--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I detest acting because it is sheer…" description: "\"I detest acting because it is sheer drudgery.\" — Tallulah Bankhead" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/tallulah-bankhead-8506_acting_i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drud_2703909.jpg" --- # I detest acting because it is sheer drudgery. ![“I detest acting because it is sheer drudgery.” quote by Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/tallulah-bankhead-8506_acting_i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drud_2703909.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/tallulah-bankhead-8506_acting_i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drud_2703909.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/tallulah-bankhead-8506_acting_i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drud_2703909.jpg) > “I detest acting because it is sheer drudgery.” [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She expresses strong dislike for acting, calling it tedious work. **In simple terms:** She finds acting tedious. Key Takeaway Consider career choices that align with passion. Themes career discontent work art Mood candid critical Type interview personal When to use this quote - acting - theatre industry Key Concepts job satisfaction creative professions Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of acting could be fulfilling? - How can one find meaning in disliked work? A Different Perspective Personal bias may affect objectivity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Detest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detest/) [Detest Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/detest-acting-2754423/) [Drudgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drudgery/) [Sheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheer/) [Sheer Drudgery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheer-drudgery-2754424/) ## Related quotes > [Work that is pure toil, done solely for the sake of the money it earns, is also sheer drudgery because it is stultifying rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mortimer-adler/work-that-is-pure-toil-done-solely-for-the-sake-of-the-money-it-earns/) [Mortimer Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mortimer-adler/) > [What I do feel the modern child lacks, when compared with the earlier generation, is concentration, and the sheer dogged grit to carry a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miss-read/what-i-do-feel-the-modern-child-lacks-when-compared-with-the-earlier/) [Miss Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miss-read/) > [Photography is 90% sheer, brutal drudgery! The other 10% is inspiration!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-weston/photography-is-90-sheer-brutal-drudgery-the-other-10-is-inspiration/) [Brett Weston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-weston/) > [Why does one write these books after all? The drudgery, the misery, the grind, are forgotten everytime; and one launches another, and it seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-one-write-these-books-after-all-the-drudgery-the-misery-the/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [I taught for a semester, but couldn't work out my teaching schedule with my acting schedule because they just didn't jive. So, I had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-burstein/i-taught-for-a-semester-but-couldn-t-work-out-my-teaching-schedule/) [Danny Burstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-burstein/) > [Who first invented work, and bound the free And holiday-rejoicing spirit down . . . . To that dry drudgery at the desk's dead wood? . . . . Sabbathless Satan!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/who-first-invented-work-and-bound-the-free-and-holiday-rejoicing/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [Man is still by instinct a predatory animal given to devilish aggression. The discoveries of science have immensely increased productivity of material things. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/man-is-still-by-instinct-a-predatory-animal-given-to-devilish/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [I do everything. Of course, I have 50 people who work for me to do the drudgery of mold making and all the foundry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-macdonald/i-do-everything-of-course-i-have-50-people-who-work-for-me-to-do-the/) [Richard MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-macdonald/) > [In the usual way I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanith-lee/in-the-usual-way-i-submitted-manuscripts-to-publishers-this-was-not/) [Tanith Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanith-lee/) > [There must be a law if there is to be liberty. Try to play a piano and you will run into laws as fixed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-rogers/there-must-be-a-law-if-there-is-to-be-liberty-try-to-play-a-piano-and/) [Adrian Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-rogers/) > [In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life. That is, a class…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-henry-hammond/in-all-social-systems-there-must-be-a-class-to-do-the-menial-duties/) [James Henry Hammond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-henry-hammond/) > [the myth of childhood happiness flourishes so wildly not because it satisfies the needs of children but because it satisfies the needs of adults.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/the-myth-of-childhood-happiness-flourishes-so-wildly-not-because-it/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) > [Drudgery, calamity, exasperation, want, are instructors in eloquence and wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/drudgery-calamity-exasperation-want-are-instructors-in-eloquence-and/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Freud pointed out, in his Problem of Lay Analysis, that it is extremely unlikely that a young man who would throw the best years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/freud-pointed-out-in-his-problem-of-lay-analysis-that-it-is-extremely/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [“And wings without dreams was drudgery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danyelle-leafty/and-wings-without-dreams-was-drudgery/) [Danyelle Leafty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danyelle-leafty/) ## More by Tallulah Bankhead > [“I have three phobias which, could I mute them,would make my life as slick as a sonnet,but dull as ditch water:I hate to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-have-three-phobias-which-could-i-mute-them-would-make-my-life-as/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [There have only been two authentic geniuses in the world, Willie Mays and Willie Shakespeare and I think you'd better put Shakespeare first, darling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/there-have-only-been-two-authentic-geniuses-in-the-world-willie-mays/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [Working on television is like being shot out of a cannon. They cram you all up with rehearsals, then someone lights a fuse and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/working-on-television-is-like-being-shot-out-of-a-cannon-they-cram/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [If you really want to help the American theater, don't be an actress, dahling. Be an audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/if-you-really-want-to-help-the-american-theater-don-t-be-an-actress/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [Don't be taken in by the guff that critics are killing the theater. Commonly they sin on the side of enthusiasm. Too often they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/don-t-be-taken-in-by-the-guff-that-critics-are-killing-the-theater/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [No man worth his salt, no man of spirit and spine, no man for whom I could have any respect, could rejoice in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/no-man-worth-his-salt-no-man-of-spirit-and-spine-no-man-for-whom-i/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [I have enemies I've never met - that's fame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-have-enemies-i-ve-never-met-that-s-fame/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [Acting is a form of confession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/acting-is-a-form-of-confession/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [Acting is a form of confusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/acting-is-a-form-of-confusion/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [Say anything about me, darling, as long as it isn't boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/say-anything-about-me-darling-as-long-as-it-isn-t-boring/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [I have three phobias ...: I hate going to bed, get up and hate hate being alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-have-three-phobias-i-hate-going-to-bed-get-up-and-hate-hate-being/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [A frozen daiquiri of a scorching afternoon is soothing. It makes living more tolerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/a-frozen-daiquiri-of-a-scorching-afternoon-is-soothing-it-makes/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [I'm as pure as the driven slush.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-m-as-pure-as-the-driven-slush/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [I'd rather be strongly wrong than weakly right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-d-rather-be-strongly-wrong-than-weakly-right/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) > [I thought I told you to wait in the car.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-thought-i-told-you-to-wait-in-the-car/) [Tallulah Bankhead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) [Explore all 79 Tallulah Bankhead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/) ## 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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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": "I detest acting because it is sheer drudgery.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tallulah Bankhead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drudgery/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drudgery/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/tallulah-bankhead-8506_acting_i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drud_2703909.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/tallulah-bankhead-8506_acting_i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drud_2703909.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ce/tallulah-bankhead-8506_acting_i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drud_2703909.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I detest acting because it is sheer drudgery.” — Tallulah Bankhead", "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": "Tallulah Bankhead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tallulah-bankhead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I detest acting because it is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drudgery/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tallulah-bankhead/i-detest-acting-because-it-is-sheer-drudgery/#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 } } ] } ```