--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always made up my own acts; built them…" description: "\"I always made up my own acts; built them out of my knowledge and observation of real life. I'd had wonderful opportunities to study people; and every t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/w-c-fields-1625_acts_i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them_2329719.png" --- # I always made up my own acts; built them out of my… ![“I always made up my own acts; built them out of my knowledge and observation of real life. I'd had wonderful opportunities to study people; and every time I went out on the stage I tried to show the audience some bit of true human nature.” quote by W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/w-c-fields-1625_acts_i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them_2329719.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/w-c-fields-1625_acts_i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them_2329719.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/w-c-fields-1625_acts_i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them_2329719.png) > “I always made up my own acts; built them out of my knowledge and observation of real life. I'd had wonderful opportunities to study people; and every time I went out on the stage I tried to show the audience some bit of true human nature.” [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He created performances based on personal insight and real‑world observation, aiming to reveal authentic human behavior to the audience. **In simple terms:** He used his own experiences to craft realistic acts. Key Takeaway Observe life, then reflect it in your work. Themes creativity observation authenticity Mood reflective inspired Type artistic didactic When to use this quote - theatre - stand‑up comedy - teaching acting - writing scripts Key Concepts human nature performance art improvisation Questions to Reflect On - How can personal observation become universal? - When does authenticity become self‑indulgence? A Different Perspective May become too self‑referential, limiting broader appeal. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Audience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/audience/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Observation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/observation/) [Opportunity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opportunity/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Real life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-life/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Wonderful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful/) ## Related quotes > [The philosophical question before us is, when we make an observation of our track in the past, does the result of our observation become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/the-philosophical-question-before-us-is-when-we-make-an-observation/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [After I became a professional comedian, I took to listening to Cash's classic hit 'Ring of Fire' before I went on stage. I always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-skinner/after-i-became-a-professional-comedian-i-took-to-listening-to-cash-s/) [Frank Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-skinner/) > [It's so scary to go on stage. I used to throw up before I went on stage, every time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/it-s-so-scary-to-go-on-stage-i-used-to-throw-up-before-i-went-on/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [I went to stage school with a neighbor to build confidence because I was quite shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandra-roach/i-went-to-stage-school-with-a-neighbor-to-build-confidence-because-i/) [Alexandra Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandra-roach/) > [Before every show, I would call my mother and say, 'Mummy ,I don't know how I will sing today.' But that would change as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonu-nigam/before-every-show-i-would-call-my-mother-and-say-mummy-i-don-t-know/) [Sonu Nigam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonu-nigam/) > [I went through that stage of the Mumford & Sons and the Alanis Morissette vibe. I was in a dark place at the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-rexha/i-went-through-that-stage-of-the-mumford-sons-and-the-alanis/) [Bebe Rexha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-rexha/) > [And I never forgot this as long as I've ever performed, no matter how crap I had felt before I went on stage. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-adams/and-i-never-forgot-this-as-long-as-i-ve-ever-performed-no-matter-how/) [Bryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-adams/) > [I started smoking as soon as I went on the stage. I'd make cigars out of the Morning World when I was a kid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/i-started-smoking-as-soon-as-i-went-on-the-stage-i-d-make-cigars-out/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [We went on stage with the Jefferson Airplane, Jim started singing with Grace Slick and hugging her. Then he danced off the stage, went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-manzarek/we-went-on-stage-with-the-jefferson-airplane-jim-started-singing-with/) [Ray Manzarek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-manzarek/) > [A lot of my words come to me when I'm out and about as well, riding the bus or sat in the pub. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-fox/a-lot-of-my-words-come-to-me-when-i-m-out-and-about-as-well-riding/) [Danny Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-fox/) > [I finally felt that I came into my own when I went on the stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-bacall/i-finally-felt-that-i-came-into-my-own-when-i-went-on-the-stage/) [Lauren Bacall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-bacall/) > [I started at 34 and I didn't go full time until I was 40. When I say started, I mean the first time I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bishop/i-started-at-34-and-i-didn-t-go-full-time-until-i-was-40-when-i-say/) [John Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bishop/) > [A friend of mine was watching TV one day and he just was like, 'I bet you want to do comedy,' and he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deon-cole/a-friend-of-mine-was-watching-tv-one-day-and-he-just-was-like-i-bet/) [Deon Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deon-cole/) > [When I was 14 and went on the stage for the first time, it stimulated me so much that I was convinced that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naseeruddin-shah/when-i-was-14-and-went-on-the-stage-for-the-first-time-it-stimulated/) [Naseeruddin Shah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naseeruddin-shah/) > [When I first went on the stage I was 17 and under the legal age for performers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-waters/when-i-first-went-on-the-stage-i-was-17-and-under-the-legal-age-for/) [Ethel Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-waters/) ## More by W. C. Fields > [Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house unless they have a well-stocked bar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/thou-shalt-not-covet-thy-neighbor-s-house-unless-they-have-a-well/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Take me down to the bar! We'll drink breakfast together!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/take-me-down-to-the-bar-we-ll-drink-breakfast-together/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [There comes a time in the affairs of man when he must take the bull by the tail and face the situation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/there-comes-a-time-in-the-affairs-of-man-when-he-must-take-the-bull/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [If pigs had wings, they would be pigeons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/if-pigs-had-wings-they-would-be-pigeons/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [I feel like a midget with muddy feet had been walking over my tongue all night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-feel-like-a-midget-with-muddy-feet-had-been-walking-over-my-tongue/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [What would you do if you were President, and, on the first day of May, the Russian Ambassador presented you with a beautiful cake…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/what-would-you-do-if-you-were-president-and-on-the-first-day-of-may/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [My illness is due to my doctor's insistence that I drink milk, a whitish fluid they force down helpless babies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/my-illness-is-due-to-my-doctor-s-insistence-that-i-drink-milk-a/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [I am an expert of electricity. My father occupied the chair of applied electricity at the state prison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-am-an-expert-of-electricity-my-father-occupied-the-chair-of-applied/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Bert Williams was the funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/bert-williams-was-the-funniest-man-i-ever-saw-and-the-saddest-man-i/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [A comic should suffer as much over a single line as a man with a hernia would in picking up a heavy barbell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/a-comic-should-suffer-as-much-over-a-single-line-as-a-man-with-a/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [All my available funds are completely tied up in cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/all-my-available-funds-are-completely-tied-up-in-cash/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Back in my rummy days, I would tremble and shake for hours upon arising. It was the only exercise I got.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/back-in-my-rummy-days-i-would-tremble-and-shake-for-hours-upon/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Happiness means quiet nerves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/happiness-means-quiet-nerves/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [W. C. Fields, a lifetime agnostic, was discovered reading a Bible on his deathbed. ''I'm looking for a loop-hole,'' he explained.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/w-c-fields-a-lifetime-agnostic-was-discovered-reading-a-bible-on-his/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [The movie people would have nothing to do with me until they heard me speak in a Broadway play, then they all wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/the-movie-people-would-have-nothing-to-do-with-me-until-they-heard-me/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) [Explore all 221 W. C. Fields quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) ## More Acts quotes > [Each of our acts makes a statement as to our purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/each-of-our-acts-makes-a-statement-as-to-our-purpose/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/) Joe Pitts > [God only acts and is, in existing beings or men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/god-only-acts-and-is-in-existing-beings-or-men/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-gottlieb/poetry-is-a-lousy-form-of-activism-it-doesn-t-really-change-much-and/) [Daphne Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-gottlieb/) > [We are surrounded every day by countless acts of immeasurable kindness and goodwill.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bel-edwards/we-are-surrounded-every-day-by-countless-acts-of-immeasurable/) [John Bel Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bel-edwards/) > [Foreign journalists have to have an approved interpreter assigned them, which they have to pay for, who also acts as guide. As an Iranian,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hooman-majd/foreign-journalists-have-to-have-an-approved-interpreter-assigned/) [Hooman Majd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hooman-majd/) > [I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts. I do not believe that the Armed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-pace/i-believe-that-homosexual-acts-between-individuals-are-immoral-and/) [Peter Pace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-pace/) > [“The book of Luke is the account of the Spirit-empowered ministry of Jesus on the earth, and Acts is the account of the Spirit-empowered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-driscoll/the-book-of-luke-is-the-account-of-the-spirit-empowered-ministry-of/) [Mark Driscoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-driscoll/) > [I don't meditate before I play or compose, but I see playing and composing as meditative acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-swallow/i-don-t-meditate-before-i-play-or-compose-but-i-see-playing-and/) Steve Swallow > [“In Acts, every believer was living in a direct relationship with Him (Christ) and each one functioned normally as a member of His body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hon/in-acts-every-believer-was-living-in-a-direct-relationship-with-him/) [Henry Hon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hon/) > [Ladies seem very intrigued by a guy who is ultra confident and acts like he doesn't need you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jorma-taccone/ladies-seem-very-intrigued-by-a-guy-who-is-ultra-confident-and-acts/) [Jorma Taccone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jorma-taccone/) > [In the name of noble purposes men have committed unspeakable acts of cruelty against one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/in-the-name-of-noble-purposes-men-have-committed-unspeakable-acts-of/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [How do you make the timelessness of inert, silent objects count for something? How to use the, in a way, dumbness of sculpture in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-gormley/how-do-you-make-the-timelessness-of-inert-silent-objects-count-for/) [Antony Gormley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-gormley/) > [Only free people have an incentive to be virtuous. Only people who bear the consequences of their own acts will care about those consequences…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-browne/only-free-people-have-an-incentive-to-be-virtuous-only-people-who/) [Harry Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-browne/) > [The legitimacy of coercive acts in a democracy arises from the process by which they are justified and by the degree to which we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/the-legitimacy-of-coercive-acts-in-a-democracy-arises-from-the/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) Browse all 251 Acts quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always made up my own acts; built them out of my knowledge and observation of real life. I'd had wonderful opportunities to study people; and every time I went out on the stage I tried to show the audience some bit of true human nature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "W. C. Fields" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them-out-of-my-knowledge-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Acts" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them-out-of-my-knowledge-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/w-c-fields-1625_acts_i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them_2329719.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/w-c-fields-1625_acts_i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them_2329719.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/w-c-fields-1625_acts_i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them_2329719.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always made up my own acts; built them out of my knowledge and observation of real life. I'd had wonderful…” — W. C. Fields", "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": "W. C. Fields", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always made up my own...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them-out-of-my-knowledge-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/i-always-made-up-my-own-acts-built-them-out-of-my-knowledge-and/#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 } } ] } ```