--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Man is a make-believe animal: he is never…" description: "\"Man is a make-believe animal: he is never so truly himself as when he is acting a part.\" — William Hazlitt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/william-hazlitt-326_acting_man-is-a-make-believe-animal-he-is-never_2393392.png" --- # Man is a make-believe animal: he is never so truly himself… ![“Man is a make-believe animal: he is never so truly himself as when he is acting a part.” quote by William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/william-hazlitt-326_acting_man-is-a-make-believe-animal-he-is-never_2393392.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/william-hazlitt-326_acting_man-is-a-make-believe-animal-he-is-never_2393392.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/william-hazlitt-326_acting_man-is-a-make-believe-animal-he-is-never_2393392.png) > “Man is a make-believe animal: he is never so truly himself as when he is acting a part.” [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People reveal their true selves when they perform roles, not when they live ordinary lives. **In simple terms:** Acting reveals authenticity. Key Takeaway Embrace roles to discover yourself. Themes identity performance self-discovery Mood reflective introspective Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - theatre rehearsals - social gatherings - online avatars - team projects Key Concepts existentialism role theory Questions to Reflect On - How does acting change your self-perception? - Do you hide behind roles in daily life? A Different Perspective Roles can mask rather than reveal true character. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acting/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal Truly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-truly-5969376/) [Believe Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-animal-1824469/) [Make believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/make-believe/) [Man Make](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-make/) [Truly Acting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truly-acting-2187884/) ## Related quotes > [When you can surprise yourself, you're truly acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-britton/when-you-can-surprise-yourself-you-re-truly-acting/) [Cameron Britton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-britton/) > [Truly, only acting without thought of one's life is superior to valuing one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/truly-only-acting-without-thought-of-one-s-life-is-superior-to/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [“We have no reason to believe that an animal can grasp the notion of extended life, let alone choose to trade current suffering for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-rollin/we-have-no-reason-to-believe-that-an-animal-can-grasp-the-notion-of/) [Bernard Rollin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-rollin/) > [I just love animals, and I'm an advocate for animals rights, and my family has rescued dogs from all over the world. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesha/i-just-love-animals-and-i-m-an-advocate-for-animals-rights-and-my/) [Kesha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesha/) > [“It wasn’t because I didn’t think horses were beautiful, majestic creatures, the pinnacle of animal creation, etc., etc.—it’s just that I didn’t believe any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ransom-riggs/it-wasn-t-because-i-didn-t-think-horses-were-beautiful-majestic/) [Ransom Riggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ransom-riggs/) > [Some people say that their pets will tell them when it's time to go. I don't believe that. No animal of mine has ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-katz/some-people-say-that-their-pets-will-tell-them-when-it-s-time-to-go-i/) [Jon Katz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-katz/) > [Regarding green screen, green screen is really like doing some stage work. You have to make believe that there is a window, make believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benicio-del-toro/regarding-green-screen-green-screen-is-really-like-doing-some-stage/) [Benicio Del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benicio-del-toro/) > [To me, it's the folly of man to make God human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/to-me-it-s-the-folly-of-man-to-make-god-human/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [“A man would make but a very sorry chemist if he attended to that department of human knowledge alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-shelley/a-man-would-make-but-a-very-sorry-chemist-if-he-attended-to-that/) [Mary Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-shelley/) > [A man must make his opportunity, as oft as find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/a-man-must-make-his-opportunity-as-oft-as-find-it/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [Clothes don't make the man, but they make all of him except his hands and face during business hours, and that's a pretty considerable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-horace-lorimer/clothes-don-t-make-the-man-but-they-make-all-of-him-except-his-hands/) [George Horace Lorimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-horace-lorimer/) > [“You must either make a tool of the creature, or a man of him. You cannot make both. Men were not intended to work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/you-must-either-make-a-tool-of-the-creature-or-a-man-of-him-you/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [You can never find your ideal Man but you can make you ideal Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rt/you-can-never-find-your-ideal-man-but-you-can-make-you-ideal-man/) [Rt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rt/) > [Awise man will make more opportunities than he finds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/awise-man-will-make-more-opportunities-than-he-finds/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [If you wish to know what a man is, make him king.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/if-you-wish-to-know-what-a-man-is-make-him-king/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) ## More by William Hazlitt > [First impressions are often the truest, as we find (not infrequently) to our cost, when we have been wheedled out of them by plausible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/first-impressions-are-often-the-truest-as-we-find-not-infrequently-to/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The art of life is to know how to enjoy a little and to endure very much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-art-of-life-is-to-know-how-to-enjoy-a-little-and-to-endure-very/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are thankful for good-will rather than for services, for the motive than the quantum of favor received.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-thankful-for-good-will-rather-than-for-services-for-the-motive/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Want of principle is power. Truth and honesty set a limit to our efforts, which impudence and hypocrisy easily overleap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/want-of-principle-is-power-truth-and-honesty-set-a-limit-to-our/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Repose is as necessary in conversation as in a picture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/repose-is-as-necessary-in-conversation-as-in-a-picture/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [No act terminating in itself constitutes greatness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/no-act-terminating-in-itself-constitutes-greatness/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Vice is man's nature: virtue is a habit--or a mask.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/vice-is-man-s-nature-virtue-is-a-habit-or-a-mask/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We never do anything well till we cease to think about the manner doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-never-do-anything-well-till-we-cease-to-think-about-the-manner/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Man is the only animal that laughs and weeps; for he is the only animal that is struck with the difference between what things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/man-is-the-only-animal-that-laughs-and-weeps-for-he-is-the-only/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Those who have had none of the cares of this life to harass and disturb them, have been obliged to have recourse to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/those-who-have-had-none-of-the-cares-of-this-life-to-harass-and/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/poverty-when-it-is-voluntary-is-never-despicable-but-takes-an/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [We are not satisfied to be right, unless we can prove others to be quite wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/we-are-not-satisfied-to-be-right-unless-we-can-prove-others-to-be/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The world judge of men by their ability in their profession, and we judge of ourselves by the same test: for it is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-world-judge-of-men-by-their-ability-in-their-profession-and-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [The best part of our lives we pass in counting on what is to come.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-best-part-of-our-lives-we-pass-in-counting-on-what-is-to-come/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) [Explore all 671 William Hazlitt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) ## More Acting 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/) > [Many Republicans have always reminded me of professional WWF wrestlers. They come into the ring all pumped up and acting like they're invincible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-feig/many-republicans-have-always-reminded-me-of-professional-wwf/) [Paul Feig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-feig/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [Acting is a grind, just like music is a grind. Sometimes it takes longer than what you can give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/acting-is-a-grind-just-like-music-is-a-grind-sometimes-it-takes/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [It was only when I started making short films in college and I was looking for girls to play the me-ish parts that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lena-dunham/it-was-only-when-i-started-making-short-films-in-college-and-i-was/) [Lena Dunham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lena-dunham/) > [Writing is something I took up rather than anything I had an inclination toward. I like acting -delivering someone else's message - but writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/writing-is-something-i-took-up-rather-than-anything-i-had-an/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [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/) > [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/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) [Ryan Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-newman/) > [The show was number one in the ratings, Gordon Russell was our head writer, the story lines were magnificent and the acting most exciting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-storm/the-show-was-number-one-in-the-ratings-gordon-russell-was-our-head/) [Michael Storm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-storm/) > [I've done so many other projects where you're in a room with a reader and you're acting your lines out: 'We have to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cummings/i-ve-done-so-many-other-projects-where-you-re-in-a-room-with-a-reader/) [Jim Cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cummings/) > [I do not believe in public shaming. 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