--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a working actor, all I want to do is…" description: "\"As a working actor, all I want to do is work. That's it. It's terrifying when you don't work. It's very hard when you don't work. There have been times..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/sandra-oh-11901_actor_as-a-working-actor-all-i-want-to-do-is-w_2184000.png" --- # As a working actor, all I want to do is work. That's it… ![“As a working actor, all I want to do is work. That's it. It's terrifying when you don't work. It's very hard when you don't work. There have been times when I've been out of work for like six months. I feel theatre to me is like manna.” quote by Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/sandra-oh-11901_actor_as-a-working-actor-all-i-want-to-do-is-w_2184000.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/sandra-oh-11901_actor_as-a-working-actor-all-i-want-to-do-is-w_2184000.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/508/sandra-oh-11901_actor_as-a-working-actor-all-i-want-to-do-is-w_2184000.png) > “As a working actor, all I want to do is work. That's it. It's terrifying when you don't work. It's very hard when you don't work. There have been times when I've been out of work for like six months. I feel theatre to me is like manna.” [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Actors face intense insecurity; continuous work is essential for identity and stability, yet periods of unemployment cause fear. **In simple terms:** Actors need steady work; unemployment feels terrifying. Key Takeaway Seek diverse opportunities and maintain resilience. Themes career insecurity artistic passion Mood anxious determined Type career survival When to use this quote - audition preparation - networking - financial planning - mental health strategies Key Concepts acting industry gig economy Questions to Reflect On - What strategies help sustain an acting career? - How can actors cope with long gaps between jobs? A Different Perspective The industry’s instability can limit creative freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actor Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor-want/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/months/) [Six](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six/) [Six months](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/six-months/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-work/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Working actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-actor/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a working actor, and I want to stay a working actor, and I want everybody happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adina-porter/i-m-a-working-actor-and-i-want-to-stay-a-working-actor-and-i-want/) [Adina Porter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adina-porter/) > [I want to be a working actor; I want to do jobs that excite me and challenge me, and I want to something fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-fillion/i-want-to-be-a-working-actor-i-want-to-do-jobs-that-excite-me-and/) [Nathan Fillion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-fillion/) > [As an actor, all you want to do is to work and do good work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-fairley/as-an-actor-all-you-want-to-do-is-to-work-and-do-good-work/) [Michelle Fairley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-fairley/) > [Anurag sir is someone every actor would want to work with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sobhita-dhulipala/anurag-sir-is-someone-every-actor-would-want-to-work-with/) [Sobhita Dhulipala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sobhita-dhulipala/) > [I never had trouble getting an agent. 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I don't think that anybody who… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/i-learned-more-in-those-six-months-in-the-white-house-than-in-the/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [If I was not allowed to mention that I was in the film industry, I could go six months without getting a kiss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-farrelly/if-i-was-not-allowed-to-mention-that-i-was-in-the-film-industry-i/) [Peter Farrelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-farrelly/) > [Films are tricky because for years you're getting told you're about to make it and you're about to be busy for four or six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-mills/films-are-tricky-because-for-years-you-re-getting-told-you-re-about/) [Mike Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-mills/) > [In France they spend six months training policemen, then they give them a gun and put them on the streets, and I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/in-france-they-spend-six-months-training-policemen-then-they-give/) [Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/) ## More by Sandra Oh > [Hollywood likes to put actors in boxes, and it likes to put Asian actors in really small boxes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/hollywood-likes-to-put-actors-in-boxes-and-it-likes-to-put-asian/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [I don't get jobs in films by auditioning. I'm not blonde. You can't place me in movies the way you can with certain actors.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/i-don-t-get-jobs-in-films-by-auditioning-i-m-not-blonde-you-can-t/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [When you're able to shoot in Europe and internationally, those locations don't lie. The feeling doesn't lie, the quality of the light. You can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/when-you-re-able-to-shoot-in-europe-and-internationally-those/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [Young Asian people who come up to me have a certain vibration, and I receive it, and I understand it, and I feel emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/young-asian-people-who-come-up-to-me-have-a-certain-vibration-and-i/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [You should see my house. It's sort of explosive. Like a crazy person lives there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/you-should-see-my-house-it-s-sort-of-explosive-like-a-crazy-person/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [I can get a better role in TV and work more constantly than I can waiting around for my friends in Canada to call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/i-can-get-a-better-role-in-tv-and-work-more-constantly-than-i-can/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [When your life changes and you become a more public person, in some ways you need to be a more closed person, you know?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/when-your-life-changes-and-you-become-a-more-public-person-in-some/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [I think the roles in television are better for women right now. At this point, I don't want to continue doing the same things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/i-think-the-roles-in-television-are-better-for-women-right-now-at/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [I always think it would be so nice to go to the beach and sit and write in my journal, but it never happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/i-always-think-it-would-be-so-nice-to-go-to-the-beach-and-sit-and/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [I love my hair. When I was young it had weird kinks and cowlicks in it, but I just grew into it. You grow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/i-love-my-hair-when-i-was-young-it-had-weird-kinks-and-cowlicks-in-it/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [I'd be so fascinated to talk to a psychologist or sociologist about the deep psychological impact of seeing oneself represented. 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You get many cultures in L.A. but it's strangely segregated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/i-feel-comfortable-in-places-like-london-you-get-many-cultures-in-l-a/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) > [I love actors; I love seeing great performances. I just love that, when I'm seeing a performance, that inside me, I just go, 'Oh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-oh/i-love-actors-i-love-seeing-great-performances-i-just-love-that-when/) [Sandra Oh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) [Explore all 57 Sandra Oh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-oh/) ## 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. 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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. 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