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A lot of what acting is is paying attention.
Robert Redford
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Acting requires a keen awareness of surroundings and emotions.

In this quote, Robert Redford emphasizes that the essence of acting goes beyond mere performance; it is fundamentally about being present and attentive to both the environment and the emotional state of others. This acute observation allows actors to portray characters authentically, as they draw from real-life experiences and interactions to bring their roles to life.

Themes

ActingAttentionAwarenessPerformanceTheater

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can inspire actors during rehearsals to focus on their interactions.

More from Robert Redford

I'm always drawn to stories that people don't know about, particularly when they're inside of a story that everyone knows about.
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People say I've gone against Hollywood, but I've tried to be independent within Hollywood, tried to be my own person.
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When I was a kid, all I knew was that I felt more comfortable sitting in one chair than in another. And now I realize it was because one chair was older. I still respond directly to the age of things.
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For me, the Sundance Institute is just an extension of something I believed in, which is creating a mechanism for new voices to have a place to develop and be heard.
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Storytelling was a way to see the world bigger than the one you were looking at, and that had great appeal for me. I think, since that was part of my upbringing, it became part of me, and I wanted to pass it along to my kids and my grandkids.
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Be careful of success; it has a dark side.
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