QuoteProject
I think the point to be understood is that we're all different. I've never been a fan of theories of acting. I didn't go to drama school, so I was never put through a training that was limited by someone saying, 'This is the way you should act.'
Ian Mckellen
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Embrace individuality in acting and creativity, beyond conventional methods.

In this quote, Ian McKellen emphasizes the importance of recognizing and valuing individuality in acting. He reflects on his personal journey, highlighting that he never adhered to rigid theories or formal training that could limit his expression, suggesting that true artistry comes from authentic self-expression rather than conforming to established norms.

Themes

IndividualityCreativityActingSelf-ExpressionArtistry

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote during a workshop on creative expression.

More from Ian Mckellen

It's only fair that stable gay relationships of long standing should have the same rights and responsibilities as married couples. I know the image of gay marriage is to some people horrific and ludicrous.
Ian MckellenRead
On the whole, actors shout when they don't know what they're doing, trying to make an impact.
Ian MckellenRead
I just followed my parents' example and advice on living, which was to leave the world a better place than you found it. They were professional do-gooders, ministers of the church, social workers, teachers, and missionaries, that sort of thing.
Ian MckellenRead
I don't make any distinction between a popular TV series or blockbuster film and doing Shakespeare. They're different, but as long as the material is good and the intention is honourable, it's all the same to me.
Ian MckellenRead
There are deaths in public places on the grounds that the victim is gay.
Ian MckellenRead
What's nice for me, having identified myself for years as being rather shy, is now, wherever I am, in public, there tends to be a friendly face who's pleased to see me, and I like that.
Ian MckellenRead

Similar quotes

It is true that all men are created in the image of God, but Christians are supposed to be conscious of that fact, and being conscious of it should recognize the importance of living artistically, aesthetically, and creatively, as creative creatures of the Creator. If we have been created in the image of an Artist, then we should look for expressions of artistry, and be sensitive to beauty, responsive to what has been created for us
Edith SchaefferRead
When you start with a portrait and search for a pure form, a clear volume, through successive eliminations, you arrive inevitably at the egg. Likewise, starting with the egg and following the same process in reverse, one finishes with the portrait.
Pablo PicassoRead
No matter what anybody thinks about any of them, every record I've done has been done with the same amount of care, anguish, pain, suffering, and joy.
Patti SmithRead
What a lumbering poor vehicle prose is for the conveying of a great thought! ... Prose wanders around with a lantern & laboriously schedules & verifies the details & particulars of a valley & its frame of crags & peaks, then Poetry comes, & lays bare the whole landscape with a single splendid flash.
Mark TwainRead
Music sets up certain vibration which unquestionably results in a physical reaction. Eventually the proper vibration for every person will be found and utilized.
George GershwinRead
I like making images that from a distance seem kind of seductive, colorful, luscious and engaging, and then you realize what you're looking at is something totally opposite. It seems boring to me to pursue the typical idea of beauty, because that is the easiest and the most obvious way to see the world. It's more challenging to look at the other side.
Cindy ShermanRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by Ian Mckellen | QuoteProject