I don't think there will ever be a time I don't write, and I hope there will never be a time I don't act.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a deep commitment to writing and acting as integral parts of life.
Octavia Spencer's quote reflects her unwavering passion for writing and acting, suggesting that these creative pursuits are not just hobbies but essential components of her identity. It conveys a sense of hope that she will always engage in these artistic endeavors, emphasizing their significance in her life and the importance of following one's passions.
In practice
This quote can be used to encourage aspiring writers at a workshop.
You have to get out of your comfort zone in order to grow. And as an actor, you don't become Meryl Streep by doing the same type of comedy. You get there by being challenged. And unfortunately, there's a lack of roles for women of color, so you actually have to be the engineer creating some of those roles.
There are so few roles out there. And even if it is a film that could be led by a black actress, how many times is that film going to get funded? Let's just be real. But it's not just black people. It's Asians, it's Hispanic people if you're not Salma Hayek. It's hard. It's hard to get films funded.
I think that young women and little girls need to see that they don't have to be the damsel in distress. They don't have to not show their strength. They don't have to be whatever the stereotype is or the tropes that we go to in our minds.
You just keep moving forward and doing what you do and hope that it resonates with people. And if it doesn't, you just keep moving on until you find a project that does.
I like to read, even though it was really tough, because I could go anywhere in the world in a book, and I could have so many adventures in a book.
If you go through life, and you don't find the beauty in an unexpected place, then you really have a sad existence.
We are not moving towards some kind of goal. We are at the goal, and it is changing with us. If art has any purpose, it is to open our eyes to that fact.
Drama can feel like therapy whereas comedy feels like there's been a pressure and a weight lifted off of you. You come to work and you laugh all day, you go home and you feel light and there's a certain feeling when you're sitting with the audience and they leave after 90 minutes and it's just pure escapism and they're happy.
You can't improvise without a skeletal structure; you can't just go in and start talking. This is a very misunderstood craft because no one else makes movies like this.
Many great writers have been extraordinarily awkward in daily exchange, but the greatest give the impression that their style was nursed by the closest attention to colloquial speech.
In the early stages of creation of both art and science, everything in the mind is a story.
Without music, life would be a mistake.
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