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Wallace Shawn

Wallace Shawn Quotes

Actor

Wallace Shawn, born on November 12, 1943, is an American actor, playwright, and voice actor. He has made significant contributions to the stage and screen in Hollywood and on Broadway, known for his unique acting style and sense of humor.

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All People Play Thinking Writing Actors Knows Ifs Persons Years Seems

Famous Wallace Shawn Quotes

“I have been vain since birth. I expected other people to like what I did, although my vanity has definitely diminished over the years.”

People Years Has Beens Birth Expected Vanity Vain

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I have more free time than a lot of individuals, so, instead of talking, I sometimes write.”

Writing Sometimes Individual Talking Free Time

Book:Essays

Source: Essays

“I know that I am one and I've made a living as an actor and I enjoy being an actor, but when I'm not actually doing it, I forget that I do it.”

Knows Made Actors Enjoy Forget

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I never grew up thinking, 'One day I will play so and so' because I wasn't expecting to be an actor at all.”

Thinking Play Actors Grew One Day Grew Up Expecting

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I never planned to be an actor. It turned out I could make a living doing it.”

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I spend most of my time thinking about things like laundry and buying stationery supplies.”

Thinking My Time Buying Supplies Laundry Stationery

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I'm a very lucky man. It's a beautiful thing for a writer, to see people allowing your words to enter their own unconscious and their souls.”

People Men Soul Beautiful Lucky Unconscious Allowing Beautiful Things Lucky Man

Author:Wallace Shawn

“In my early 20s, I studied history and politics, and I really thought that perhaps I would devote my life to that.”

Author:Wallace Shawn

“In real life, every person is the leading man or woman. We don't think of ourselves as supporting or character actors.”

Thinking Men Persons Real Character Actors Real Life Character Actors

Author:Wallace Shawn

“'The Princess Bride' is by far the most popular film I've ever done. I don't think I'll ever top it.”

Thinking Done Film Princess Brides Princess Bride Popular Film

Author:Wallace Shawn

“For me, a play is a form of writing which isn't complete until it is interpreted by actors. But it's still a form of writing. And so most of my time is spent thinking about how to write a sentence.”

Thinking Writing Stills Play Form Actors Sentences My Time

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I wrote my first play at the age of 10, 55 years ago, and I've always found it a fantastic relief to imagine I know what things would be like from the point of view of other individuals and to send out signals from where I actually am not. Playwrights never need to write from the place where they are.”

Knows Needs Writing Years Firsts Play Would Be Age Found Individual Views Imagine Years Ago Point Of View Fantastic Relief Signals Playwright

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I'm not proud to be me, I'm not excited to be me, but I find that I am me, and like most other individuals, I send out little signals; I tell everyone else how everything looks from where I am.”

Looks Littles Individual Proud Excited Signals

Book:Essays

Source: Essays

“Interestingly, the actress who, in her own persona, may be gentle, shy, and socially awkward, someone whose hand trembles when pouring a cup of tea for a visiting friend, can convincingly portray an elegant, cruel aristocrat tossing off malicious epigrams in an eighteenth-century chocolate house.”

May Hands House Century Actresses Cups Tea Gentle Shy Chocolate Awkward Elegant Persona Visiting Pouring Epigrams Cups Of Tea Malicious Socially Awkward

Author:Wallace Shawn

“My father was a jazz listener, and I think, at least before I was 5, I was not so into that. Although there were records that emphasized percussion that I liked, like Baby Dodds.”

Thinking Father Records Baby Jazz Listeners Percussion

Author:Wallace Shawn

“Sleep: a poor substitute for caffeine!”

Sleep Poor Substitutes Insomnia Bedtime Caffeine Sleeping In Funny Sleep Sleepiness Funny Sleeping Funny Insomnia

Author:Wallace Shawn

“Escape before it’s too late.”

Late Too Late Before It's Too Late

Author:Wallace Shawn

“A play presents a self-enclosed little world for the audience to examine. It's an opportunity to look objectively at a group of people, to assess them, to react to them, and to measure oneself against them, to ask 'Am I like that?'”

People World Looks Littles Self Play Asks Opportunity Audience Groups Oneself

Author:Wallace Shawn

“It's obviously a characteristic of human beings that we like to feel superior to others, but our problem is we are not superior”

Feels Humans Problem Human Beings Superiors Characteristics

Book:Essays

Source: Essays

“I don't see that many plays, and for me, musicals are rarely pleasing. I feel the actors are being put through a kind of nightmarish labor. They're like animals being forced to pull heavy carts of vegetables at incredible speeds.”

Feels Kind Play Actors Animal Labor Incredibles Heavy Speed Theatre Vegetables Carts

Author:Wallace Shawn

“We're in an emergency situation. The United States has become an absolutely terrifying country, and I would hope that I could participate in some way in stopping the horror and the brutality.”

Way Country States United Situation United States Horror Scary Stopping Emergencies Brutality

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I sincerely believe that if Bush and Cheney recognized the full humanity of other people's mothers around the world, they wouldn't commit the crimes they commit.”

People Ifs World Believe Mother Humanity Inspiring Crime Commit Around The World Sincerely Mothers Day

Author:Wallace Shawn

“If my relation to each and every peasant in Cambodia is indeed exactly what the principles of morality would demand it to be, it's a miraculous coincidence, because it takes a lot of effort to behave correctly in regard to my friends, and from one end of the year to another I never give those peasants a single thought.”

Ifs Giving Years Ends Effort Principles Morality Demand My Friends Relation Regard Behave Coincidence Miraculous Peasants Cambodia

Book:Aunt Dan and Lemon: A Play

Source: Aunt Dan and Lemon: A Play

“Who says one instance of writing has anything in common with another instance?”

Writing Common Instance

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I think the whole system of education would change if I were in charge and had the ability to make changes. I don't think I would keep Princeton exactly being Princeton.”

Ifs Thinking Whole Ability Making Changes Princeton

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I was making my living from a joke about my appearance that I didn't understand, and in a way still don't, because when I look in a mirror it doesn't seem funny to me.”

Way Looks Stills Seems Jokes Mirrors Appearance

Author:Wallace Shawn

“I don't have an idea for a play until after I've finished writing it. I write first, and come up with what it's about later. My technique could be compared to having a large canvas and coming in every day and putting a dot on it somewhere, and after several years - literally - I begin to say, That reminds me of an elephant, so I think I'll make it one.”

Thinking Writing Years Firsts Ideas Play Come Up Finished Technique Crafts Canvas Elephants Dots

Author:Wallace Shawn

“My style as a human being is to indulge people who need to escape, yet I insist on confronting them as a playwright. It's quite embarrassing, it's quite unpleasant, it's quite awkward.”

People Needs Humans Human Beings Style Crafts Awkward Embarrassing Indulge Playwright Confronting

Book:Writing Wrongs: The Work of Wallace Shawn

Source: Writing Wrongs: The Work of Wallace Shawn

About the Author

Born: November 12, 1943
Known for: Actor
Quotes: 78

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People Play Thinking Writing Actors Knows Ifs Persons Years Seems

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People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

EssaysRelated source material

Aunt Dan and Lemon: A PlayRelated source material

My Dinner With AndréRelated source material

Night ThoughtsRelated source material

The Designated MournerRelated source material

Writing Wrongs: The Work of Wallace ShawnRelated source material

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