It took me two years to walk around a chair with ease; it took me another two years to learn how to laugh onstage - and I had to learn everything.
Laurence OlivierRead
We have all, at one time or another, been performers, and many of us still are - politicians, playboys, cardinals and kings.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that everyone plays a role in life, often presenting a certain persona to the public.
Laurence Olivier's quote reflects the idea that human beings naturally assume various roles throughout their lives, acting in different capacities depending on the situation and context. Just as actors perform on stage, individuals, whether they are politicians, influential figures, or everyday people, often adopt personas or roles that may differ from their true selves. This duality of existence highlights the performative aspects of life and the masks we wear in social interactions.
Themes
PerformanceRolesLifeActingHuman Nature
In practice
Example use cases
Using this quote when giving a speech about the roles we play in society.
More from Laurence Olivier
All quotes βWhat is the main problem of the actor? It is to keep the audience awake, and not let them go to sleep, then wake up and go home feeling they've wasted their money.
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Work is life for me, it is the only point of life - and with it there is almost religious belief that service is everything.
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I don't know what is better than the work that is given to the actor - to teach the human heart the knowledge of itself.
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Acting is an everlasting search for truth.
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I'd like people to remember me for a diligent expert workman. I think a poet is a workman. I think Shakespeare was a workman. And God's a workman. I don't think there's anything better than a workman.
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