--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will…" description: "\"I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will play so and so' because I wasn't expecting to be an actor at all.\" — Wallace Shawn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/wallace-shawn-7437_actors_i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will_1357977.jpg" --- # I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will play so and so'… ![“I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will play so and so' because I wasn't expecting to be an actor at all.” quote by Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/wallace-shawn-7437_actors_i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will_1357977.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/wallace-shawn-7437_actors_i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will_1357977.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/wallace-shawn-7437_actors_i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will_1357977.jpg) > “I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will play so and so' because I wasn't expecting to be an actor at all.” [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker never imagined a future in acting, highlighting unexpected life paths and the unpredictability of ambition. **In simple terms:** Did not plan to become an actor; life took a different turn. Key Takeaway Stay open to unforeseen opportunities. Themes unexpected career self‑discovery flexibility ambition life unpredictability Mood thoughtful inspirational curious Type motivational reflective philosophical When to use this quote - career changes - creative pursuits - life planning Key Concepts serendipity career evolution personal narrative Questions to Reflect On - What hidden talents could you develop? - How might you respond to unexpected career offers? A Different Perspective May underestimate the value of early aspirations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I've never been in a bad play. There might have been bad productions and I might have been bad in them, but I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rea/i-ve-never-been-in-a-bad-play-there-might-have-been-bad-productions/) [Stephen Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rea/) > [I wasn't expecting to do what I'm doing now...I've grown as a player and as a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-howard/i-wasn-t-expecting-to-do-what-i-m-doing-now-i-ve-grown-as-a-player/) [Josh Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-howard/) > [During 'Idol,' I wasn't expecting anything. I just wanted to survive the competition, but my album and my music are a big part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-sanchez/during-idol-i-wasn-t-expecting-anything-i-just-wanted-to-survive-the/) [Jessica Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-sanchez/) > [I wasn't even expecting to make the Worlds team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mykayla-skinner/i-wasn-t-even-expecting-to-make-the-worlds-team/) [MyKayla Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mykayla-skinner/) > [I will say that I've been lucky enough never to have to do a job I didn't want to do, or a play I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-rabe/i-will-say-that-i-ve-been-lucky-enough-never-to-have-to-do-a-job-i/) [Lily Rabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-rabe/) > [I've been a fan of BET since I was a kid, growing up watching the awards, thinking that one day I would be there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-m-a/i-ve-been-a-fan-of-bet-since-i-was-a-kid-growing-up-watching-the/) [Young M.A](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-m-a/) > [Whereever you are in life, however old you are, begin thinking about every day as the first day of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-guillebeau/whereever-you-are-in-life-however-old-you-are-begin-thinking-about/) [Chris Guillebeau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-guillebeau/) > [I wake up every morning thinking...this is my last day. And I jam everything into it. There's no time for mediocrity. This is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-roddick/i-wake-up-every-morning-thinking-this-is-my-last-day-and-i-jam/) [Anita Roddick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-roddick/) > [I remember going to UFC 138 in 2011 as a fan and thinking one day that could be me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edwards/i-remember-going-to-ufc-138-in-2011-as-a-fan-and-thinking-one-day/) [Leon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edwards/) > [“The goal is to move the thinking that we do every day to the feeling that we often ignore and don't pay attention to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-ha-campbell/the-goal-is-to-move-the-thinking-that-we-do-every-day-to-the-feeling/) [Kim Ha Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-ha-campbell/) > [The happiest thing I did today is thinking of you all day long.. :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-happiest-thing-i-did-today-is-thinking-of-you-all-day-long/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I would do whatever I have to do or whatever it take's to have you back in my life, I can't stop thinking of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-vazquez-jr/i-would-do-whatever-i-have-to-do-or-whatever-it-take-s-to-have-you/) [Rafael Vazquez Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-vazquez-jr/) > [All my life I'd woken up to tennis, tennis, tennis. Even if I don't go to practise, I'm thinking about it all day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-williams/all-my-life-i-d-woken-up-to-tennis-tennis-tennis-even-if-i-don-t-go/) [Serena Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-williams/) > [Dont use all-or-nothing thinking. Take each day as its own day, and dont worry about it if you mess up one day. The most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/dont-use-all-or-nothing-thinking-take-each-day-as-its-own-day-and/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [I wasn't a kid growing up thinking, 'One day I'll get an Oscar and make a speech.' That wasn't on my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/i-wasn-t-a-kid-growing-up-thinking-one-day-i-ll-get-an-oscar-and-make/) [Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/) ## More by Wallace Shawn > [Acting is an escape from the boring person that I am in real life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/acting-is-an-escape-from-the-boring-person-that-i-am-in-real-life/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [You can go to a play that is enjoyable because it's funny, and then on the next night you can go to a play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/you-can-go-to-a-play-that-is-enjoyable-because-it-s-funny-and-then-on/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [The actor's role in the community is quite unlike anyone else's. Businessmen, for example, don't take their clothes off or cry in front of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/the-actor-s-role-in-the-community-is-quite-unlike-anyone-else-s/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [From being a writer of plays, it was not that surprising that somebody thought of giving me a job as an actor. After I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/from-being-a-writer-of-plays-it-was-not-that-surprising-that-somebody/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I have more free time than a lot of individuals, so, instead of talking, I sometimes write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-have-more-free-time-than-a-lot-of-individuals-so-instead-of-talking/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [My personal life is lived as 'me,' but my professional life is lived as other people. In other words, when I go to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/my-personal-life-is-lived-as-me-but-my-professional-life-is-lived-as/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [There's nothing regular about my life at all, really. I don't keep a regular schedule and every day is different. It's all rather chaotic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/there-s-nothing-regular-about-my-life-at-all-really-i-don-t-keep-a/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I am recognized a lot for 'Clueless,' but I am recognized a great deal for 'The Princess Bride.' I don't know... maybe everybody who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-am-recognized-a-lot-for-clueless-but-i-am-recognized-a-great-deal/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [Sleep: a poor substitute for caffeine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/sleep-a-poor-substitute-for-caffeine/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I'm a very lucky man. It's a beautiful thing for a writer, to see people allowing your words to enter their own unconscious and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-m-a-very-lucky-man-it-s-a-beautiful-thing-for-a-writer-to-see/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [And my singing, I don't think I could sing Wagner or opera, but I could probably carry a tune. I was in a musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/and-my-singing-i-don-t-think-i-could-sing-wagner-or-opera-but-i-could/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I think I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. It's not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-think-i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-about-life-and-naturalism-or/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [I'm trying to write truthfully about life, and naturalism, or the way people normally talk in movies, is a convention. The way I write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-m-trying-to-write-truthfully-about-life-and-naturalism-or-the-way/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [When I was first starting to write plays, I quite literally had never heard of the idea of studying playwriting. I wouldn't have studied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/when-i-was-first-starting-to-write-plays-i-quite-literally-had-never/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) > [When I was a child, I did always feel that people were hiding things, and that they weren't expressing their true feelings. When adults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/when-i-was-a-child-i-did-always-feel-that-people-were-hiding-things/) [Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) [Explore all 91 Wallace Shawn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/) ## More Actor 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. 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I've been getting away with it ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akshay-kumar/i-once-told-someone-i-could-act-they-totally-bought-it-i-ve-been/) [Akshay Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akshay-kumar/) > [There has got to be a way for me to have a role on TV or in film that is just as normal as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adeel-akhtar/there-has-got-to-be-a-way-for-me-to-have-a-role-on-tv-or-in-film-that/) [Adeel Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adeel-akhtar/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [I'm an actor, so I'm never going to feel like I've done enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/italia-ricci/i-m-an-actor-so-i-m-never-going-to-feel-like-i-ve-done-enough/) [Italia Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/italia-ricci/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [When I was 13, I auditioned for the theater school, and I was there for four years. In the meantime, I did my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ana-de-armas/when-i-was-13-i-auditioned-for-the-theater-school-and-i-was-there-for/) [Ana de Armas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ana-de-armas/) > [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/) [Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/) > [failure in the theater is more public, more brilliant, more unreal than in any other field.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lillian-hellman/failure-in-the-theater-is-more-public-more-brilliant-more-unreal-than/) [Lillian Hellman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lillian-hellman/) > [I'm a character actor - always have been, always will be - and historically, character actors don't come into their own until later in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-potts/i-m-a-character-actor-always-have-been-always-will-be-and/) [Annie Potts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-potts/) > [Actors don't hate acting. Most people don't hate acting! 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I was typecast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divine/i-never-planned-to-do-female-roles-it-just-happened-i-was-typecast/) [Divine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divine/) > [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/) [Browse all 21,590 Actor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will play so and so' because I wasn't expecting to be an actor at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wallace Shawn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will-play-so-and-so-because-i-wasn/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will-play-so-and-so-because-i-wasn/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/wallace-shawn-7437_actors_i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will_1357977.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/wallace-shawn-7437_actors_i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will_1357977.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4df/wallace-shawn-7437_actors_i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will_1357977.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will play so and so' because I wasn't expecting to be an actor at all.” — Wallace Shawn", "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": "Wallace Shawn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-shawn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never grew up thinking, 'One...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will-play-so-and-so-because-i-wasn/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/i-never-grew-up-thinking-one-day-i-will-play-so-and-so-because-i-wasn/#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 } } ] } ```