify portfolio to break typecast - use feedback to refine personal brand Questions to Reflect On - How does regional bias affect career opportunities? - Can an actor reshape audience expectations? A Different Perspective Typecasting can limit artistic growth and reinforce stereotypes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [California](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) [Lifeguard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifeguard/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Southern california](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/southern-california/) [Students](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/students/) [Surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/surprise/) ## Related quotes > [One of these days, I'm going to publish a book of all the pictures I did not take.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-burri/one-of-these-days-i-m-going-to-publish-a-book-of-all-the-pictures-i/) [Rene Burri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-burri/) > [The memories and pictures did not seem true but actualy fake were you !!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tippumahesh/the-memories-and-pictures-did-not-seem-true-but-actualy-fake-were-you/) TippuMahesh > [ \[When asked, as a prospective Presidential candidate, whether she had ever committed adultery:\] No. But then most congresswomen don't have 25-year-old lifeguards throwing themselves… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-schroeder/when-asked-as-a-prospective-presidential-candidate-whether-she-had/) [Patricia Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-schroeder/) > [I was a lifeguard, camp counselor, the president of the YMCA Leaders Corps. I also took piano lessons. I was a dancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chirlane-mccray/i-was-a-lifeguard-camp-counselor-the-president-of-the-ymca-leaders/) [Chirlane McCray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chirlane-mccray/) > [“I understand how easy it would be to lose yourself in the heart of another. It‘s frightening. Exhilarating. An ocean with no lifeguard.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ockler/i-understand-how-easy-it-would-be-to-lose-yourself-in-the-heart-of/) [Sarah Ockler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ockler/) > [“It always feels as though you’re trying to be my lifeguard. I don’t need a lifeguard, Ridge. I need someone who is willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/it-always-feels-as-though-you-re-trying-to-be-my-lifeguard-i-don-t/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [The challenges should be familiar. They should have some relationship to the feelings - like, if a movie's about being demoralized at work, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-conrad/the-challenges-should-be-familiar-they-should-have-some-relationship/) [Steven Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-conrad/) > [From fifth grade on, I worked at our public library. The pay, a pittance, was almost superfluous. All through high school, I looked forward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/from-fifth-grade-on-i-worked-at-our-public-library-the-pay-a-pittance/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [My lifeguard walks on water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/my-lifeguard-walks-on-water/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I was a lifeguard. It was my summer job growing up, and I never saved anyone. I never had to, thank goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amber-heard/i-was-a-lifeguard-it-was-my-summer-job-growing-up-and-i-never-saved/) [Amber Heard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amber-heard/) > [“But that doesn't stop me from moving about him like a junior high girl lingering by the lifeguard station”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-acito/but-that-doesn-t-stop-me-from-moving-about-him-like-a-junior-high/) [Marc Acito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-acito/) > [I was a lifeguard for three years, when I was around 16-years-old. So for my first job, that was awesome, working on the beach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryse-mizanin/i-was-a-lifeguard-for-three-years-when-i-was-around-16-years-old-so/) [Maryse Mizanin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryse-mizanin/) > [Blair Waldorf: A hot lifeguard is like kleenex! Use once and throw away. You could ask for a better rebound!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gossip-girl/blair-waldorf-a-hot-lifeguard-is-like-kleenex-use-once-and-throw-away/) [Gossip Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gossip-girl/) > [“I am like a lifeguard with the terrible, secret knowledge that he does not himself know how to swim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shira-nayman/i-am-like-a-lifeguard-with-the-terrible-secret-knowledge-that-he-does/) Shira Nayman > [I've framed houses, worked on an asphalt crew, I was a cop, a lifeguard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-griffin/i-ve-framed-houses-worked-on-an-asphalt-crew-i-was-a-cop-a-lifeguard/) [Forrest Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-griffin/) ## More by Parker Stevenson > [I used to a lot. I used to go dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/i-used-to-a-lot-i-used-to-go-dancing/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [You do show after show after show and get them done and on the air. Television devours material. We work a minimum of 12,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/you-do-show-after-show-after-show-and-get-them-done-and-on-the-air/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [My interest in architecture has always been sculptural. Most of my photography is of architecture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/my-interest-in-architecture-has-always-been-sculptural-most-of-my/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [Intellectuals would be much more accepted now than in the '40s](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/intellectuals-would-be-much-more-accepted-now-than-in-the-40s/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [I think the reaction to a World War II situation would be the same today as it was in 1942. Initially, people would question,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/i-think-the-reaction-to-a-world-war-ii-situation-would-be-the-same/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [California lacks a lot of the rules and restrictions the East has. Every house is a different style, different material, different color. There's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/california-lacks-a-lot-of-the-rules-and-restrictions-the-east-has/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [I wanted my children to have the same exposure to the water I had. My strongest memories of Northeast Harbor are going in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/i-wanted-my-children-to-have-the-same-exposure-to-the-water-i-had-my/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [What I hear all the time is to stop and listen. When you do a scene 30 times, and know the lines, you stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/what-i-hear-all-the-time-is-to-stop-and-listen-when-you-do-a-scene-30/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [You get in before sunrise and you get out after sunset and you go home, eat and collapse. While you're aware of the ratings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/you-get-in-before-sunrise-and-you-get-out-after-sunset-and-you-go/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [I still think of myself really as a New Yorker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/i-still-think-of-myself-really-as-a-new-yorker/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [I almost rented a house by an architect named Schindler, but I couldn't afford it. It was a jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/i-almost-rented-a-house-by-an-architect-named-schindler-but-i-couldn/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [Good work is good work wherever it's done, in a play, a motion picture or television, and that includes commercials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/good-work-is-good-work-wherever-it-s-done-in-a-play-a-motion-picture/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [I never thought of myself as being that good looking, I was an actor, people saw me on television, and then they start to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/i-never-thought-of-myself-as-being-that-good-looking-i-was-an-actor/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [I'm more interested in where I'll be in five or 10 years than where I am now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/i-m-more-interested-in-where-i-ll-be-in-five-or-10-years-than-where-i/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) > [Young people are forced to mature sooner now than in the '40s. I was doing things at age 14 that guys in the movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/parker-stevenson/young-people-are-forced-to-mature-sooner-now-than-in-the-40s-i-was/) [Parker Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) [Explore all 34 Parker Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/parker-stevenson/) ## More California quotes > [Everyone in California is from somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wright-morris/everyone-in-california-is-from-somewhere-else/) [Wright Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wright-morris/) > [Even with clothing naked animals, there were people who wanted to send in money. A woman in Santa Barbara, California, sent a $40,000 check.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-abel/even-with-clothing-naked-animals-there-were-people-who-wanted-to-send/) [Alan Abel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-abel/) > [We need to incorporate that age-old concept of redemption into the work that we do in the criminal justice system in California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamala-harris/we-need-to-incorporate-that-age-old-concept-of-redemption-into-the/) [Kamala Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamala-harris/) > [The Urban Literate Southern California Sub-Group of the Early Atomic Period has not yet produced a distinct body of folk music of its own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hinton/the-urban-literate-southern-california-sub-group-of-the-early-atomic/) Sam Hinton > [California is a place in which a boom mentality and a sense of Chekhovian loss meet in uneasy suspension.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/california-is-a-place-in-which-a-boom-mentality-and-a-sense-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Many militarists would like to see California's votes vanish from the national electoral system, which would then become more Republican.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swanson/many-militarists-would-like-to-see-california-s-votes-vanish-from-the/) [David Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-swanson/) > [When I started in California, people would say, 'Enterprise who?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-nicholson/when-i-started-in-california-people-would-say-enterprise-who/) [Pamela Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-nicholson/) > [Take one round-trip flight between New York and California, and you've generated about 20 percent of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tatiana-schlossberg/take-one-round-trip-flight-between-new-york-and-california-and-you-ve/) [Tatiana Schlossberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tatiana-schlossberg/) > [These French-style caramels are handmade in California. It's always hard to give them away!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/these-french-style-caramels-are-handmade-in-california-it-s-always/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [The D.C. playbook is obsolete. It's time for the people of California to bring the agenda to Washington, not the other way around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-de-leon/the-d-c-playbook-is-obsolete-it-s-time-for-the-people-of-california/) [Kevin de Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-de-leon/) > [While there is an attempt by the Trump people to say that California isn't really America. California certainly seems like America to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-frum/while-there-is-an-attempt-by-the-trump-people-to-say-that-california/) [David Frum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-frum/) > [I'm from California, but my father, who passed away when I was young, was from Newark. When I was kid, we would go back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carson-daly/i-m-from-california-but-my-father-who-passed-away-when-i-was-young/) [Carson Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carson-daly/) > [“God will break California from the surface of the continent like someone breaking off a piece of chocolate. It will become its own floating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-ruby/god-will-break-california-from-the-surface-of-the-continent-like/) [Laura Ruby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-ruby/) > [You could have a hit in California that no one had heard of in Oklahoma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-jackson/you-could-have-a-hit-in-california-that-no-one-had-heard-of-in/) [Wanda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-jackson/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) [Browse all 2,036 California quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/california/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The first two pictures I did, I played a young student in prep school. When I did Lifeguard, everyone was saying, You're so Southern California. 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