--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What has emerged as I've gotten older is…" description: "\"What has emerged as I've gotten older is simplifying the characters I play, unless the role calls for something that is arcane or ornate.\" — Stephen Lang" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/stephen-lang-12082_arcane_what-has-emerged-as-i-ve-gotten-older-is_2229920.jpg" --- # What has emerged as I've gotten older is simplifying the… ![“What has emerged as I've gotten older is simplifying the characters I play, unless the role calls for something that is arcane or ornate.” quote by Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/stephen-lang-12082_arcane_what-has-emerged-as-i-ve-gotten-older-is_2229920.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/stephen-lang-12082_arcane_what-has-emerged-as-i-ve-gotten-older-is_2229920.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc8/stephen-lang-12082_arcane_what-has-emerged-as-i-ve-gotten-older-is_2229920.jpg) > “What has emerged as I've gotten older is simplifying the characters I play, unless the role calls for something that is arcane or ornate.” [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. With age, actors simplify roles unless the part demands complexity, focusing on core essence over ornamentation. **In simple terms:** Older actors strip down characters. Key Takeaway Focus on essential traits. Themes acting craft age Mood thoughtful pragmatic Type reflective professional When to use this quote - theatre auditions - film casting - directing workshops - script analysis Key Concepts character simplification artistic maturity Questions to Reflect On - When is complexity essential for a role? - How does age influence artistic choices? A Different Perspective Simplification may limit artistic range. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Arcane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arcane/) [Arcane Ornate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arcane-ornate-5013126/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-play/) [Older Simplifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/older-simplifying-5013124/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Simplifying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplifying/) [Simplifying Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplifying-characters-5013125/) ## Related quotes > [“Simplifying your life is about simplifying yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamerlan-kuzgov/simplifying-your-life-is-about-simplifying-yourself/) [Tamerlan Kuzgov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamerlan-kuzgov/) > [Becoming more organized is not the goal. In fact, simplifying is not the goal either. Both are tools to help you reach better goals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/becoming-more-organized-is-not-the-goal-in-fact-simplifying-is-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Solving problems isn't so much about simplifying them as it is about properly and realistically reducing them to only what's relevant. And one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cantrell/solving-problems-isn-t-so-much-about-simplifying-them-as-it-is-about/) [Christian Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cantrell/) > [ I think the whole thing that Jamie \[Hyneman\] and I have in working together is that we are constantly simplifying each other's designs, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-savage/i-think-the-whole-thing-that-jamie-hyneman-and-i-have-in-working/) [Adam Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-savage/) > [In the process of simplifying oneself, one often discovers the thing called voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/in-the-process-of-simplifying-oneself-one-often-discovers-the-thing/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [“The secret to good writing is to use small words for big ideas, not to use big words for small ideas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-markus/the-secret-to-good-writing-is-to-use-small-words-for-big-ideas-not-to/) [Oliver Markus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-markus/) > [“The more doable you make something, the more likely you’ll do it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/the-more-doable-you-make-something-the-more-likely-you-ll-do-it/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-pay-hinckley/we-women-have-a-lot-to-learn-about-simplifying-our-lives-we-have-to/) [Marjorie Pay Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-pay-hinckley/) > [As you focus on simplifying your life, make sure that your approach to the process is a loving and accepting one. Know that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/as-you-focus-on-simplifying-your-life-make-sure-that-your-approach-to/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [“You no longer need to fit into society's framework. Simplifying your life and stripping back your layers is true living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigit-goldworthy/you-no-longer-need-to-fit-into-society-s-framework-simplifying-your/) [Brigit Goldworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigit-goldworthy/) > [By simplifying and streamlining the tax filing process it lifts a huge burden off of the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-justice/by-simplifying-and-streamlining-the-tax-filing-process-it-lifts-a/) [Jim Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-justice/) > [“Today, I'm drawn to repurposing for so many reasons: It allows me to live a more financially pared-down and simple life in which it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-blake-soule/today-i-m-drawn-to-repurposing-for-so-many-reasons-it-allows-me-to/) [Amanda Blake Soule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-blake-soule/) > [“I knew then that the fewer items I was acquiring, dusting, packing, moving, and lugging around in life would free up my energy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-breininger/i-knew-then-that-the-fewer-items-i-was-acquiring-dusting-packing/) [Dorothy Breininger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-breininger/) > [You come by your style by learning what to leave out. At first you tend to overwrite—embellishment instead of insight. You either continue to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-collins/you-come-by-your-style-by-learning-what-to-leave-out-at-first-you/) [Billy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-collins/) > [Simplifying our lives does not mean sinking into idleness, but on the contrary, getting rid of the most subtle aspect of laziness: the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthieu-ricard/simplifying-our-lives-does-not-mean-sinking-into-idleness-but-on-the/) [Matthieu Ricard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthieu-ricard/) ## More by Stephen Lang > [I have a penchant for playing God's clowns. Actually, I played Nijinsky once, and he used to call himself God's clown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-have-a-penchant-for-playing-god-s-clowns-actually-i-played-nijinsky/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I love the stage. It's terrifying in a way that film and television is not. When you're about to go out, and you're adrenaline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-love-the-stage-it-s-terrifying-in-a-way-that-film-and-television-is/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I get a lot of people coming up to me and saying, 'I really hate you.' And they say it in the nicest possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-get-a-lot-of-people-coming-up-to-me-and-saying-i-really-hate-you/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I've always been curious about why one man jumps out of a foxhole with a grenade and charges a machine gun nest, and his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-ve-always-been-curious-about-why-one-man-jumps-out-of-a-foxhole/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I love scenes that are just emotional give and take. By the same token, action sequences are great to do. 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Failing to renew 'Terra Nova' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/with-correction-and-given-the-chance-terra-nova-can-and-will-deliver/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I've always been curious as to why one man jumps out of a fox-hole with a grenade and charges a machine gun nest and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-ve-always-been-curious-as-to-why-one-man-jumps-out-of-a-fox-hole/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [Your primary tools, as an actor, are observation and imagination. You can pretty much get everything you need from that, and you do. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/your-primary-tools-as-an-actor-are-observation-and-imagination-you/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I loved Laurel and Hardy and TV shows like 'Robin Hood' and 'Rama of the Jungle'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-loved-laurel-and-hardy-and-tv-shows-like-robin-hood-and-rama-of-the/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I don't want to, in any way, characterize a race or a people or get accused of racial profiling, but the Irish, as lyrical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-don-t-want-to-in-any-way-characterize-a-race-or-a-people-or-get/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I've played the clarinet since I was a kid. I love to sing, but I'm not much of a singer. Let's say that when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-ve-played-the-clarinet-since-i-was-a-kid-i-love-to-sing-but-i-m-not/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I don't think there is a role that I did twenty years ago that I couldn't do better now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-don-t-think-there-is-a-role-that-i-did-twenty-years-ago-that-i/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) > [I like to understand, very specifically, what it is I'm seeing, and where it is and where it's going, and a lot of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-lang/i-like-to-understand-very-specifically-what-it-is-i-m-seeing-and/) [Stephen Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) [Explore all 56 Stephen Lang quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-lang/) ## More Arcane quotes > [We need to think about encryption not as this sort of arcane, black art. 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Skirt the rules but don’t break them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lavalle/this-is-how-you-hustle-the-arcane-skirt-the-rules-but-don-t-break-them/) [Victor LaValle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lavalle/) > [We should take comfort in two conjoined features of nature: first, that our world is incredibly strange and therefore supremely fascinating, second, that however…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-should-take-comfort-in-two-conjoined-features-of-nature-first-that/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [I myself delve into very arcane things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/i-myself-delve-into-very-arcane-things/) [Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/) > [One of the leading uses of photography by the mass media came to be called photojournalism. From the late 'twenties' to the early 'fifties'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-szarkowski/one-of-the-leading-uses-of-photography-by-the-mass-media-came-to-be/) [John Szarkowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-szarkowski/) > [The argument about marriage equality will one day seem as arcane and shocking to us as the fact that Rosa Parks had to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/uma-thurman/the-argument-about-marriage-equality-will-one-day-seem-as-arcane-and/) [Uma Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/uma-thurman/) > [“All you need to know about the light is in being in the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-light-is-in-being-in-the-dark/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Unfortunately for a multitude of occultists, humor is a rare ingredient in their lives. In fact it is their very lack of humor that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-szandor-lavey/unfortunately-for-a-multitude-of-occultists-humor-is-a-rare/) [Anton Szandor LaVey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-szandor-lavey/) > [I didn't expect to love being online as much as I do. I've met some wonderful people and discovered that however arcane some of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/i-didn-t-expect-to-love-being-online-as-much-as-i-do-i-ve-met-some/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [“Desire is arcane”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-pierce/desire-is-arcane/) [M. 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