It's Hard to Stay Mad When There's So Much Beauty in the World
Kevin SpaceyRead
It takes stamina to get up like an athlete every single night, seven to eight performances a week, 20 weeks in a row. And there are many young performers who only learn their craft in the two minute bits it takes to film a scene. You never learn the arc of storytelling, the arc of a character that way.
Interpretation
Commitment and practice are essential for mastering any craft.
Kevin Spacey emphasizes that true mastery of performance and storytelling requires consistent effort and endurance, likening the experience to that of an athlete who trains and performs regularly. He critiques the superficial understanding of storytelling that comes from fragmented experiences, highlighting the importance of in-depth engagement with one's art over time.
In practice
In a speech at a theater gala to inspire young performers.
It's Hard to Stay Mad When There's So Much Beauty in the World
To be good is noble; but to show others how to be good is nobler and no trouble.
I have lived a long time, and one thing I have come to see is that one is well served by a degree of both humility and charity when judging the inner workings of another person's heart
Having learned something, we tend to cling to that belief, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary. New information comes in all time, and the thing we ought to be thinking about doing is changing our beliefs as that new information comes in.
I like old men. They can be wonderful bastards because they have nothing to lose. The only people who can be themselves are babies and old bastards.
Your breathing should flow gracefully, like a river, like a watersnake crossing the water, and not like a chain of rugged mountains or the gallop of a horse. To master our breath is to be in control of our bodies and minds. Each time we find ourselves dispersed and find it difficult to gain control of ourselves by different means, the method of watching the breath should always be used.
We were raised to believe in books, music, and nature.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.