---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The best way to tell an actor he's going…"
description: "\"The best way to tell an actor he's going to be working more and much harder is to appeal to his ego.\" — Robert Picardo"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/robert-picardo-11968_actor_the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going_430061.jpg"
---

#  The best way to tell an actor he's going to be working…

![“The best way to tell an actor he's going to be working more and much harder is to appeal to his ego.” quote by Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/robert-picardo-11968_actor_the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going_430061.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/robert-picardo-11968_actor_the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going_430061.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/robert-picardo-11968_actor_the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going_430061.jpg)

> “The best way to tell an actor he's going to be working more and much harder is to appeal to his ego.”

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

## About This Quote

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

Motivating actors to work harder can be done by appealing to their ego.

**In simple terms:** Use ego appeals to boost actor effort.

Key Takeaway

Leverage ego for motivation.

Themes

motivation ego work ethic performance

Mood

strategic critical

Type

professional leadership

When to use this quote

- film set
- creative teams
- career development

Key Concepts

psychology leadership incentives

Questions to Reflect On

- When is ego motivation appropriate?
- What are alternatives to ego-driven incentives?

A Different Perspective

Ego appeals may backfire if perceived as manipulative.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Ego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ego/)

## Related quotes

> [A lot of us are working harder than we want, at things we don't like to do. Why? It figures! In order to afford…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradford-angier/a-lot-of-us-are-working-harder-than-we-want-at-things-we-don-t-like/)

Bradford Angier

> [I know there's nobody working harder than me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-dillashaw/i-know-there-s-nobody-working-harder-than-me/)

[T.J. Dillashaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-dillashaw/)

> [Movies are full of leading men, most of whom aren't working. It's much harder to find a good villain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-van-cleef/movies-are-full-of-leading-men-most-of-whom-aren-t-working-it-s-much/)

[Lee Van Cleef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-van-cleef/)

> [People are working harder and harder than ever before and barely staying in place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-talent/people-are-working-harder-and-harder-than-ever-before-and-barely/)

[Jim Talent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-talent/)

> [There is always someone out there working harder than you, and you may be standing next to him or her in your next competition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-cheeke/there-is-always-someone-out-there-working-harder-than-you-and-you-may/)

[Robert Cheeke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-cheeke/)

> [What I learned from people like Carlos Santana is that you cannot get too happy after working for five years in the industry. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyclef-jean/what-i-learned-from-people-like-carlos-santana-is-that-you-cannot-get/)

[Wyclef Jean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyclef-jean/)

> [You can always tell an actor by the bored look in their eye whenever someone else is talking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natasha-leggero/you-can-always-tell-an-actor-by-the-bored-look-in-their-eye-whenever/)

[Natasha Leggero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natasha-leggero/)

> [I direct as an actor. Many times, I will say, 'Let me try this.' And I'll walk the scene through and see what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-bogdanovich/i-direct-as-an-actor-many-times-i-will-say-let-me-try-this-and-i-ll/)

[Peter Bogdanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-bogdanovich/)

> [It doesn't matter if a character is a lawyer, a cop or a geography teacher. If there's a story in there, where the character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-standen/it-doesn-t-matter-if-a-character-is-a-lawyer-a-cop-or-a-geography/)

[Clive Standen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-standen/)

> [You can always tell when an actor has grown a 'rhino skin' to protect themselves. It comes across on screen, and they aren't believable.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-stone/you-can-always-tell-when-an-actor-has-grown-a-rhino-skin-to-protect/)

[Emma Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-stone/)

> [Roman Polanski actually said as much to me once. He had his head in his hands, and I said, "Roman, I've got to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-williams/roman-polanski-actually-said-as-much-to-me-once-he-had-his-head-in/)

[Olivia Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-williams/)

> [I can tell when an actor's forcing tears, and it's tricky because you then have to film it and edit in a certain way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drew-barrymore/i-can-tell-when-an-actor-s-forcing-tears-and-it-s-tricky-because-you/)

[Drew Barrymore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drew-barrymore/)

> [The way I choose voice talent is I don't let them tell me who the actor is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-asbury/the-way-i-choose-voice-talent-is-i-don-t-let-them-tell-me-who-the/)

[Kelly Asbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-asbury/)

> [A fan club is a group of people who tell an actor hes not alone in the way he feels about himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-williams/a-fan-club-is-a-group-of-people-who-tell-an-actor-hes-not-alone-in/)

[Kenneth Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-williams/)

> [I don't need a critic to tell me I'm an actor. I make my own way. Nobody's my boss. Nobody's ever been my boss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-douglas/i-don-t-need-a-critic-to-tell-me-i-m-an-actor-i-make-my-own-way/)

[Kirk Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-douglas/)

## More by Robert Picardo

> [For two consecutive Broadway seasons, I had probably the best juvenile roles there were for an actor. Then I moved to California to recreate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/for-two-consecutive-broadway-seasons-i-had-probably-the-best-juvenile/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [If you're looking at my other major science fiction roles - the Doctor on 'Star Trek' and certainly Woolsey on 'Stargate' - I often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/if-you-re-looking-at-my-other-major-science-fiction-roles-the-doctor/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [It was hard to make a living as an actor in New York if you did not do soap operas or commercials.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/it-was-hard-to-make-a-living-as-an-actor-in-new-york-if-you-did-not/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [Even though my face has gotten more familiar with doing 'China Beach' and 'The Wonder Years,' I'm the kind of actor that people thought,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/even-though-my-face-has-gotten-more-familiar-with-doing-china-beach/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [Nobody wants to play - I've talked to Brent Spiner about this. You don't want to play a character indefinitely who's not supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/nobody-wants-to-play-i-ve-talked-to-brent-spiner-about-this-you-don-t/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [We were second-generation immigrants, and it was luxury enough to go to college. The luxury of the arts was still a generation away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/we-were-second-generation-immigrants-and-it-was-luxury-enough-to-go/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [The fact that we were encouraged to follow our conscience and not to follow the crowds - that's something I really miss. On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/the-fact-that-we-were-encouraged-to-follow-our-conscience-and-not-to/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [People admire a screen actor if they have theatre skills, but it's looked down upon by the industry as being not a 'real job,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/people-admire-a-screen-actor-if-they-have-theatre-skills-but-it-s/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [My agent loves me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/my-agent-loves-me/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [You play a hologram on 'Star Trek,' and you have to spew line after line. I spoke in paragraphs on 'Star Trek.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/you-play-a-hologram-on-star-trek-and-you-have-to-spew-line-after-line/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [What's wonderful about 'Star Trek' having been rebooted so successfully by the J. J. Abrams movie franchise is that - the corollary effect is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/what-s-wonderful-about-star-trek-having-been-rebooted-so-successfully/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [For me, the ideal job as an actor would be something that is intrinsically a drama but to which I could bring in as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/for-me-the-ideal-job-as-an-actor-would-be-something-that-is/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [Why wouldn't I like to walk into a room full of people who are dying to hear everything I say?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/why-wouldn-t-i-like-to-walk-into-a-room-full-of-people-who-are-dying/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [I'm not a futurist, and my taste in science fiction was sort of in the gothic horror vein, not space movies and futuristic stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/i-m-not-a-futurist-and-my-taste-in-science-fiction-was-sort-of-in-the/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

> [No one likes to think of themselves as a one-trick pony as an actor, but on the other hand, it's nice to be part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/no-one-likes-to-think-of-themselves-as-a-one-trick-pony-as-an-actor/)

[Robert Picardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

[Explore all 57 Robert Picardo quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/)

## 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. They totally bought it. I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/)

[Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/)

> [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/)

[Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/)

> [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/)

[David S. 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! 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/)

> [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/)

[Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/)

> [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/)

[Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The best way to tell an actor he's going to be working more and much harder is to appeal to his ego.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Robert Picardo"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going-to-be-working-more-and-much/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Actor"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going-to-be-working-more-and-much/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/robert-picardo-11968_actor_the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going_430061.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/robert-picardo-11968_actor_the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going_430061.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/robert-picardo-11968_actor_the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going_430061.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The best way to tell an actor he's going to be working more and much harder is to appeal to his ego.” — Robert Picardo",
                "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": "Robert Picardo",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-picardo/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The best way to tell an...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going-to-be-working-more-and-much/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-picardo/the-best-way-to-tell-an-actor-he-s-going-to-be-working-more-and-much/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
