--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I won't even think about acting in a role…" description: "\"I won't even think about acting in a role where I didn't do a back story for a character.\" — Quentin Tarantino" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/quentin-tarantino-1030_acting_i-won-t-even-think-about-acting-in-a-rol_2129150.jpg" --- # I won't even think about acting in a role where I didn't… ![“I won't even think about acting in a role where I didn't do a back story for a character.” quote by Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/quentin-tarantino-1030_acting_i-won-t-even-think-about-acting-in-a-rol_2129150.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/quentin-tarantino-1030_acting_i-won-t-even-think-about-acting-in-a-rol_2129150.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/124/quentin-tarantino-1030_acting_i-won-t-even-think-about-acting-in-a-rol_2129150.jpg) > “I won't even think about acting in a role where I didn't do a back story for a character.” [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He insists actors must understand their characters fully before performing, emphasizing deep preparation. **In simple terms:** Actors need a backstory for authenticity. Key Takeaway Prepare thoroughly for any role. Themes acting preparation authenticity Mood focused serious Type instructional professional When to use this quote - auditions - theatre productions - film casting - character workshops Key Concepts character development method acting Questions to Reflect On - How does a backstory affect performance? - Can improvisation coexist with deep preparation? A Different Perspective May limit spontaneity or improvisation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [It's a hindrance in trying to get a serious acting role. The minute a producer has a script and my name comes up, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbi-benton/it-s-a-hindrance-in-trying-to-get-a-serious-acting-role-the-minute-a/) [Barbi Benton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbi-benton/) > [Whenever rejected, I thought maybe the director saw someone better suited for that role than me. I didn't think of it as so and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dino-morea/whenever-rejected-i-thought-maybe-the-director-saw-someone-better/) [Dino Morea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dino-morea/) > [I've never seen a great actor do a major role that didn't cost a lot. They're sacrificial animals of a sort.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/i-ve-never-seen-a-great-actor-do-a-major-role-that-didn-t-cost-a-lot/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I have not done any film where my role didn't make sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tabu/i-have-not-done-any-film-where-my-role-didn-t-make-sense/) [Tabu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tabu/) > [To my knowledge, I don't believe I've taken a role that I didn't feel I could do when I read the screenplay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-walter-hauser/to-my-knowledge-i-don-t-believe-i-ve-taken-a-role-that-i-didn-t-feel/) [Paul Walter Hauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-walter-hauser/) > [It was a fun film. I had a great time doing it. 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I was confident with my friends, but I would never think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarita-choudhury/i-was-very-shy-about-acting-i-thought-you-had-to-be-confident-i-was/) [Sarita Choudhury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarita-choudhury/) > [You do that stupid thing at 12 years old when you say something and it kind of sticks with you for the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/you-do-that-stupid-thing-at-12-years-old-when-you-say-something-and/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [I just think, in every acting choice that you make, you've got to go for the least obvious choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-foy/i-just-think-in-every-acting-choice-that-you-make-you-ve-got-to-go/) [Claire Foy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-foy/) > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) ## More by Quentin Tarantino > [CGI has fully ruined car crashes. Because how can you be impressed with them now? When you watch them in the '70s, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/cgi-has-fully-ruined-car-crashes-because-how-can-you-be-impressed/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Whatever's going on with me at the time of writing is going to find its way into the piece. If that doesn't happen, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/whatever-s-going-on-with-me-at-the-time-of-writing-is-going-to-find/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [Oddly enough, most of the books written about the subject aren't very good because they just focus on the more hateful movies that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/oddly-enough-most-of-the-books-written-about-the-subject-aren-t-very/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [“I'm an American, our names don't mean shit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-m-an-american-our-names-don-t-mean-shit/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [I'm a historian in my own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-m-a-historian-in-my-own-mind/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [I hate school at that time. Now, little did I know that actually if I had stayed in school I would've actually really liked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/i-hate-school-at-that-time-now-little-did-i-know-that-actually-if-i/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [I'm not writing novels, the screenplays are my novels, so I'm gonna write it the best that I can. 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It ain't white boy day, is it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/he-musta-thought-it-was-white-boy-day-it-ain-t-white-boy-day-is-it/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [If you go out and see a lot of movies in a given year, it's really hard to come up with a top ten,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/if-you-go-out-and-see-a-lot-of-movies-in-a-given-year-it-s-really/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [When I went to do my big audition with actors for Mr. Blonde, the thing that was very interesting was the first person to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/when-i-went-to-do-my-big-audition-with-actors-for-mr-blonde-the-thing/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [By the time I was doing "Kill Bill," it was so much filled with prose that, you know, I start seeing why people write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/by-the-time-i-was-doing-kill-bill-it-was-so-much-filled-with-prose/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) [Explore all 305 Quentin Tarantino quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) ## More Acting quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. 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Whether you're a child mucking around with your friends or a grown up being paid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liv-hewson/actors-don-t-hate-acting-most-people-don-t-hate-acting-whether-you-re/) [Liv Hewson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liv-hewson/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [Once I committed to acting, this has been it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-hudson/once-i-committed-to-acting-this-has-been-it/) [Ernie Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-hudson/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. 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