--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The life of an actor can be very enviable." description: "\"The life of an actor can be very enviable.\" — Wallace Shawn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/wallace-shawn-7437_actor_the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviabl_754075.jpg" --- # The life of an actor can be very enviable. ![“The life of an actor can be very enviable.” quote by Wallace Shawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/wallace-shawn-7437_actor_the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviabl_754075.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/wallace-shawn-7437_actor_the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviabl_754075.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/wallace-shawn-7437_actor_the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviabl_754075.jpg) > “The life of an actor can be very enviable.” [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. Acting offers a unique, often glamorous view of life, but it can be misleading. **In simple terms:** Acting seems enviable but has hidden challenges. Key Takeaway Recognize the reality behind the allure. Themes celebrity illusion career art Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical cautionary When to use this quote - career counseling - media analysis - personal ambition - mental health awareness Key Concepts Performance Identity Expectation Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of acting are overlooked? - How does fame affect personal identity? A Different Perspective The quote idealizes acting without acknowledging its hardships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actor/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Enviable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enviable/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [I've been on the stage my entire life as an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-piven/i-ve-been-on-the-stage-my-entire-life-as-an-actor/) [Jeremy Piven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-piven/) > [I love the life of an actor because you spend brief amounts of time with other people and then you just leave. I need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-stowe/i-love-the-life-of-an-actor-because-you-spend-brief-amounts-of-time/) [Madeleine Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-stowe/) > [...and there I suddenly found my articulate self in a dazzling land of smiling, jostling people wearing and not wearing all sorts of costumes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cary-grant/and-there-i-suddenly-found-my-articulate-self-in-a-dazzling-land-of/) [Cary Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cary-grant/) > [If you take every challenge everyone has in their life and multiply it in severity you get what it's like in the life of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dee-wallace/if-you-take-every-challenge-everyone-has-in-their-life-and-multiply/) [Dee Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dee-wallace/) > [The unenvied man is not enviable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/the-unenvied-man-is-not-enviable/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [Facebook's data trove is enviable, and its moves into nearly every aspect of our lives - from payment to media, will create even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-battelle/facebook-s-data-trove-is-enviable-and-its-moves-into-nearly-every/) [John Battelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-battelle/) > [The car provided Americans with an enviable standard of living. You could not get a steady job with high wages and health and retirement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-car-provided-americans-with-an-enviable-standard-of-living-you/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Georgia is in an enviable position today, but we can't rest on our laurels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-barnes/georgia-is-in-an-enviable-position-today-but-we-can-t-rest-on-our/) [Roy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-barnes/) > [Age is not enviable in America. It's not applauded all that strongly. You have to take it all with a grain of salt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anjelica-huston/age-is-not-enviable-in-america-it-s-not-applauded-all-that-strongly/) [Anjelica Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anjelica-huston/) > [Mostly, I'm in the very enviable position that no one dictates what I do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/graeme-murphy/mostly-i-m-in-the-very-enviable-position-that-no-one-dictates-what-i/) [Graeme Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/graeme-murphy/) > [I've reached that enviable state in life in which I can do pretty much what I want.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-collins/i-ve-reached-that-enviable-state-in-life-in-which-i-can-do-pretty/) [Jason Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-collins/) > [In a world in which there is so much to interest, so much to enjoy, and so much also to correct and improve, everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/in-a-world-in-which-there-is-so-much-to-interest-so-much-to-enjoy-and/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [If you are not envied, you are not enviable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/if-you-are-not-envied-you-are-not-enviable/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [“How inexplicable and enviable, never to want to be anywhere other than where you already are.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-alger/how-inexplicable-and-enviable-never-to-want-to-be-anywhere-other-than/) [Cristina Alger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-alger/) > [I was born in and worked in a period that could be called enviable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/i-was-born-in-and-worked-in-a-period-that-could-be-called-enviable/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) ## 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. 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/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [I once told someone I could act. They totally bought it. 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! 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/) > [I never planned to do female roles. It just happened. 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": "The life of an actor can be very enviable.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wallace Shawn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/wallace-shawn-7437_actor_the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviabl_754075.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/wallace-shawn-7437_actor_the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviabl_754075.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b7/wallace-shawn-7437_actor_the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviabl_754075.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The life of an actor can be very enviable.” — 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": "The life of an actor can...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-shawn/the-life-of-an-actor-can-be-very-enviable/#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 } } ] } ```