--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is a streak of ham anywhere in…" description: "\"If there is a streak of ham anywhere in an actor, Shakespeare will bring it out.\" — Robert Benchley" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/robert-benchley-2562_actor_if-there-is-a-streak-of-ham-anywhere-in_801738.jpg" --- # If there is a streak of ham anywhere in an actor… ![“If there is a streak of ham anywhere in an actor, Shakespeare will bring it out.” quote by Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/robert-benchley-2562_actor_if-there-is-a-streak-of-ham-anywhere-in_801738.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/robert-benchley-2562_actor_if-there-is-a-streak-of-ham-anywhere-in_801738.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/255/robert-benchley-2562_actor_if-there-is-a-streak-of-ham-anywhere-in_801738.jpg) > “If there is a streak of ham anywhere in an actor, Shakespeare will bring it out.” [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Shakespeare can reveal hidden flaws in actors through his characters. **In simple terms:** Shakespeare exposes actors' weaknesses. Key Takeaway Consider how roles reveal true character. Themes theatre character critique human nature Mood analytical thoughtful Type critical observational When to use this quote - casting decisions - actor training - script analysis - audition feedback Key Concepts dramatic irony self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does a role highlight personal traits? - Can self-awareness improve performance? A Different Perspective Not all actors have such flaws; context matters. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actor Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor-shakespeare-6137590/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ham/) [Ham Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ham-actor-3598304/) [Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare/) [Shakespeare Bring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakespeare-bring-2390703/) [Streaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streaks/) ## Related quotes > [Yevgeny Yevtushenko is a ham actor, not a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-tate/yevgeny-yevtushenko-is-a-ham-actor-not-a-poet/) [Allen Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-tate/) > [A tin horn politician with the manner of a rural corn doctor and the mien of a ham actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/a-tin-horn-politician-with-the-manner-of-a-rural-corn-doctor-and-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [If you want to make idols accessible - which I think Shakespeare should be - then you have to bring a human touch, make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-fiennes/if-you-want-to-make-idols-accessible-which-i-think-shakespeare-should/) [Joseph Fiennes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-fiennes/) > [All of West Ham's away victories have come on opponents' territory this season](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-hawthorne/all-of-west-ham-s-away-victories-have-come-on-opponents-territory/) [Rob Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-hawthorne/) > [In the centre of a spacious table rose a pastry as large as a church, flanked on the north by a quarter of cold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/in-the-centre-of-a-spacious-table-rose-a-pastry-as-large-as-a-church/) [Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-anthelme-brillat-savarin/) > [If God was giving me a ham, I'd be crazy not to receive it. Maybe it was the ham of God, who takes away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/if-god-was-giving-me-a-ham-i-d-be-crazy-not-to-receive-it-maybe-it/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [But what a club West Ham are, such a big club, the supporters are fantastic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-fonte/but-what-a-club-west-ham-are-such-a-big-club-the-supporters-are/) [Jose Fonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-fonte/) > [After all these years, it's still embarrassing for me to play on the American golf tour. Like the time I asked my caddie for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chi-chi-rodriguez/after-all-these-years-it-s-still-embarrassing-for-me-to-play-on-the/) [Chi Chi Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chi-chi-rodriguez/) > [I can remember certain Manchester United defeats the way most people remember family bereavements or great political events. The four-nil drubbing by Barcelona, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-dunne/i-can-remember-certain-manchester-united-defeats-the-way-most-people/) [Tom Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-dunne/) > [Things can get very lovey and feasty with a bunch of stimulated hams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-martin/things-can-get-very-lovey-and-feasty-with-a-bunch-of-stimulated-hams/) [Mary Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-martin/) > [Method actors are like hams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clark-gable/method-actors-are-like-hams/) [Clark Gable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clark-gable/) > [When I was a kid, I didn't have any girlfriends. I was a very nerdy-type dude. Believe me, being a ham does not turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-crews/when-i-was-a-kid-i-didn-t-have-any-girlfriends-i-was-a-very-nerdy/) [Terry Crews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-crews/) > [I would love a sandwich,' said Tybalt, with enough gravity to make it sound like a formal proclamation. Resolved: that we will have ham…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-would-love-a-sandwich-said-tybalt-with-enough-gravity-to-make-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ As an actor, if you step to the side and you look at \[Thornton's performance\] technically, and you try to imagine doing what he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-norton/as-an-actor-if-you-step-to-the-side-and-you-look-at-thornton-s/) [Edward Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-norton/) > [“You can't reduce passion and flair and eating ham to numbers, sir!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gideon-defoe/you-can-t-reduce-passion-and-flair-and-eating-ham-to-numbers-sir/) [Gideon Defoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gideon-defoe/) ## More by Robert Benchley > [I have often wondered how they manage to get return envelopes which miss, by one-quarter of an inch, fitting the blank you are supposed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-have-often-wondered-how-they-manage-to-get-return-envelopes-which/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [You might think that after thousands of years of coming up too soon and getting frozen, the crocus family would have had a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/you-might-think-that-after-thousands-of-years-of-coming-up-too-soon/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent for writing, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/it-took-me-fifteen-years-to-discover-i-had-no-talent-for-writing-but/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [But ice-crunching and loud gum-chewing, together with drumming on tables, and whistling the same tune 70 times in succession, because they indicate an indifference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/but-ice-crunching-and-loud-gum-chewing-together-with-drumming-on/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The naturalistic literature of this country has reached such a state that no family of characters is considered true to life whichdoes not include…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/the-naturalistic-literature-of-this-country-has-reached-such-a-state/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [There is no such place as Budapest. Perhaps you are thinking of Bucharest, and there is no such place as Bucharest, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-is-no-such-place-as-budapest-perhaps-you-are-thinking-of/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [I am both a public and a private school boy myself, having always changed schools just as the class in English in the new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/i-am-both-a-public-and-a-private-school-boy-myself-having-always/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed be doing at that moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/anyone-can-do-any-amount-of-work-provided-it-isn-t-the-work-he-is/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [After an author has been dead for some time, it becomes increasingly difficult for his publishers to get out a new book by him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/after-an-author-has-been-dead-for-some-time-it-becomes-increasingly/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [One of the chief duties of the fan is to engage in arguments with the man behind him. This department of the game has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/one-of-the-chief-duties-of-the-fan-is-to-engage-in-arguments-with-the/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [“There are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world into two kinds of people, and those who do not.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-in-the-world-those-who-divide-the-world/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Why don't you get out of that wet coat and into a dry martini?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/why-don-t-you-get-out-of-that-wet-coat-and-into-a-dry-martini/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Drinking makes such fools of people, and people are such fools to begin with that it's compounding a felony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/drinking-makes-such-fools-of-people-and-people-are-such-fools-to/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [Behind every argument is someone's ignorance. Behind every argument is someone's ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/behind-every-argument-is-someone-s-ignorance-behind-every-argument-is/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) [Explore all 161 Robert Benchley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) ## More Actor 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/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. 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Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! 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