--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can be intuitive when you've got a…" description: "\"You can be intuitive when you've got a more expansive role. You can get into the poetry of telling the story rather than just pushing buttons.\" — Wille..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/willem-dafoe-4486_buttons_you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-m_2532595.jpg" --- # You can be intuitive when you've got a more expansive… ![“You can be intuitive when you've got a more expansive role. You can get into the poetry of telling the story rather than just pushing buttons.” quote by Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/willem-dafoe-4486_buttons_you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-m_2532595.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/willem-dafoe-4486_buttons_you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-m_2532595.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/willem-dafoe-4486_buttons_you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-m_2532595.jpg) > “You can be intuitive when you've got a more expansive role. You can get into the poetry of telling the story rather than just pushing buttons.” [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expanding a role allows intuitive storytelling beyond technical execution. **In simple terms:** Big roles invite poetic storytelling. Key Takeaway Embrace larger roles for depth. Themes creativity storytelling intuition Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - theatre - film direction - writing workshops Key Concepts method acting character immersion Questions to Reflect On - How does intuition shape your performance? - When do you balance intuition with technique? A Different Perspective Larger roles can bring pressure and typecasting. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Intuitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intuitive/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) ## Related quotes > [Poetry is telling something to someone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-howe/poetry-is-telling-something-to-someone/) [Marie Howe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-howe/) > [That's one of those questions that would just love to have a pat answer. You know, poetry's job is to make us feel good.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hamill/that-s-one-of-those-questions-that-would-just-love-to-have-a-pat/) [Sam Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hamill/) > [Such is the role of poetry. It unveils, in the strict sense of the word. It lays bare, under a light which shakes off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/such-is-the-role-of-poetry-it-unveils-in-the-strict-sense-of-the-word/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [“Midway between the too soiled ground and the too-sublime vaults, at the level of the air, entering the skin of the role, poetry plays…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/midway-between-the-too-soiled-ground-and-the-too-sublime-vaults-at/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [I think it's often assumed that the role of poetry is to comfort, but for me, poetry is the great unsettler. It questions the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-oswald/i-think-it-s-often-assumed-that-the-role-of-poetry-is-to-comfort-but/) [Alice Oswald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-oswald/) > [Since our online libraries are so extensive, we think we can make all the right decisions about our personal health and well-being by pushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelly-furtado/since-our-online-libraries-are-so-extensive-we-think-we-can-make-all/) [Nelly Furtado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelly-furtado/) > [I think back story can help guide your choices, but when you're playing a scene, you're not making choices; you're just intuitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-think-back-story-can-help-guide-your-choices-but-when-you-re/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [I like telling the story in a visual way. I don't like explaining a lot in dialogue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sofia-coppola/i-like-telling-the-story-in-a-visual-way-i-don-t-like-explaining-a/) [Sofia Coppola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sofia-coppola/) > [Telling your story is transformative. For both the storyteller and their audience, a new bridge to understanding is created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-burton/telling-your-story-is-transformative-for-both-the-storyteller-and/) [Susan Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-burton/) > [You're telling the story, creating the sets, doing the lighting, the designing, and establishing the pace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-sienkiewicz/you-re-telling-the-story-creating-the-sets-doing-the-lighting-the/) [Bill Sienkiewicz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-sienkiewicz/) > [Everything, for me, is fueled off telling my story through music, because I have a lot to say, and it's some urgent things that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-b/everything-for-me-is-fueled-off-telling-my-story-through-music/) [Lil B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-b/) > [Watching a movie from beginning to end is like reading, because even though what you see are images, they are telling you a story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-cabrera-infante/watching-a-movie-from-beginning-to-end-is-like-reading-because-even/) [Guillermo Cabrera Infante](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-cabrera-infante/) > [Telling a story of illness, one pulls a thread through a narrow opening flanked on one side by shame and the other by trivia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/telling-a-story-of-illness-one-pulls-a-thread-through-a-narrow/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) ## More by Willem Dafoe > [I was doing community theater, and I was always interested in acting, but I was also interested in sports. I was interested in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-was-doing-community-theater-and-i-was-always-interested-in-acting/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [I knew very little about 'Spider-Man'. I grew up more in the 'Superman' generation. 'Spider-Man' - I didn't know so much. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-knew-very-little-about-spider-man-i-grew-up-more-in-the-superman/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [When you have something to work with, then you fly with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/when-you-have-something-to-work-with-then-you-fly-with-it/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [When I was a kid I was very interested in the idea of the will, finding out what you're capable of. I liked those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/when-i-was-a-kid-i-was-very-interested-in-the-idea-of-the-will/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [Film is an editor's medium. You can create very good raw material and they can make it horrible, or you can do not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/film-is-an-editor-s-medium-you-can-create-very-good-raw-material-and/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [I'm more interested in talking about what I do. And I don't think people are interested in my personal life. I've never had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-m-more-interested-in-talking-about-what-i-do-and-i-don-t-think/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [ Mounting those red stairs \[in Cannes\] is something I've done with a very different intention many times. So it's interesting any time you witness… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/mounting-those-red-stairs-in-cannes-is-something-i-ve-done-with-a/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [In films you do a scene, you play around with it and unless you're doing a lot of reshooting, which no one has the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/in-films-you-do-a-scene-you-play-around-with-it-and-unless-you-re/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [For every role, you have to always find a different way to approach it, one that's specific and suits what the key is. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/for-every-role-you-have-to-always-find-a-different-way-to-approach-it/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [Celebrity is okay as long as you know it's not about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/celebrity-is-okay-as-long-as-you-know-it-s-not-about-you/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [All the time, as an actor, you want to be asking what's next and where things are going. If you're not asking those questions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/all-the-time-as-an-actor-you-want-to-be-asking-what-s-next-and-where/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [I'm learning in my old age that the only thing you can do to keep your sanity is to stay in the moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-m-learning-in-my-old-age-that-the-only-thing-you-can-do-to-keep/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [I was watching 'Wild at Heart,' and I can honestly say I did nothing for that apart from show up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-was-watching-wild-at-heart-and-i-can-honestly-say-i-did-nothing-for/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [Truth is, generally I like film festivals; somewhere at some level there's an exchange of ideas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/truth-is-generally-i-like-film-festivals-somewhere-at-some-level/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) > [I don't think people are interested in my personal life. I've never had a Hollywood life. I've always been a worker.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/i-don-t-think-people-are-interested-in-my-personal-life-i-ve-never/) [Willem Dafoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) [Explore all 110 Willem Dafoe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/) ## More Buttons quotes > [J.D. cleared his throat and pushed the button on the intercom. “Uh, Payton, hi. It’s J.D.” Dead silence. Then another crackle. “Sorry. Not interested.”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/j-d-cleared-his-throat-and-pushed-the-button-on-the-intercom-uh/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [Or I could see Fish, Just a button up, Like a Mayor, Like a President, Just demands so much from his teammates, Has played…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-durant/or-i-could-see-fish-just-a-button-up-like-a-mayor-like-a-president/) [Kevin Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-durant/) > [We are going to die, as is everyone we adore - I hate this! But the question is, how do we live as women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/we-are-going-to-die-as-is-everyone-we-adore-i-hate-this-but-the/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [One thing I like about the United States, and I kind of miss about the United States, is there's an election coming up here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-sedaris/one-thing-i-like-about-the-united-states-and-i-kind-of-miss-about-the/) [David Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-sedaris/) > [I feel a little more tired than usual, ... Ive had to recover from everything, my illnesses and things this summer. Its not perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/venus-williams/i-feel-a-little-more-tired-than-usual-ive-had-to-recover-from/) [Venus Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/venus-williams/) > [I can't really deal with buttons. And that's what I keep saying, "Okay, I can't push buttons, because that means I have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/i-can-t-really-deal-with-buttons-and-that-s-what-i-keep-saying-okay-i/) [Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/) > [Today at school I will learn to read at once; then tomorrow I will begin to write, and the day after tomorrow to cipher.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-collodi/today-at-school-i-will-learn-to-read-at-once-then-tomorrow-i-will/) [Carlo Collodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-collodi/) > [“Some things are governed by common sense. Putting buttons on the front of a shirt is a matter of logic, since it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/some-things-are-governed-by-common-sense-putting-buttons-on-the-front/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [Burn a Bush cause for peace he no push no button. Killing over oil and grease, no weapons of destruction, How can we follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/common/burn-a-bush-cause-for-peace-he-no-push-no-button-killing-over-oil-and/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/common/) > [I pray not to be such a whiny, self-obsessed baby, and give thanks that I am not quite as bad as I used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/i-pray-not-to-be-such-a-whiny-self-obsessed-baby-and-give-thanks-that/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [ \[The web\] is going to end up being a tremendous advantage, providing we can work out the financial structure. I think we’ll see newspapers… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-evans/the-web-is-going-to-end-up-being-a-tremendous-advantage-providing-we/) [Harold Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-evans/) > [Any situation that pushes our buttons is a situation where we don't yet have the capacity to be unconditionally loving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/any-situation-that-pushes-our-buttons-is-a-situation-where-we-don-t/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [American views today are weak, confused, and divided. On one side, many progressive liberals still think that we humans are essentially good and getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/american-views-today-are-weak-confused-and-divided-on-one-side-many/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Nowadays, people shoot digitally and it's all in color, but you press a button and it all goes to black and white. But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lynch/nowadays-people-shoot-digitally-and-it-s-all-in-color-but-you-press-a/) [David Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lynch/) > [The best thing to ever happen to marriage is the pause-live-TV button.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-reilly/the-best-thing-to-ever-happen-to-marriage-is-the-pause-live-tv-button/) [Rick Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-reilly/) Browse all 708 Buttons quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can be intuitive when you've got a more expansive role. You can get into the poetry of telling the story rather than just pushing buttons.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Willem Dafoe" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-more-expansive-role-you-can/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Buttons" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-more-expansive-role-you-can/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/willem-dafoe-4486_buttons_you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-m_2532595.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/willem-dafoe-4486_buttons_you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-m_2532595.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/willem-dafoe-4486_buttons_you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-m_2532595.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can be intuitive when you've got a more expansive role. You can get into the poetry of telling the story…” — Willem Dafoe", "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": "Willem Dafoe", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willem-dafoe/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can be intuitive when you've...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-more-expansive-role-you-can/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willem-dafoe/you-can-be-intuitive-when-you-ve-got-a-more-expansive-role-you-can/#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 } } ] } ```