---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No one wants to be pretentious about what…"
description: "\"No one wants to be pretentious about what they do or take it seriously, because that is just weird.\" — Philip Seymour Hoffman"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/philip-seymour-hoffman-2704_pretentious_no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-wha_1813471.jpg"
---

#  No one wants to be pretentious about what they do or take…

![“No one wants to be pretentious about what they do or take it seriously, because that is just weird.” quote by Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/philip-seymour-hoffman-2704_pretentious_no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-wha_1813471.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/philip-seymour-hoffman-2704_pretentious_no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-wha_1813471.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/philip-seymour-hoffman-2704_pretentious_no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-wha_1813471.jpg)

> “No one wants to be pretentious about what they do or take it seriously, because that is just weird.”

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Pretentiousness alienates; authenticity is valued over seriousness.

**In simple terms:** Avoid pretension.

Key Takeaway

Stay authentic.

Themes

authenticity humility self‑awareness

Mood

sincere thoughtful

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- social interactions
- creative work
- public speaking

Key Concepts

philosophy psychology

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance authenticity and ambition?
- When does seriousness become pretentious?

A Different Perspective

Some may misinterpret authenticity as lack of ambition.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Pretentious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious/)

## Related quotes

> [I'm just being weird old me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna/i-m-just-being-weird-old-me/)

[Anna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna/)

> [I'm not on drugs, I'm just weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-gaskarth/i-m-not-on-drugs-i-m-just-weird/)

[Alex Gaskarth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-gaskarth/)

> [“It's Just So Weird That Your Heart Can Do More Than To Keep Your Body Alive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ionut-cazacu/it-s-just-so-weird-that-your-heart-can-do-more-than-to-keep-your-body/)

Ionut Cazacu

> [“I know this must all be a dream because it's just too weird. Strike that, it's a nightmare.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-grace/i-know-this-must-all-be-a-dream-because-it-s-just-too-weird-strike/)

[Amanda Grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-grace/)

> [Im not crazy, Im just weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-not-crazy-im-just-weird/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Sometimes the world is just weird and you have to just roll with the punches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlo-parks/sometimes-the-world-is-just-weird-and-you-have-to-just-roll-with-the/)

[Arlo Parks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlo-parks/)

> [I think good art, if I could be pretentious enough to say, I think good art deals with the micro to explain the macro.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-think-good-art-if-i-could-be-pretentious-enough-to-say-i-think-good/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [It just seemed too weird to me. I don't know, maybe they were smoking a joint in the car downstairs from their parents' apartment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/it-just-seemed-too-weird-to-me-i-don-t-know-maybe-they-were-smoking-a/)

[Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/)

> [You know how when someone asks why your so weird you dont know what to say. Say ''Now youve got a problem cuz your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baylie-benton/you-know-how-when-someone-asks-why-your-so-weird-you-dont-know-what/)

Baylie Benton

> [Incense. Books. Just weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/incense-books-just-weird/)

[Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/)

> [“Mom. He didn't do drugs. I've told you that before. He was just weird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huntley-fitzpatrick/mom-he-didn-t-do-drugs-i-ve-told-you-that-before-he-was-just-weird/)

[Huntley Fitzpatrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huntley-fitzpatrick/)

> [The thing is, I make music I like. So it's just weird if someone says they don't like it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-the-creator-2/the-thing-is-i-make-music-i-like-so-it-s-just-weird-if-someone-says/)

[Tyler, The Creator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-the-creator-2/)

> [I have learned so far that if you happen to find someone just as weird as you...well there is nothing to worry about. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/becca-b/i-have-learned-so-far-that-if-you-happen-to-find-someone-just-as/)

[Becca B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/becca-b/)

> [I don't know why I don't watch the Oscars. It's not bitterness or anything; it just seems weird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donal-logue/i-don-t-know-why-i-don-t-watch-the-oscars-it-s-not-bitterness-or/)

[Donal Logue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donal-logue/)

> [Coming from my bedroom in San Antonio to this big world and going from singing covers off my laptop to making music in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-mahone/coming-from-my-bedroom-in-san-antonio-to-this-big-world-and-going/)

[Austin Mahone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-mahone/)

## More by Philip Seymour Hoffman

> [To act well isn't an easy thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/to-act-well-isn-t-an-easy-thing/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I would never not work on the part without it playing. That's what being an actor is. You use everything that's influenced you to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-would-never-not-work-on-the-part-without-it-playing-that-s-what/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I have a fine level of recognition in the business and among the acting community now, so I consider myself one of the lucky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-have-a-fine-level-of-recognition-in-the-business-and-among-the/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I don't want to repeat myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-don-t-want-to-repeat-myself/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [Life's pretty funny when you're objectively on the outside looking at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/life-s-pretty-funny-when-you-re-objectively-on-the-outside-looking-at/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I don't get nervous when I'm directing a play. It's not like acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-don-t-get-nervous-when-i-m-directing-a-play-it-s-not-like-acting/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I was a breed of people who aren't capable of doing anything, really. At college I began to get the idea that being macho…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-was-a-breed-of-people-who-aren-t-capable-of-doing-anything-really/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I would definitely say pleasure is not happiness. Because I think I kill pleasure. Like I take too much of it in, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-would-definitely-say-pleasure-is-not-happiness-because-i-think-i/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [Creating anything is hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/creating-anything-is-hard/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [For me, acting is torturous, and it's torturous because you know it's a beautiful thing. I was young once, and I said, that's beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/for-me-acting-is-torturous-and-it-s-torturous-because-you-know-it-s-a/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [When you're playing someone who really lived, you carry a burden, a burden to be accurate. But it's one that you have to let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/when-you-re-playing-someone-who-really-lived-you-carry-a-burden-a/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [In a film there a lot of people scheduling, you know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/in-a-film-there-a-lot-of-people-scheduling-you-know/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I like so many different kinds of music just because all I did was listen to the radio as a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-like-so-many-different-kinds-of-music-just-because-all-i-did-was/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [I've seen a lot of friends who have a lot of great projects, whether it's a script or a play or whatever, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-friends-who-have-a-lot-of-great-projects-whether/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

> [You have all the influence you choose to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/you-have-all-the-influence-you-choose-to-have/)

[Philip Seymour Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

[Explore all 153 Philip Seymour Hoffman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/)

## More Pretentious quotes

> [“A novel is no different than graffiti in a bathroom stall, it's just more pretentious.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christy-leigh-stewart/a-novel-is-no-different-than-graffiti-in-a-bathroom-stall-it-s-just/)

[Christy Leigh Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christy-leigh-stewart/)

> [Sometimes I might go too far with the pretentious references, which I might not do again. But when you're writing, you're sitting alone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-michael-mcdonagh/sometimes-i-might-go-too-far-with-the-pretentious-references-which-i/)

[John Michael McDonagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-michael-mcdonagh/)

> [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/)

[Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/)

> [“What if this is a horrible mistake?" I croaked. "Oh, it'll be horrible fine, just a bunch of pretentious rich people with shelves of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/what-if-this-is-a-horrible-mistake-i-croaked-oh-it-ll-be-horrible/)

[Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/)

> [Slade was never pretentious. It was just music to them. Pop, rock, soul…it was all the same to Slade. They wrote great songs. And,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-gallagher/slade-was-never-pretentious-it-was-just-music-to-them-pop-rock-soul/)

[Noel Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-gallagher/)

> [I made a choice that I was not going to be a pretentious writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-made-a-choice-that-i-was-not-going-to-be-a-pretentious-writer/)

[Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/)

> [“Lord Malquist and Mr Moon was the literary equivalent of the Wonderbra for intellectually pretentious students of the seventies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-grant/lord-malquist-and-mr-moon-was-the-literary-equivalent-of-the/)

[Linda Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-grant/)

> [If we wanted to make it the way I imagined I knew that we would have to wake up earlier and start very early.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-besson/if-we-wanted-to-make-it-the-way-i-imagined-i-knew-that-we-would-have/)

[Luc Besson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-besson/)

> [“Heresy is usually quite sophisticated, actually has a meaning, and is to be taken very seriously. It is therefore to be carefully distinguished from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/heresy-is-usually-quite-sophisticated-actually-has-a-meaning-and-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think to have a regular job and be a mom is not as, of course there are challenges, but it's not like being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyneth-paltrow/i-think-to-have-a-regular-job-and-be-a-mom-is-not-as-of-course-there/)

[Gwyneth Paltrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwyneth-paltrow/)

> [I do consider myself to be something of a pretentious wanker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-wire/i-do-consider-myself-to-be-something-of-a-pretentious-wanker/)

[Nicky Wire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-wire/)

> [I was really pretentious in a sense and was like, 'I'm going to drama school to learn the craft.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustaf-skarsgard/i-was-really-pretentious-in-a-sense-and-was-like-i-m-going-to-drama/)

[Gustaf Skarsgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustaf-skarsgard/)

> [Strip is the power. I'm ready to strip... I think everyone is. In that I'm saying I think everyone is ready to take off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-hurts/strip-is-the-power-i-m-ready-to-strip-i-think-everyone-is-in-that-i-m/)

[Truth Hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-hurts/)

> [Of all the everyday plants of the earth, grass is the least pretentious and the most important to mankind. It clothes the earth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-borland/of-all-the-everyday-plants-of-the-earth-grass-is-the-least/)

[Hal Borland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-borland/)

> [Maybe that sounds a bit pretentious, but I think life experience is always more important than technical knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/maybe-that-sounds-a-bit-pretentious-but-i-think-life-experience-is/)

[Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/)

[Browse all 357 Pretentious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pretentious/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "No one wants to be pretentious about what they do or take it seriously, because that is just weird.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Philip Seymour Hoffman"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-what-they-do-or-take-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Pretentious"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-what-they-do-or-take-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/philip-seymour-hoffman-2704_pretentious_no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-wha_1813471.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/philip-seymour-hoffman-2704_pretentious_no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-wha_1813471.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd1/philip-seymour-hoffman-2704_pretentious_no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-wha_1813471.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“No one wants to be pretentious about what they do or take it seriously, because that is just weird.” — Philip Seymour Hoffman",
                "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": "Philip Seymour Hoffman",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-seymour-hoffman/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "No one wants to be pretentious...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-what-they-do-or-take-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-seymour-hoffman/no-one-wants-to-be-pretentious-about-what-they-do-or-take-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```