--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I had become a film director because I…" description: "\"I had become a film director because I thought I could express something in an artful way.\" — Paul Verhoeven" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/paul-verhoeven-46791_because_i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-t_1503318.jpg" --- # I had become a film director because I thought I could… ![“I had become a film director because I thought I could express something in an artful way.” quote by Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/paul-verhoeven-46791_because_i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-t_1503318.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/paul-verhoeven-46791_because_i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-t_1503318.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/paul-verhoeven-46791_because_i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-t_1503318.jpg) > “I had become a film director because I thought I could express something in an artful way.” [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Explains his motivation to direct films as a means to express artistic vision. **In simple terms:** He directed to express artfully. Key Takeaway Pursue artistic expression through film. Themes artistic expression film direction creativity Mood reflective passionate Type cinematic creative When to use this quote - film school - indie projects - art installations - media criticism Key Concepts cinema visual storytelling personal vision Questions to Reflect On - What stories do you need to tell? - How do you balance art and audience? A Different Perspective Artistic goals may clash with commercial demands. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Artful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artful/) [Artful Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artful-way-2030546/) [Because](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/because/) [Become](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/become/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Could](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/could/) [Director](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/director/) [Director Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/director-thought-1011762/) [Express](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/express/) [Express Artful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/express-artful-5516380/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Film Director](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film-director-288396/) [Had](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/had/) [Something](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I've always been on a quest to use science in an artful way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/i-ve-always-been-on-a-quest-to-use-science-in-an-artful-way/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [I think Ralph Fiennes has had a really wonderful career; there's something sort of classic about him. He does a bunch of different projects,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-harding/i-think-ralph-fiennes-has-had-a-really-wonderful-career-there-s/) [Ian Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-harding/) > [There doesn't seem like there should be an artful way to butcher a cow, but there is, and this is not it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/there-doesn-t-seem-like-there-should-be-an-artful-way-to-butcher-a/) [Maggie Stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [Ultimately, a director is a storyteller. I wanted to fortify that part of my life as a director, so I thought the best way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-savage/ultimately-a-director-is-a-storyteller-i-wanted-to-fortify-that-part/) [Fred Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-savage/) > [I didn't know you had to do so much to be a director. I thought, 'I can do it. I can write a treatment.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shavo-odadjian/i-didn-t-know-you-had-to-do-so-much-to-be-a-director-i-thought-i-can/) [Shavo Odadjian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shavo-odadjian/) > [When you look at a movie, you look at a director's thought process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/when-you-look-at-a-movie-you-look-at-a-director-s-thought-process/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [I remember in the Carpenter version, you got acquainted with the characters and really knew them. It was a real character piece. Each actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-remember-in-the-carpenter-version-you-got-acquainted-with-the/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [I didn't act in college, per se, because I didn't want an acting degree. I don't know what you do with that degree. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehcad-brooks/i-didn-t-act-in-college-per-se-because-i-didn-t-want-an-acting-degree/) [Mehcad Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehcad-brooks/) > [I learned so much about being an actor by being a director. More than I ever thought I would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-lowell/i-learned-so-much-about-being-an-actor-by-being-a-director-more-than/) [Chris Lowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-lowell/) > [My first time nude was with a woman director, so I thought it would be easy, but it wasn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarita-choudhury/my-first-time-nude-was-with-a-woman-director-so-i-thought-it-would-be/) [Sarita Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarita-choudhury/) > [When I read it and I realized that Michael Landon, Jr. was the director of it, I thought...this could work out well. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-waters/when-i-read-it-and-i-realized-that-michael-landon-jr-was-the-director/) [Drew Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-waters/) > [Artful without being pretentious, well-made without being staid, Trey Moody's investigations of our weird and ordinary world are a little off, by which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-foust/artful-without-being-pretentious-well-made-without-being-staid-trey/) [Graham Foust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-foust/) > [At LAIKA, we try to find an artful balance of darkness and light, intensity and warmth, and humor and heart. The idea of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-knight/at-laika-we-try-to-find-an-artful-balance-of-darkness-and-light/) [Travis Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-knight/) > [To be really artful, though, you have to be subjective and so singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/to-be-really-artful-though-you-have-to-be-subjective-and-so-singular/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [“Knowing what to ignore is an artful skill that will give you back your power to direct your attention in ways that are helpful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olawale-daniel/knowing-what-to-ignore-is-an-artful-skill-that-will-give-you-back/) [Olawale Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olawale-daniel/) ## More by Paul Verhoeven > [Jesus may have had an immense sense of importance or destiny, but he never claimed to be the Son of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/jesus-may-have-had-an-immense-sense-of-importance-or-destiny-but-he/) [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) > [I had decided after 'Hollow Man' to stay away from science fiction. I felt I had done so much science fiction. Four of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/i-had-decided-after-hollow-man-to-stay-away-from-science-fiction-i/) [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) > [My first film was a comedy, but after that I went always into more heavier stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/my-first-film-was-a-comedy-but-after-that-i-went-always-into-more/) [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) > [Science fiction is about worlds you don't know and worlds you can create, like in 'Avatar'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/science-fiction-is-about-worlds-you-don-t-know-and-worlds-you-can/) [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) > [Jesus was a human being, bound by history and the natural world; an extraordinary man, to be sure, but still a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/jesus-was-a-human-being-bound-by-history-and-the-natural-world-an/) [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) > [“Everything you have heard about the shower scene is true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/everything-you-have-heard-about-the-shower-scene-is-true/) [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) > [“People love seeing violence and horrible things. The human being is bad and can't stand more than five minutes of happiness. Put him in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/people-love-seeing-violence-and-horrible-things-the-human-being-is/) [Paul Verhoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) [Explore all 8 Paul Verhoeven quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/) ## More Artful quotes > [“Knowing what to ignore is an artful skill that will give you back your power to direct your attention in ways that are helpful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olawale-daniel/knowing-what-to-ignore-is-an-artful-skill-that-will-give-you-back/) [Olawale Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olawale-daniel/) > [To be really artful, though, you have to be subjective and so singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/to-be-really-artful-though-you-have-to-be-subjective-and-so-singular/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I think Ralph Fiennes has had a really wonderful career; there's something sort of classic about him. He does a bunch of different projects,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-harding/i-think-ralph-fiennes-has-had-a-really-wonderful-career-there-s/) [Ian Harding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-harding/) > [I've always been on a quest to use science in an artful way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/i-ve-always-been-on-a-quest-to-use-science-in-an-artful-way/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [At LAIKA, we try to find an artful balance of darkness and light, intensity and warmth, and humor and heart. The idea of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-knight/at-laika-we-try-to-find-an-artful-balance-of-darkness-and-light/) [Travis Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-knight/) > [Artful without being pretentious, well-made without being staid, Trey Moody's investigations of our weird and ordinary world are a little off, by which I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graham-foust/artful-without-being-pretentious-well-made-without-being-staid-trey/) [Graham Foust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graham-foust/) > [Your life is already artful-waiting, just waiting, for you to make it art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/your-life-is-already-artful-waiting-just-waiting-for-you-to-make-it/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Whatever you do in life, you can always do it in an artistic way!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/whatever-you-do-in-life-you-can-always-do-it-in-an-artistic-way/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I think it's good to live an artful life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-driver/i-think-it-s-good-to-live-an-artful-life/) [Adam Driver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-driver/) > [From my point of view, which is that of a storyteller, I see your life as something artful, waiting, just waiting and ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/from-my-point-of-view-which-is-that-of-a-storyteller-i-see-your-life/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“But the world is all alike. Those that seem better than their neighbours, are only more artful.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-godwin/but-the-world-is-all-alike-those-that-seem-better-than-their/) [William Godwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-godwin/) > [You see it in the stuff I've done at Laika: I've always tried to make movies that have an artful blend of darkness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/travis-knight/you-see-it-in-the-stuff-i-ve-done-at-laika-i-ve-always-tried-to-make/) [Travis Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/travis-knight/) > [“The overall best is created when what is created is created just for the sheer fun of creating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-overall-best-is-created-when-what-is-created-is-created-just-for/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [“It is always easy to create an ordinary city; what is difficult is to create an extraordinary one, peaceful and restful one, smart and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/it-is-always-easy-to-create-an-ordinary-city-what-is-difficult-is-to/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Facts can be turned into art if one is artful enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/facts-can-be-turned-into-art-if-one-is-artful-enough/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) [Browse all 18 Artful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I had become a film director because I thought I could express something in an artful way.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Verhoeven" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-thought-i-could-express/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Artful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-thought-i-could-express/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/paul-verhoeven-46791_because_i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-t_1503318.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/paul-verhoeven-46791_because_i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-t_1503318.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f5/paul-verhoeven-46791_because_i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-t_1503318.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I had become a film director because I thought I could express something in an artful way.” — Paul Verhoeven", "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": "Paul Verhoeven", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-verhoeven/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I had become a film director...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-thought-i-could-express/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-verhoeven/i-had-become-a-film-director-because-i-thought-i-could-express/#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 } } ] } ```