--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: With actors, normally I don't like to…" description: "\"With actors, normally I don't like to have any conversation about background and about motivations and all this.\" — Werner Herzog" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/werner-herzog-964_actors_with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-hav_3116600.jpg" --- # With actors, normally I don't like to have any… ![“With actors, normally I don't like to have any conversation about background and about motivations and all this.” quote by Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/werner-herzog-964_actors_with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-hav_3116600.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/werner-herzog-964_actors_with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-hav_3116600.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/werner-herzog-964_actors_with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-hav_3116600.jpg) > “With actors, normally I don't like to have any conversation about background and about motivations and all this.” [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He prefers not to discuss actors' backgrounds or motives, focusing on present performance rather than backstory. **In simple terms:** Ignore backstory, focus on present. Key Takeaway Prioritize current action over past narratives. Themes film acting presence focus Mood introspective critical Type philosophical practical When to use this quote - rehearsals - film sets - performance coaching - creative workshops Key Concepts method acting directorial philosophy creativity Questions to Reflect On - How does ignoring motivation affect authenticity? - Can spontaneity replace preparation? A Different Perspective May limit deeper character understanding for audience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Actors Normally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors-normally-4952663/) [Backgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation/) [Conversation Background](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversation-background-4259569/) [Like Conversation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-conversation-648622/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) ## Related quotes > [“ SELF-DISCLOSURE In order to begin to reveal to your new acquaintance who you really are, it is helpful to discuss topics that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-berent/self-disclosure-in-order-to-begin-to-reveal-to-your-new-acquaintance/) [Jonathan Berent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-berent/) > [It's so wonderful and creative to go in and tell the wardrobe department what you want to wear and how you want your hair…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-piddock/it-s-so-wonderful-and-creative-to-go-in-and-tell-the-wardrobe/) [Jim Piddock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-piddock/) > [I think if I learned anything in graduate school, it was to not drool around other actors who would normally make you drool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jacobson/i-think-if-i-learned-anything-in-graduate-school-it-was-to-not-drool/) [Peter Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jacobson/) > [Actors normally go to the gym to achieve a certain kind of fitness for a role but when you start playing a sport, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tahir-raj-bhasin/actors-normally-go-to-the-gym-to-achieve-a-certain-kind-of-fitness/) [Tahir Raj Bhasin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tahir-raj-bhasin/) > [To make a song is a gift, and once it's done it keeps evolving and changing and becomes a tool to interact with other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-adams/to-make-a-song-is-a-gift-and-once-it-s-done-it-keeps-evolving-and/) [Ryan Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-adams/) > [I feel like in a conversation if things get said and then repeated, it sort of becomes inherently part of the narrative whether you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/panda-bear/i-feel-like-in-a-conversation-if-things-get-said-and-then-repeated-it/) [Panda Bear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/panda-bear/) > [I suppose I don't hear things, but I listen, if you know what I mean. And there is a big difference between hearing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-glennie/i-suppose-i-don-t-hear-things-but-i-listen-if-you-know-what-i-mean/) [Evelyn Glennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-glennie/) > [This is what I have discovered - and it has been a gift in itself - that books live over and over again in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-joyce/this-is-what-i-have-discovered-and-it-has-been-a-gift-in-itself-that/) [Rachel Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-joyce/) > [“The reading of all good books is like conversation with the finest men of past centuries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ren-descartes/the-reading-of-all-good-books-is-like-conversation-with-the-finest/) [René Descartes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ren-descartes/) > [I love my husband, but it is nothing like a conversation with a woman that understands you. I grow so much from those conversations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beyonce-knowles/i-love-my-husband-but-it-is-nothing-like-a-conversation-with-a-woman/) [Beyonce Knowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beyonce-knowles/) > [There is a form of literature that is a deed, and a form that is only talk, and the latter passes away like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/there-is-a-form-of-literature-that-is-a-deed-and-a-form-that-is-only/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [I don't like when there's too much conversation because I'm shy and it makes me uncomfortable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-rudner/i-don-t-like-when-there-s-too-much-conversation-because-i-m-shy-and/) [Rita Rudner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-rudner/) > [I like when you can have a conversation with people and it's not just stock questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-hill/i-like-when-you-can-have-a-conversation-with-people-and-it-s-not-just/) [Jonah Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-hill/) > [This conversation with the audience has been going on since, what, '72, '73... Sometimes it's like a conversation after dinner with friends. You're in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-van-zandt/this-conversation-with-the-audience-has-been-going-on-since-what-72/) [Steven Van Zandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-van-zandt/) > [I'm very much in my own world with The 1975, so when I do an interview I have to treat it like a conversation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-m-very-much-in-my-own-world-with-the-1975-so-when-i-do-an-interview/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) ## More by Werner Herzog > [If your project has real substance, ultimately the money will follow you like a common cur in the street with its tail between its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/if-your-project-has-real-substance-ultimately-the-money-will-follow/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Every man should pull a boat over a mountain once in his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/every-man-should-pull-a-boat-over-a-mountain-once-in-his-life/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I know whenever it comes to be really dysfunctional and vile and base and hostile on screen, I'm good at that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-know-whenever-it-comes-to-be-really-dysfunctional-and-vile-and-base/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [When we speak about trespassing, we speak about artistic trespassing. You have to be prudent and have common sense and a sense of responsibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/when-we-speak-about-trespassing-we-speak-about-artistic-trespassing/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [If you want to propose marriage to your girlfriend and you live in England and she is in Sicily, do the decent thing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/if-you-want-to-propose-marriage-to-your-girlfriend-and-you-live-in/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I'm a very circumspect and prudent person, and I eliminate danger as far as it can be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-m-a-very-circumspect-and-prudent-person-and-i-eliminate-danger-as/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [It is not only my dreams, my belief is that all these dreams are yours as well. The only distinction between me and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/it-is-not-only-my-dreams-my-belief-is-that-all-these-dreams-are-yours/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [My non-fiction films are pretty much fiction, or at least close... It's all "movies" for me. I never have searched for a subject. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/my-non-fiction-films-are-pretty-much-fiction-or-at-least-close-it-s/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [If an actor knows how to milk a cow, I always know it will not be difficult to be in business with him,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/if-an-actor-knows-how-to-milk-a-cow-i-always-know-it-will-not-be/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [ِِِِِِِِِِArt house theaters are vanishing. They have almost disappeared completely, and that means there's a shift in what audiences want to see. And they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/art-house-theaters-are-vanishing-they-have-almost-disappeared/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I always had a feeling, for example, that there should be something from Verdi's "Requiem" in the film. You hear it when you see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-always-had-a-feeling-for-example-that-there-should-be-something/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [Along with this rapid growth of forms of communication at our disposal - be it fax, phone, email, Internet or whatever - human solitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/along-with-this-rapid-growth-of-forms-of-communication-at-our/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [ I had complete freedom. They \[Netflix\] knew roughly what I was doing. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-had-complete-freedom-they-netflix-knew-roughly-what-i-was-doing/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [For example, the face of Nicole Kidman in Queen of the Desert and she is the most beautiful goddess on screen that you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/for-example-the-face-of-nicole-kidman-in-queen-of-the-desert-and-she/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [I have always postulated that we have to find a new way to deal with reality. It's not so much facts that interest me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/i-have-always-postulated-that-we-have-to-find-a-new-way-to-deal-with/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) [Explore all 318 Werner Herzog quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) ## More Actors quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [A lesser complaint: hair extensions. There are moments on 'All My Children' when half the women actors, young and old, seem to be afflicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/a-lesser-complaint-hair-extensions-there-are-moments-on-all-my/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [I'm very used to working with first time actors - you can just look back at 'E.T.' with Drew Barrymore, and Christian Bale from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-spielberg/i-m-very-used-to-working-with-first-time-actors-you-can-just-look/) [Steven Spielberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-spielberg/) > [Forget the credit, they (male actors) take all the money as well. We don't get paid even one-third of what male actors get. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kangana-ranaut/forget-the-credit-they-male-actors-take-all-the-money-as-well-we-don/) [Kangana Ranaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kangana-ranaut/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [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/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [When we watch a film as actors, you have to understand that we always see much more than what's on screen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-khemu/when-we-watch-a-film-as-actors-you-have-to-understand-that-we-always/) [Kunal Khemu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-khemu/) > [As actors, you become an expert at starting over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupita-nyong-o/as-actors-you-become-an-expert-at-starting-over/) [Lupita Nyong'o](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupita-nyong-o/) > [The whole concept of stage fright is fascinating. Actors get stage fright, but they wouldn't be on the stage in the first place if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/the-whole-concept-of-stage-fright-is-fascinating-actors-get-stage/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [No actor wants to choose - they just want all of the options available to them all the time; we tend to be pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/no-actor-wants-to-choose-they-just-want-all-of-the-options-available/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [A rapper is about being completely true to yourself. Being an actor is about changing who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-smith/a-rapper-is-about-being-completely-true-to-yourself-being-an-actor-is/) [Will Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-smith/) > [I've been a professional actor for almost 40 years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-perlman/i-ve-been-a-professional-actor-for-almost-40-years/) [Ron Perlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-perlman/) > [American actors are coy. We all have pricks and cunts, or are you different from the rest of us?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-greenaway/american-actors-are-coy-we-all-have-pricks-and-cunts-or-are-you/) [Peter Greenaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-greenaway/) [Browse all 11,394 Actors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "With actors, normally I don't like to have any conversation about background and about motivations and all this.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Werner Herzog" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-have-any-conversation-about/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actors" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-have-any-conversation-about/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/werner-herzog-964_actors_with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-hav_3116600.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/werner-herzog-964_actors_with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-hav_3116600.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8ac/werner-herzog-964_actors_with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-hav_3116600.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“With actors, normally I don't like to have any conversation about background and about motivations and all…” — Werner Herzog", "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": "Werner Herzog", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "With actors, normally I don't like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-have-any-conversation-about/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/with-actors-normally-i-don-t-like-to-have-any-conversation-about/#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 } } ] } ```