I always felt that acting was an escape, like having the secret key to every door and permission to go into any realm and soak it up. I enjoy that free pass.
Interpretation
Acting allows one to explore different worlds and experiences, providing a sense of freedom and adventure.
In this quote, Edward Norton expresses how acting serves as a form of escapism, granting him the ability to enter various realms and experience life in diverse ways. This 'secret key' symbolizes the unique opportunities that acting provides, allowing individuals to immerse themselves in different narratives and emotions, thus enhancing their understanding of the human experience.
In practice
In a speech about pursuing artistic passions, one might say, 'As Edward Norton puts it, acting is like having the secret key to every door, allowing us to explore new worlds.'
Look, you've got a generation of people coming along who are going to form their own new relationship with the idea of supporting the causes that they care about or changing the world. And these people are not going to do it the way our parents do it.
I've observed over and over that people seem to get a much deeper sense of fulfillment out of something they've done as an act of service than out of the things they do for themselves.
Basically, I think 21st century conservation is moving toward preserving ecosystems by dealing with the needs of people.
I'm fascinated by the ways in which people express themselves, because their responses are often counter to what they're actually feeling. Like when they're frightened, they tend to freeze. When they're angry, it doesn't always come out as volume. There are wonderful contradictions in the way that people express their emotions.
I think there is a serious corruption in the idea sold through advertising that you can attain spiritual peace through lifestyle and the notion of building your happiness from the outside-in by acquiring things . . . which if you think about it, is the essence of advertising
Life, like poker has an element of risk. It shouldn't be avoided. It should be faced.
Faulkner is a writer who has had much to do with my soul, but Hemingway is the one who had the most to do with my craft - not simply for his books, but for his astounding knowledge of the aspect of craftsmanship in the science of writing.
There is only one valuable thing in art: the thing you cannot explain.
Surrealism will usher you into death, which is a secret society. It will glove your hand, burying therein the profound M with which the word Memory begins.
I write stories that are already in the air, and I think it's important to have the correct listening device to tune in to that frequency.
IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: WHAT SCENES ONE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE FILMED Shakespeare in the part of the King's Ghost. The beheading of Louis the Sixteenth, the drums drowning his speech on the scaffold. Herman Melville at breakfast, feeling a sardine to his cat. Poe's wedding. Lewis Carroll's picnics. The Russians leaving Alaska, delighted with the deal. Shot of a seal applauding.
Art is the highest task and the proper metaphysical activity of this life.
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