--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was my goal in portraying Jesse…" description: "\"That was my goal in portraying Jesse Owens: bringing that level of humanity so people could understand who he was as a person.\" — Stephan James" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/stephan-james-17537_goal_that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owe_2334805.jpg" --- # That was my goal in portraying Jesse Owens: bringing that… ![“That was my goal in portraying Jesse Owens: bringing that level of humanity so people could understand who he was as a person.” quote by Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/stephan-james-17537_goal_that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owe_2334805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/stephan-james-17537_goal_that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owe_2334805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/stephan-james-17537_goal_that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owe_2334805.jpg) > “That was my goal in portraying Jesse Owens: bringing that level of humanity so people could understand who he was as a person.” [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Portraying Jesse Owens required emphasizing his humanity to help audiences connect with his personal story beyond his athletic fame. **In simple terms:** Show the person behind the legend to foster empathy. Key Takeaway Humanize iconic figures. Themes humanity empathy storytelling Mood reflective inspirational Type narrative educational When to use this quote - film casting - educational documentaries - public speaking - museum exhibits Key Concepts biographical narrative character depth cultural impact Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of Owens’ life resonate most today? - How does personalizing heroes affect public memory? A Different Perspective Focusing on humanity may overlook broader historical context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [ I knew \[Jesse Owens'\] name, but I really didn't remember what it is he had done, so I felt like I had to get… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/i-knew-jesse-owens-name-but-i-really-didn-t-remember-what-it-is-he/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [Jesse Owens had to be a very strong person. There were a lot of protests, but I think that he knew, despite the pressure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/jesse-owens-had-to-be-a-very-strong-person-there-were-a-lot-of/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [Sacrifice. I'd never been in a position where I was number one on the call sheet, and everything was in my lap. I worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/sacrifice-i-d-never-been-in-a-position-where-i-was-number-one-on-the/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [“He lay with yellow hair and closed eyes, and the book thief ran toward him and fell down. She dropped the black book. "Rudy,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/he-lay-with-yellow-hair-and-closed-eyes-and-the-book-thief-ran-toward/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“No matter how old you are now. You are never too young or too old for success or going after what you want. Here’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo/no-matter-how-old-you-are-now-you-are-never-too-young-or-too-old-for/) [Pablo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo/) > [I met Jesse Owens once. He was a remarkable individual, and I have tremendous respect for what he did in the Olympics under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-trevino/i-met-jesse-owens-once-he-was-a-remarkable-individual-and-i-have/) [Lee Trevino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-trevino/) > [I wouldn't have raced a horse. But you'll then throw back at me that Jesse Owens raced against a horse, and he's one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-coe/i-wouldn-t-have-raced-a-horse-but-you-ll-then-throw-back-at-me-that/) [Sebastian Coe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-coe/) > [“BLACK WINGS At the same Olympics, staged by Hitler to consecrate the superiority of his race, the star that shone brightest was black, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduardo-galeano/black-wings-at-the-same-olympics-staged-by-hitler-to-consecrate-the/) [Eduardo Galeano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eduardo-galeano/) > [ I carried \[Rudy\] softly through the broken street...with him I tried a little harder \[at comforting\]. I watched the contents of his soul for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/i-carried-rudy-softly-through-the-broken-street-with-him-i-tried-a/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [He was highly annoyed by the series of triumphs by the marvelous colored American runner, Jesse Owens. People whose antecedents came from the jungle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-speer/he-was-highly-annoyed-by-the-series-of-triumphs-by-the-marvelous/) [Albert Speer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-speer/) > [“The tears grappled with her face. Rudy, please, wake up, Goddamn it, wale up, I love you. Come on, Rudy, come on, Jesse Owens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/the-tears-grappled-with-her-face-rudy-please-wake-up-goddamn-it-wale/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [As a kid growing up in Latrobe, PA, I could dream about being an Olympian like Jesse Owens or Johnny Weissmuller. I could also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/as-a-kid-growing-up-in-latrobe-pa-i-could-dream-about-being-an/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [“And I'm not too great at that sort of comforting thing, especially when my hands are cold and the bed is warm. I carried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/and-i-m-not-too-great-at-that-sort-of-comforting-thing-especially/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“Rudy, please, wake up. God damn it, wake up, I love you. Come on, Rudy, come on, Jesse Owens, don't you know I love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/rudy-please-wake-up-god-damn-it-wake-up-i-love-you-come-on-rudy-come/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) > [“Jesse Owens?” Mr. Steiner was the type of man who was very wooden. His voice was angular and true. His body was tall and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/jesse-owens-mr-steiner-was-the-type-of-man-who-was-very-wooden-his/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) ## More by Stephan James > [What I've learned about that word is context, where the world is coming from - in the era the film is set, it obviously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/what-i-ve-learned-about-that-word-is-context-where-the-world-is/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [My parents are from Jamaica, and I love reggae music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/my-parents-are-from-jamaica-and-i-love-reggae-music/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [John Lewis is such a remarkable human being. Literally, such a beautiful human being. I remember the first time I met him. We were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/john-lewis-is-such-a-remarkable-human-being-literally-such-a/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [Jesse Owens had to be a very strong person. There were a lot of protests, but I think that he knew, despite the pressure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/jesse-owens-had-to-be-a-very-strong-person-there-were-a-lot-of/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [I want to be a superhero, I want to be Spider-Man or Batman. Will you let me know if you have any connections? 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Granted, people - especially Americans - don't know the the Canadian culture. But if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/the-issue-of-racism-happens-all-over-the-world-granted-people/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [I've been a big fan of Barry Jenkins for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/i-ve-been-a-big-fan-of-barry-jenkins-for-a-long-time/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) > [I know I'm a black actor, but really, I'm an actor who happens to be black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/i-know-i-m-a-black-actor-but-really-i-m-an-actor-who-happens-to-be/) [Stephan James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) [Explore all 37 Stephan James quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/) ## More Goal quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. 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This is the path way to Heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/when-you-have-accomplished-your-goal-simply-walk-away-this-is-the/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“my role my goal my dream my life not yours -all mine”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emi-sisk/my-role-my-goal-my-dream-my-life-not-yours-all-mine/) Emi Sisk > [Eugenic goals are most likely to be attained under another name than eugenics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-osborn/eugenic-goals-are-most-likely-to-be-attained-under-another-name-than/) [Frederick Osborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-osborn/) > [The Only cure for nihilism is for liberal democratic societies - their electorates, their judiciary, and their political leadership- to insist that force is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-only-cure-for-nihilism-is-for-liberal-democratic-societies-their/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Everybody tries to score a great goal, and I am lucky I have netted a few.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zlatan-ibrahimovic/everybody-tries-to-score-a-great-goal-and-i-am-lucky-i-have-netted-a/) [Zlatan Ibrahimovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zlatan-ibrahimovic/) > [However, however, if the goal is to abandon America's free enterprise economy, if the goal is to convert America into a submissive member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/however-however-if-the-goal-is-to-abandon-america-s-free-enterprise/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [If your only goal is to become rich, you will never achieve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-d-rockefeller/if-your-only-goal-is-to-become-rich-you-will-never-achieve-it/) [John D. Rockefeller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-d-rockefeller/) > [When you look around the room during meetings and practice, you see that everyone has the same goal. It's obvious by the way that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kendricks/when-you-look-around-the-room-during-meetings-and-practice-you-see/) Eric Kendricks > [I like to wake up and just feel gratitude. Gratitude for waking up, for my health, for my kids, for my family. A lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/i-like-to-wake-up-and-just-feel-gratitude-gratitude-for-waking-up-for/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [“Dreams will come true as long as you give some effort towards your goal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayana/dreams-will-come-true-as-long-as-you-give-some-effort-towards-your/) Dayana > [“There are two kinds of people: goal-oriented and ego-oriented. Goal-oriented people work together and get things gone. Ego-oriented people don’t work.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charbel-tadros/there-are-two-kinds-of-people-goal-oriented-and-ego-oriented-goal/) [Charbel Tadros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charbel-tadros/) [Browse all 9,890 Goal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That was my goal in portraying Jesse Owens: bringing that level of humanity so people could understand who he was as a person.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephan James" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owens-bringing-that-level-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Goal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owens-bringing-that-level-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/stephan-james-17537_goal_that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owe_2334805.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/stephan-james-17537_goal_that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owe_2334805.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/813/stephan-james-17537_goal_that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owe_2334805.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“That was my goal in portraying Jesse Owens: bringing that level of humanity so people could understand who…” — Stephan James", "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": "Stephan James", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-james/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "That was my goal in portraying...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owens-bringing-that-level-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-james/that-was-my-goal-in-portraying-jesse-owens-bringing-that-level-of/#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 } } ] } ```