--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fame is a delicate and dangerous…" description: "\"Fame is a delicate and dangerous creature; I saw people who didn't honor it, who refused to take responsibility for it, get destroyed by it. I also saw..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/patrick-dempsey-11577_creatures_fame-is-a-delicate-and-dangerous-creatur_2980871.jpg" --- # Fame is a delicate and dangerous creature; I saw people… ![“Fame is a delicate and dangerous creature; I saw people who didn't honor it, who refused to take responsibility for it, get destroyed by it. I also saw that stardom in and of itself was empty.” quote by Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/patrick-dempsey-11577_creatures_fame-is-a-delicate-and-dangerous-creatur_2980871.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/patrick-dempsey-11577_creatures_fame-is-a-delicate-and-dangerous-creatur_2980871.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/703/patrick-dempsey-11577_creatures_fame-is-a-delicate-and-dangerous-creatur_2980871.jpg) > “Fame is a delicate and dangerous creature; I saw people who didn't honor it, who refused to take responsibility for it, get destroyed by it. I also saw that stardom in and of itself was empty.” [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fame can be fragile and destructive when mishandled, and without purpose it feels empty. **In simple terms:** Fame is fragile and can be harmful without responsibility. Key Takeaway Treat fame with humility and purpose. Themes fame responsibility emptiness Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical advisory When to use this quote - entertainment industry - political campaigns - social media influence Key Concepts celebrity culture identity public scrutiny Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities come with public attention? - How can fame be used constructively? A Different Perspective Fame can also bring positive platforms; not inherently negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creatures](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) [Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dangerous/) [Delicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delicate/) [Delicate Dangerous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/delicate-dangerous-3568724/) [Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destroyed/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Fame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame/) [Fame Delicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fame-delicate-4635923/) [Honor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honor/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Destroyed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-destroyed-4635924/) [Saw Stardom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saw-stardom-4635925/) [Saws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saws/) [Stardom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stardom/) [Taking responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taking-responsibility/) ## Related quotes > [“At seventy-one, when I met her, she was small and delicate and dangerous, like a cupcake full of razors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-penny/at-seventy-one-when-i-met-her-she-was-small-and-delicate-and/) [Laurie Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-penny/) > [Did I ever think about TV stardom? I don't watch a lot of TV. I wasn't even aware of the phenomenon of what was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-fieri/did-i-ever-think-about-tv-stardom-i-don-t-watch-a-lot-of-tv-i-wasn-t/) [Guy Fieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-fieri/) > [When you are talking about human emotions, stardom doesn't matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahadh-faasil/when-you-are-talking-about-human-emotions-stardom-doesn-t-matter/) [Fahadh Faasil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahadh-faasil/) > [I never get too high on my stardom or what I can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lebron-james/i-never-get-too-high-on-my-stardom-or-what-i-can-do/) [LeBron James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lebron-james/) > [Whenever I start feeling too arrogant about myself, I always take a trip to the U.S. The immigration guys kick the star out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shahrukh-khan/whenever-i-start-feeling-too-arrogant-about-myself-i-always-take-a/) [Shahrukh Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shahrukh-khan/) > [Fame and stardom sat very easily on Elizabeth Taylor's shoulders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-annis/fame-and-stardom-sat-very-easily-on-elizabeth-taylor-s-shoulders/) [Francesca Annis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-annis/) > [When you look at sort of pop stardom now, some of these singers, it seems like the idea of them was created in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd-young/when-you-look-at-sort-of-pop-stardom-now-some-of-these-singers-it/) [John Lloyd Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd-young/) > [My goal has always been to make a living and to have the respect of my peers. It's never been about stardom. It's about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celia-weston/my-goal-has-always-been-to-make-a-living-and-to-have-the-respect-of/) [Celia Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celia-weston/) > [I see stardom very clearly as a construct that's been created in order to sell things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-christie/i-see-stardom-very-clearly-as-a-construct-that-s-been-created-in/) [Julie Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-christie/) > [It took several years of hard work in small roles before I attained stardom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bela-lugosi/it-took-several-years-of-hard-work-in-small-roles-before-i-attained/) [Bela Lugosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bela-lugosi/) > [As a young girl, I used to dream of giving an interview. You dream of stardom as a kid. People think they don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sania-mirza/as-a-young-girl-i-used-to-dream-of-giving-an-interview-you-dream-of/) [Sania Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sania-mirza/) > [My friends have always told me that rock stardom was wasted on me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-etheridge/my-friends-have-always-told-me-that-rock-stardom-was-wasted-on-me/) [Melissa Etheridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-etheridge/) > [In rock stardom there's an absolute economic upside to self-destruction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-love/in-rock-stardom-there-s-an-absolute-economic-upside-to-self/) [Courtney Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-love/) > [I don't really look forward to movie stardom or doing a $200-million movie or winning an Academy Award.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-taylor/i-don-t-really-look-forward-to-movie-stardom-or-doing-a-200-million/) [Rachael Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-taylor/) > [It's an incredible rise to stardom. At 17 you're more likely to get a call from Michael Jackson than Sven Goran Eriksson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-strachan/it-s-an-incredible-rise-to-stardom-at-17-you-re-more-likely-to-get-a/) [Gordon Strachan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-strachan/) ## More by Patrick Dempsey > [I'd come in with this bitter attitude. It's not an escape, because I feel this disappointment, this jealousy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-d-come-in-with-this-bitter-attitude-it-s-not-an-escape-because-i/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [Drama is easier to do because you just have to have the emotion and not get caught acting, but comedy is much harder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/drama-is-easier-to-do-because-you-just-have-to-have-the-emotion-and/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [Kids take you outside your comfort level because you ask yourself, 'How do I answer that question for them?' You think back to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/kids-take-you-outside-your-comfort-level-because-you-ask-yourself-how/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [My wife and I try not to get into each other's work too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/my-wife-and-i-try-not-to-get-into-each-other-s-work-too-much/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [I am romantic but I think it takes more than just flowers. Marriage is great and blissful, but it takes work and understanding. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-am-romantic-but-i-think-it-takes-more-than-just-flowers-marriage-is/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [I was 17 when I left the small Maine town where I'd grown up. I wanted to do something I thought was important with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-was-17-when-i-left-the-small-maine-town-where-i-d-grown-up-i-wanted/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [I don't necessarily want to direct because it's too much work and I don't have the attention span to stay with it that long.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-don-t-necessarily-want-to-direct-because-it-s-too-much-work-and-i/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [Sometimes in television, if there are storylines that are oft-told, people can be hypercritical of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/sometimes-in-television-if-there-are-storylines-that-are-oft-told/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [I think fame is one of those things where you have a window of opportunity and you have a certain amount of trust from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-think-fame-is-one-of-those-things-where-you-have-a-window-of/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [The first was about the individual, following your passion and all of that...Why not take it to the next step and go, 'this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/the-first-was-about-the-individual-following-your-passion-and-all-of/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [You'll go insane if you try to have a picture-book house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/you-ll-go-insane-if-you-try-to-have-a-picture-book-house/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [I have a specialized racing bike, which is great because it has a solid build, is comfortable to ride, and is lightweight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-have-a-specialized-racing-bike-which-is-great-because-it-has-a/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [I think TV is much more the writer's medium and film is about the director and their vision and how you can collaborate with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/i-think-tv-is-much-more-the-writer-s-medium-and-film-is-about-the/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [What you want in a romantic comedy, is to have two people that you want to see together and how do they overcome the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/what-you-want-in-a-romantic-comedy-is-to-have-two-people-that-you/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) > [With competition there is always ego and hubris... competition gets in the way of work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-dempsey/with-competition-there-is-always-ego-and-hubris-competition-gets-in/) [Patrick Dempsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) [Explore all 59 Patrick Dempsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-dempsey/) ## More Creatures quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [Almost everywhere we find . . . the use of various coercive measures, to rid ourselves as quickly as possible of the child withinus--i.e.,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-miller/almost-everywhere-we-find-the-use-of-various-coercive-measures-to-rid/) [Alice Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-miller/) > [We need, in a special way, to work twice as hard to help people understand that animals are fellow creatures, that we must protect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-chavez/we-need-in-a-special-way-to-work-twice-as-hard-to-help-people/) [Cesar Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-chavez/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-could-not-have-slept-tonight-if-i-had-left-that-helpless-little/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [No creature can attain a higher grade of nature without ceasing to exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ananda-coomaraswamy/no-creature-can-attain-a-higher-grade-of-nature-without-ceasing-to/) [Ananda Coomaraswamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ananda-coomaraswamy/) > [Most people are sensitized to animals through their cats and dogs, but for me it was a flounder. I used to go fishing with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-mathews/most-people-are-sensitized-to-animals-through-their-cats-and-dogs-but/) [Dan Mathews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-mathews/) > [...it was a huge creature, luminous, ghastly, and spectral. I have cross-examined these men, one of them a hard-headed countryman, one a farrier, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/it-was-a-huge-creature-luminous-ghastly-and-spectral-i-have-cross/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [How do we know that we have a right to kill creatures that we are so little above, as dogs, for our curiosity or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/how-do-we-know-that-we-have-a-right-to-kill-creatures-that-we-are-so/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [My dad's family were political and he was always a theatrical creature, whereas my mum is really musical and her father was the touring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/my-dad-s-family-were-political-and-he-was-always-a-theatrical/) [Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What greater weakness can there be than not to know what is the source of one's being, of one's life, of one's senses, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-de-la-bruyere/what-greater-weakness-can-there-be-than-not-to-know-what-is-the/) [Jean de la Bruyere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-de-la-bruyere/) > [The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-darwin/the-love-for-all-living-creatures-is-the-most-noble-attribute-of-man/) [Charles Darwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-darwin/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) [Browse all 3,703 Creatures quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creatures/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Fame is a delicate and dangerous creature; I saw people who didn't honor it, who refused to take responsibility for it, get destroyed by it. 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