Bad actors try to cry, and good actors try not to. Bad actors try to laugh, and good actors try not to.
Martin LandauRead
People think I'm a very serious actor, which I am. But you know, if you don't have a sense of humor doing what I do, you perish.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Having a sense of humor is essential for coping with the challenges of one's profession.
In this quote, Martin Landau expresses the importance of maintaining a sense of humor, even in serious fields like acting. He highlights that without humor, the pressures and challenges of his profession can become overwhelming, suggesting that levity is crucial for survival in any demanding role.
Themes
HumorActingSeriousnessCopingLaughter
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about resilience, one could reference this quote to emphasize the role of humor in overcoming adversity.
More from Martin Landau
All quotes βI run the Actor's Studio on the West Coast, and one of the things I say all the time to the people I teach - many of whom are acting teachers - is that an actor needs to make choices that make him present.
Martin LandauRead
I studied with Strasberg, Elia Kazan. They raised the bar. They weren't easy to please, and they made you achieve the best you could do. That's what a teacher does: he infuses you with passion for something.
Martin LandauRead
As a Jew, there's a need to keep that atrocity alive. There were Catholics and gypsies and homosexuals who died in the Holocaust, too. It's amazing that people allowed this slaughter to take place. There's a need to make these films and reiterate it happened.
Martin LandauRead
I love to see lack of clarity in a performance as well as clarity, as well as trust, as well as the kinds of things that human beings go through. I love to see spontaneity and 'inevitability.' How it gets there is going to shock the hell out of me, but it will get there somehow.
Martin LandauRead
Dialogue is what a character's willing to share and reveal to another character, and the 90% they aren't willing to share is what I do for a living.
Martin LandauRead
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