--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was doing a play out in L.A…" description: "\"I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago called 'Goose and Tomtom' by David Rabe, and somebody saw it and the next thing I know I'm doing t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/richard-schiff-18142_al_i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-od_2655091.jpg" --- # I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago… ![“I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago called 'Goose and Tomtom' by David Rabe, and somebody saw it and the next thing I know I'm doing the table read of the film version of 'Glengarry Glen Ross' with Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon - one of the great films of our generation.” quote by Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/richard-schiff-18142_al_i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-od_2655091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/richard-schiff-18142_al_i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-od_2655091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/richard-schiff-18142_al_i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-od_2655091.jpg) > “I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago called 'Goose and Tomtom' by David Rabe, and somebody saw it and the next thing I know I'm doing the table read of the film version of 'Glengarry Glen Ross' with Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon - one of the great films of our generation.” [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An unexpected opportunity led to a career‑defining moment, showing how chance encounters can pivot one's professional path. **In simple terms:** A chance meeting opened a big film role. Key Takeaway Seize unexpected opportunities. Themes career networking chance film industry Mood excited hopeful Type inspirational career When to use this quote - audition - networking event - career pivot - collaboration Key Concepts serendipity breakthrough industry exposure Questions to Reflect On - How do you prepare for unexpected chances? - What networks could you expand? A Different Perspective Opportunities may be fleeting and require readiness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Films](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/films/) [Generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generation/) [Generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generations/) [Great film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-film/) [Our generation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-generation/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't know what I expected – no maybe I do, Al Pacino from Scarface- but this drug dealer is more like Al Pacino…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jess-walter/i-don-t-know-what-i-expected-no-maybe-i-do-al-pacino-from-scarface/) [Jess Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jess-walter/) > [Both 'Consenting Adults' and 'Glengarry Glen Ross' revolve around the economic stresses of the '90s. They are about what people do when they're pushed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/both-consenting-adults-and-glengarry-glen-ross-revolve-around-the/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [I mean everyone, from Al Pacino to Murphy Guyer, are phenomenal actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-mean-everyone-from-al-pacino-to-murphy-guyer-are-phenomenal-actors/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [The trade magazine and all was banned in my house. The first time I read a film magazine was when I was 18.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhishek-bachchan/the-trade-magazine-and-all-was-banned-in-my-house-the-first-time-i/) [Abhishek Bachchan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhishek-bachchan/) > [I've never seen or heard of a mob sitting down to read a film script.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepa-mehta/i-ve-never-seen-or-heard-of-a-mob-sitting-down-to-read-a-film-script/) [Deepa Mehta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepa-mehta/) > [When I read a film script, I kind of see it in my head and I see the moments that shape what I understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-allen/when-i-read-a-film-script-i-kind-of-see-it-in-my-head-and-i-see-the/) [Karen Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-allen/) > [The problem with cinema nowadays is that it's a math problem. 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James Carville constantly calls my wife to say I'll be home late.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hader/voices-are-a-good-way-to-get-in-and-out-of-things-james-carville/) [Bill Hader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hader/) > [“I don't believe in God, I only believe in Al Pacino, and that's the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-bardem/i-don-t-believe-in-god-i-only-believe-in-al-pacino-and-that-s-the/) [Javier Bardem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-bardem/) > [I like 'The Usual Suspects'. Great film. I also like 'Scarface', films like that. Lots of gangster films. I really like watching all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkhad-abdi/i-like-the-usual-suspects-great-film-i-also-like-scarface-films-like/) [Barkhad Abdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkhad-abdi/) ## More by Richard Schiff > [I was happy to spend time with my family, get to know my daughter, who was born during The West Wing. 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Despite the success that they both had in their lives, there's a certain mentality that tells you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/my-parents-grew-up-in-the-depression-despite-the-success-that-they/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [Every role is challenging in its own way, but the most challenging roles are the ones that are badly written - then it's completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/every-role-is-challenging-in-its-own-way-but-the-most-challenging/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I still have the mentality of someone who doesn't know where he's going to sleep and doesn't know if he has enough money for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-still-have-the-mentality-of-someone-who-doesn-t-know-where-he-s/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I love David Fincher - even though it was just two scenes, I loved the way we worked and could tell by the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-love-david-fincher-even-though-it-was-just-two-scenes-i-loved-the/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I've been very lucky not to have turned down too many roles that I've later regretted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-ve-been-very-lucky-not-to-have-turned-down-too-many-roles-that-i-ve/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [It seems not to matter that we are at the brink of a war that may spread beyond Afghanistan and Iraq to Iran and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/it-seems-not-to-matter-that-we-are-at-the-brink-of-a-war-that-may/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [I go in to Warner Brothers to test and in the waiting area I saw Allison Janney sitting there, who I did not know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-go-in-to-warner-brothers-to-test-and-in-the-waiting-area-i-saw/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) > [The political nonsense of network television and the culture of a set and all the problems that that can create, I can take. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/the-political-nonsense-of-network-television-and-the-culture-of-a-set/) [Richard Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) [Explore all 35 Richard Schiff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/) ## More Al quotes > [I like 'The Usual Suspects'. Great film. I also like 'Scarface', films like that. Lots of gangster films. I really like watching all kinds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barkhad-abdi/i-like-the-usual-suspects-great-film-i-also-like-scarface-films-like/) [Barkhad Abdi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barkhad-abdi/) > [Al Jazeera is a representation of, you know, diversity in the Arab world. 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Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-c-blair/) > [If you want to join the Republican party, they have to let you in. There's nothing they can do about it. I mean, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/if-you-want-to-join-the-republican-party-they-have-to-let-you-in/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Brian came back in on the road and Al stayed, but Al's the original member of the group.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-johnston/brian-came-back-in-on-the-road-and-al-stayed-but-al-s-the-original/) [Bruce Johnston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-johnston/) > [News is the backbone of our network; the main commodity and the main successes of Al Jazeera came out of our involvement in covering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/news-is-the-backbone-of-our-network-the-main-commodity-and-the-main/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [And beyond that, the next issue is how do we guarantee one of these weapons, not necessarily this missile, but nuclear weapons ends up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-eagleburger/and-beyond-that-the-next-issue-is-how-do-we-guarantee-one-of-these/) [Lawrence Eagleburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-eagleburger/) > [I started, actually, as an analyst on African affairs, mainly on Al Jazeera. I remember the first few series were about Saudi students, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadah-khanfar/i-started-actually-as-an-analyst-on-african-affairs-mainly-on-al/) [Wadah Khanfar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadah-khanfar/) > [That is because the conflict with al Qaeda is not governed by the Geneva Conventions, which applies only to international conflicts between states that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-yoo/that-is-because-the-conflict-with-al-qaeda-is-not-governed-by-the/) [John Yoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-yoo/) > [Bin Laden is dead, and most of his friends are dead. But did it need to cost a trillion dollars and two land wars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-engel/bin-laden-is-dead-and-most-of-his-friends-are-dead-but-did-it-need-to/) [Richard Engel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-engel/) > [Mistreatment of al Qaeda members and their friends and hangers-on is something I number among my moral concerns. But it's number 1,000,000,001.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/mistreatment-of-al-qaeda-members-and-their-friends-and-hangers-on-is/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Success means eliminating Al Qaeda's ability to launch terrorist attacks against the United States and our allies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-greitens/success-means-eliminating-al-qaeda-s-ability-to-launch-terrorist/) [Eric Greitens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-greitens/) Browse all 218 Al quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago called 'Goose and Tomtom' by David Rabe, and somebody saw it and the next thing I know I'm doing the table read of the film version of 'Glengarry Glen Ross' with Al Pacino and Jack Lemmon - one of the great films of our generation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Richard Schiff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-odd-years-ago-called-goose-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Al" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-odd-years-ago-called-goose-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/richard-schiff-18142_al_i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-od_2655091.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/richard-schiff-18142_al_i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-od_2655091.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/01c/richard-schiff-18142_al_i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-od_2655091.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I was doing a play out in L.A. 20-some-odd years ago called 'Goose and Tomtom' by David Rabe, and somebody…” — Richard Schiff", "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": "Richard Schiff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-schiff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I was doing a play out...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-odd-years-ago-called-goose-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-schiff/i-was-doing-a-play-out-in-l-a-20-some-odd-years-ago-called-goose-and/#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 } } ] } ```