--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I didn't realize about television…" description: "\"What I didn't realize about television was that's true of acting, as well. You have that space of time to develop who you are, and you can use more and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/scott-glenn-13067_acting_what-i-didn-t-realize-about-television-w_580638.jpg" --- # What I didn't realize about television was that's true of… ![“What I didn't realize about television was that's true of acting, as well. You have that space of time to develop who you are, and you can use more and more of yourself. The lines between that character that I'm playing and myself become more and more blurred and, after awhile, they just…” quote by Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/scott-glenn-13067_acting_what-i-didn-t-realize-about-television-w_580638.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/scott-glenn-13067_acting_what-i-didn-t-realize-about-television-w_580638.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/scott-glenn-13067_acting_what-i-didn-t-realize-about-television-w_580638.jpg) > “What I didn't realize about television was that's true of acting, as well. You have that space of time to develop who you are, and you can use more and more of yourself. The lines between that character that I'm playing and myself become more and more blurred and, after awhile, they just disappear, altogether.” [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acting blurs personal identity, allowing self‑exploration through character immersion. **In simple terms:** Acting merges self and role. Key Takeaway Embrace role immersion. Themes identity self‑exploration art Mood introspective curious Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - theatre - film - improv workshops - personal development - therapy Key Concepts method acting character immersion Questions to Reflect On - How does role immersion affect personal growth? - When should an actor detach from a role? A Different Perspective Blurred lines can cause identity confusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I love acting because it's this space where dreams can be realized, fantasy comes to life, and there are no limitations on what's possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-alba/i-love-acting-because-it-s-this-space-where-dreams-can-be-realized/) [Jessica Alba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-alba/) > [I didn't realize that television has gone through immense changes and has become very progressive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiefer-sutherland/i-didn-t-realize-that-television-has-gone-through-immense-changes-and/) [Kiefer Sutherland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiefer-sutherland/) > [Being part of The L Word made me realize how much more television can be that what I had experienced in my lifetime in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-beals/being-part-of-the-l-word-made-me-realize-how-much-more-television-can/) [Jennifer Beals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-beals/) > [It took me some time to realize television, for someone like me, was the perfect medium. I like to produce, I like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-plec/it-took-me-some-time-to-realize-television-for-someone-like-me-was/) [Julie Plec](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-plec/) > [I do realize that television shows end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-harrison/i-do-realize-that-television-shows-end/) [Rick Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-harrison/) > [“could anyone know when an actor was true and not acting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-levin/could-anyone-know-when-an-actor-was-true-and-not-acting/) [Ira Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-levin/) > [As much as there are intellectual choices to be made and all the rest of it, a great actor has the ability really, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-miller/as-much-as-there-are-intellectual-choices-to-be-made-and-all-the-rest/) [Rebecca Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-miller/) > [Over the years, I played with a couple of spectacular guitar players, and playing with them has made me play better than I knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-arkin/over-the-years-i-played-with-a-couple-of-spectacular-guitar-players/) [Alan Arkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-arkin/) > [In most professions, you build up confidence and a sense of achievement as you go along, but that's really not true for acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/song-hye-kyo/in-most-professions-you-build-up-confidence-and-a-sense-of/) [Song Hye-kyo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/song-hye-kyo/) > [Writing is acting in the sense that you're imagining and inhabiting another. In the book I was trying to get at the root of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-miller/writing-is-acting-in-the-sense-that-you-re-imagining-and-inhabiting/) [Rebecca Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-miller/) > [The clouds are passing by slowly as the moon appears. Like the clouds, there are certain things which will disappear with the passing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jin-sun-mi/the-clouds-are-passing-by-slowly-as-the-moon-appears-like-the-clouds/) Jin Sun Mi > [Your relationship with love is your relationship with the essence of who you are. It affects your relationship with your body, and your relationship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/your-relationship-with-love-is-your-relationship-with-the-essence-of/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [The great gift of a spiritual path is coming to trust that you can find a way to true refuge. You realize that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tara-brach/the-great-gift-of-a-spiritual-path-is-coming-to-trust-that-you-can/) [Tara Brach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tara-brach/) > [I'm at the edge of the world, Where do I go from here? Do I disappear? Edge of the world, Should I sink or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bring-me-the-horizon/i-m-at-the-edge-of-the-world-where-do-i-go-from-here-do-i-disappear/) [Bring Me The Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bring-me-the-horizon/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) ## More by Scott Glenn > [Rodeo riders are the last of the true chivalrous groups of people. It's a place where the competition is really pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/rodeo-riders-are-the-last-of-the-true-chivalrous-groups-of-people-it/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [I've always been addicted to adrenaline.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/i-ve-always-been-addicted-to-adrenaline/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [That one long scene in the Leftovers I have with David Gulpilil was seven pages long. When we finished it, Mimi Leder said, "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/that-one-long-scene-in-the-leftovers-i-have-with-david-gulpilil-was/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [J.J. Abrams wanted me to do a part in Lost and we probably had three meetings, and I finally turned it down, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/j-j-abrams-wanted-me-to-do-a-part-in-lost-and-we-probably-had-three/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [I'm not a comic book guy. I've never been to Comic-Con. I don't know anything about that. It's a whole different world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/i-m-not-a-comic-book-guy-i-ve-never-been-to-comic-con-i-don-t-know/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > ['The Leftovers' is my favorite job I've ever had in my life, anywhere, ever. It is one of the greatest TV shows ever made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/the-leftovers-is-my-favorite-job-i-ve-ever-had-in-my-life-anywhere/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [I got into an argument with someone because I said I think 2Pac will be regarded as a great poet. They said he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/i-got-into-an-argument-with-someone-because-i-said-i-think-2pac-will/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [The hard part about playing 'chicken' is knowing when to flinch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/the-hard-part-about-playing-chicken-is-knowing-when-to-flinch/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [They say God looks after kids and idiots, and I think actors are probably a combination of the two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/they-say-god-looks-after-kids-and-idiots-and-i-think-actors-are/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [I don't think rodeo is cruel at all. Bullriding is the only man-animal event that makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/i-don-t-think-rodeo-is-cruel-at-all-bullriding-is-the-only-man-animal/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [We were talking about television one time, and Damon Lindelof said he felt that, if Ernst Hemingway was writing for media, he would write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/we-were-talking-about-television-one-time-and-damon-lindelof-said-he/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [I used to be an open-spear fisherman, and if you're looking for fish, you're never going to see them. In an almost meditative state,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/i-used-to-be-an-open-spear-fisherman-and-if-you-re-looking-for-fish/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [My metaphor for acting in movies - not on stage because it's completely different on stage - is to put colors on an easel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/my-metaphor-for-acting-in-movies-not-on-stage-because-it-s-completely/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [I love the way Damon Lindelof writes. It's almost like he was channeling me and he had my voice, even though the territory that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/i-love-the-way-damon-lindelof-writes-it-s-almost-like-he-was/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) > [In my life, all of the best things that have happened to me have almost invariably been accidents or fate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-glenn/in-my-life-all-of-the-best-things-that-have-happened-to-me-have/) [Scott Glenn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) [Explore all 52 Scott Glenn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-glenn/) ## 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. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [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/) > [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. I do believe that young adults go to college to learn things, and that this process will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-weingarten/i-do-not-believe-in-public-shaming-i-do-believe-that-young-adults-go/) [Gene Weingarten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-weingarten/) > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) [Browse all 12,062 Acting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What I didn't realize about television was that's true of acting, as well. You have that space of time to develop who you are, and you can use more and more of yourself. 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