--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You don't do characters that are the same…" description: "\"You don't do characters that are the same as you, otherwise why bother to act?\" — Tom Selleck" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/tom-selleck-12016_bother_you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-sam_976669.png" --- # You don't do characters that are the same as you… ![“You don't do characters that are the same as you, otherwise why bother to act?” quote by Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/tom-selleck-12016_bother_you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-sam_976669.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/tom-selleck-12016_bother_you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-sam_976669.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/tom-selleck-12016_bother_you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-sam_976669.png) > “You don't do characters that are the same as you, otherwise why bother to act?” [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Acting requires embodying perspectives different from one’s own; playing oneself offers no artistic challenge. **In simple terms:** Play roles unlike yourself for depth. Key Takeaway Seek characters that stretch your empathy. Themes acting identity creativity Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - theatre auditions - film casting - writing workshops Key Concepts method acting empathy development Questions to Reflect On - How do you find authenticity in foreign roles? - What techniques help you inhabit another’s mindset? A Different Perspective Some roles may demand personal experience for authenticity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) [Bother Act](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother-act-1911159/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters/) [Characters Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-bother-1911157/) [Don Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-characters-1911158/) [Why bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/why-bother/) ## Related quotes > [I don't take characters home with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sissy-spacek/i-don-t-take-characters-home-with-me/) [Sissy Spacek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sissy-spacek/) > [“Perhaps I shall take my fortune and retire to the country and read novels where other characters must bother with these sorts of troubles.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rodale/perhaps-i-shall-take-my-fortune-and-retire-to-the-country-and-read/) [Maya Rodale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rodale/) > [If you want to climb it badly enough, you will. So... why bother ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-scott/if-you-want-to-climb-it-badly-enough-you-will-so-why-bother/) [Doug Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-scott/) > [If you know you can do it - if you can already chart every day in your future - then why bother? Choose to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-barreca/if-you-know-you-can-do-it-if-you-can-already-chart-every-day-in-your/) [Gina Barreca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-barreca/) > [I was perpetually grief-stricken when I finished a book, and would slide down from my sitting position on the bed, put my cheek on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/i-was-perpetually-grief-stricken-when-i-finished-a-book-and-would/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) > [My philosophy is, unless you're sick and need help, why bother?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-collins/my-philosophy-is-unless-you-re-sick-and-need-help-why-bother/) [Jackie Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-collins/) > [Style is about the choices you make to create the aspects of civilization that you wish to uphold. I will buy a chair for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/style-is-about-the-choices-you-make-to-create-the-aspects-of/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I regarded drugs as somewhat like rattlesnakes - it's possible to pick one up without getting bit, but why bother?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-moon/i-regarded-drugs-as-somewhat-like-rattlesnakes-it-s-possible-to-pick/) [Elizabeth Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-moon/) > [School is practice for the future, and practice makes perfect and nobody's perfect so why bother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tre-cool/school-is-practice-for-the-future-and-practice-makes-perfect-and/) [Tre Cool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tre-cool/) > [Going back to why people don't vote, I presume the main reason is because they understand without reading political science texts that it doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/going-back-to-why-people-don-t-vote-i-presume-the-main-reason-is/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Change is a journey and the journey is always about change. And if there is no change, why bother with the journey? And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-owen/change-is-a-journey-and-the-journey-is-always-about-change-and-if/) [Harrison Owen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-owen/) > [Naturally, when it comes to voting, we in Texas are accustomed to discerning that fine hair’s-breadth worth of difference that makes one hopeless dipstick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-ivins/naturally-when-it-comes-to-voting-we-in-texas-are-accustomed-to/) [Molly Ivins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-ivins/) > [I've been to nudist beaches, like twice. But honestly, I just don't want to see these people naked. Most people look better with their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-buck/i-ve-been-to-nudist-beaches-like-twice-but-honestly-i-just-don-t-want/) [Peter Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-buck/) > [Middle Age is that perplexing time of life when we hear two voices calling us, one saying, 'Why not?' and the other, 'Why bother?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/middle-age-is-that-perplexing-time-of-life-when-we-hear-two-voices/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [In Britain, it's bred into you, the idea that you can't really change anything, so why bother. When I went to school in America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heather-brooke/in-britain-it-s-bred-into-you-the-idea-that-you-can-t-really-change/) [Heather Brooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heather-brooke/) ## More by Tom Selleck > [I realized I really liked the screen. I knew it was a challenge, but I wasn't afraid of risk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-realized-i-really-liked-the-screen-i-knew-it-was-a-challenge-but-i/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [If a guy as good and decent with as much grace as Chuck Heston can stand up for an issue that I think is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/if-a-guy-as-good-and-decent-with-as-much-grace-as-chuck-heston-can/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [I've never reacted well to other people telling me what to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-ve-never-reacted-well-to-other-people-telling-me-what-to-do/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [I had a strong, really good upbringing, not puritanical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-had-a-strong-really-good-upbringing-not-puritanical/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [My mustache gets so many questions he has his own agen now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/my-mustache-gets-so-many-questions-he-has-his-own-agen-now/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [It is scary for an actor when you get hired as a lead. No matter what the plot is, it is your job to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/it-is-scary-for-an-actor-when-you-get-hired-as-a-lead-no-matter-what/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [I guess after Dances With Wolves they probably tried some derivative westerns, and if they didn't work, they said the western is dead and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-guess-after-dances-with-wolves-they-probably-tried-some-derivative/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [I praise CBS for taking a risk, which is always the price you pay for opportunity. This is not standard movie of the week…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-praise-cbs-for-taking-a-risk-which-is-always-the-price-you-pay-for/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [I think of myself as an actor first, not a sex symbol. Do I think I'm sexy? No, that's someone else's judgment, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-think-of-myself-as-an-actor-first-not-a-sex-symbol-do-i-think-i-m/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [Im a registered independent with a lot of libertarian leanings,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/im-a-registered-independent-with-a-lot-of-libertarian-leanings/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [Good parts should always scare you a little bit, and good parts... you might not get advice to do them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/good-parts-should-always-scare-you-a-little-bit-and-good-parts-you/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [You know, there's so much imitation and so much pandering in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/you-know-there-s-so-much-imitation-and-so-much-pandering-in-hollywood/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [I live a pretty simple life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-live-a-pretty-simple-life/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [I feel the other element of a western is the land, which is very important in this movie. I mean the land is another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/i-feel-the-other-element-of-a-western-is-the-land-which-is-very/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) > [Why westerns get segregated into a genre in Hollywood, I don't know... It's just good entertainment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/why-westerns-get-segregated-into-a-genre-in-hollywood-i-don-t-know-it/) [Tom Selleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) [Explore all 57 Tom Selleck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/) ## More Bother quotes > [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/) [David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/) > [One day I decided I would like to put a record into my system. So I picked up a record that was lying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/one-day-i-decided-i-would-like-to-put-a-record-into-my-system-so-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/i-think-what-bothers-us-about-fighting-sports-isn-t-the-damage-to-the/) [Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/) > [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/) [Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) > [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/) [Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/) > [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [We have reached the point where we can lose a game or two and not drop out of sight in the rankings. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavell-edwards/we-have-reached-the-point-where-we-can-lose-a-game-or-two-and-not/) [LaVell Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavell-edwards/) > [I've said I want the meanest, toughest SOB I can find to protect America. And so that's why Trump's tone doesn't bother me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-ve-said-i-want-the-meanest-toughest-sob-i-can-find-to-protect/) [Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/) > [I was a loner as a child. I had an imaginary friend - I didn't bother with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-was-a-loner-as-a-child-i-had-an-imaginary-friend-i-didn-t-bother/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [This hype word bothers me though It always sounds like an accusation, what does it mean, advertising, column inches in the press? Bands themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/this-hype-word-bothers-me-though-it-always-sounds-like-an-accusation/) [Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/) > [Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-but-only-the-newest-theory/) [Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/) > [Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-dale-bell/show-me-a-man-who-cannot-bother-to-do-little-things-and-i-ll-show-you/) [Lawrence Dale Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-dale-bell/) > [People are people. All that celebrity tagging doesn't bother me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-price/people-are-people-all-that-celebrity-tagging-doesn-t-bother-me-at-all/) [Katie Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-price/) [Browse all 1,604 Bother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You don't do characters that are the same as you, otherwise why bother to act?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Selleck" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-same-as-you-otherwise-why-bother/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bother" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-same-as-you-otherwise-why-bother/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/tom-selleck-12016_bother_you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-sam_976669.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/tom-selleck-12016_bother_you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-sam_976669.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae0/tom-selleck-12016_bother_you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-sam_976669.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You don't do characters that are the same as you, otherwise why bother to act?” — Tom Selleck", "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": "Tom Selleck", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-selleck/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You don't do characters that are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-same-as-you-otherwise-why-bother/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-selleck/you-don-t-do-characters-that-are-the-same-as-you-otherwise-why-bother/#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 } } ] } ```