Inspirational Quotes for Actors in 2024

In this article, I've compiled some of the most inspirational quotes for actors I could find. Some quotes were by actors, and others were simply for actors.

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​Also, if you want music while reading these quotes, click play on the audio player:

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Inspirational Quotes for Actors

​Inspirational Quotes for Actors

​“If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.”
- ​Geena Davis

This is so true – making timid choices and not taking risks is a surefire way to stay exactly where you are, which would be the greatest tragedy of all.

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​“You’re not going there to get a job. You’re going there to present what you do.”
- ​Bryan Cranston

If you're a professional actor, you need to treat every audition as a professional would treat it – as part of the job and something needing to be done. It's NOT an "opportunity of a lifetime," but simply another day at the office.
Learn more about how to prepare for an audition here.


 

​“My thought process has always been, I’m excited to show you what my version of this story would look like. You’re going to be able to get a little condensed show. That took the pressure off getting the job.”
- Tituss Burgess

Have fun at each audition! It's your chance to entertain someone and give them an experience for the moment – even if it's just the casting director that you're entertaining.



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“Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.”
- Denzel Washington

Don't look for shortcuts. Remember that the shortest route to any goal is the long, slow, hard route.
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“You’ve gotta believe in yourself, and you just have to work harder at it than you’ve ever worked at anything before in your life. And if you keep doing that and keep believing in yourself, great things do happen.”
- Kate McKinnon

The moment you stop believing in yourself that is the moment you quit, and that's the moment you lose who you are inside.



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“The only failure is not to try.”
- George Clooney

The only way to get better is by experience, and the only way to get experience is by failing.


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“I live my life through fear. If I’m afraid of it, I’ll do it just so I’m not afraid of it anymore.”
- Jeremy Renner

Imagine how fast you'd expand your comfort zone by following this process?



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“Nothing is impossible; the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’”
- Audrey Hepburn 

Amazing quote.



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“I think that there’s a certain delusional quality that all successful people have to have: You have to believe that something different than what has happened for the past 50 million years can happen. Being realistic is the most commonly travelled road to mediocrity. What’s the point of being realistic?”
- Will Smith

If you're realistic, you'll never try to change anything in this world, and you'll never achieve greatness. Being unrealistic at bare minimum gives you a shot at becoming great!




“It’s amazing what you can get if you quietly, clearly, and authoritatively demand it.”
- Meryl Streep

Have you ever heard of the Law of Attraction?



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​“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”
- Steve Martin

What's one thing you could do today to start becoming better at your craft?



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“Don’t take yourself too seriously. Know when to laugh at yourself, and find a way to laugh at obstacles that inevitably present themselves.”
- Halle Berry

As I like to say, have fun failing over and over until you reach your goal.

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Quotes on Being Yourself

Bruce Lee was probably one of the most inspirational actors of all time.

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​"I think the most liberating thing I did early on was to free myself from any concern with my looks as they pertained to my work."
- Meryl Streep

Don't get worried about how you look on camera, because that's inauthentic acting. The camera isn't there!
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​“Learn to live your life—there’s no recipe for it. You can’t go to acting school to learn to be a deep person with a lot of experience to draw from; you can only become that person by feeling, by getting hurt, by feeling incredibly happy, by seeing the world; those are the things that make you richer as a person and give you a much bigger bank to draw from when you bring characters to life.”
- Pablo Schreiber

Go out and experience life! Don't just train, train, train and work, work, work. Live!!!




“One thing I’ve learned is be comfortable in your skin, and more importantly, be comfortable in your shoes.”
- Octavia Spencer

Being a great actor is not about trying to be someone you’re not. It’s not about trying to get out of your own skin and play a completely new character. At the end of the day, standing out is about owning yourself and being truly proud of who you are. Being a great actor is about using your authenticity to bring a character to life in a way that only YOU can.



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“Speak your mind, even if your voice shakes.”
- Maggie Smith

It's like lifting a weight that's slightly too heavy. The first time it's difficult, but each time you do it, it gets easier and easier. Pretty soon, you'll be stronger than you ever were.
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“Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”
- Judy Garland

Otherwise, who do you think the casting director will choose? They won't be fooled by someone who fakes it.

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​Quotes About the Beauty of Acting

​"Without wonder and insight, acting is just a business. With it, it becomes creation."
- Bette Davis

That's what makes this industry so magical.




"Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly."
- Rosalind Russell

And it's only those who can get comfortable with that thought who will succeed.



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"​Actors think more with their hearts than with their heads."
- William Esper

Are you proud of being a part of that group? It's rare these days.



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"The more personal, the more universal."
- Gary Ballinger

The more authentic and raw your emotions, the more human you are... and the more of humanity you'll be able to touch.



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"​The first step to a better audition is to give up character and use yourself."
- Michael Shurtleff

To be anything other than yourself is dishonest, fake, and will secretly be laughed at by casting directors.




"​The word theatre comes from the Greeks. It means the seeing place. It is the place people come to see the truth about life and the social situation."
- Stella Adler

People come to the theater to experience life. Will you help them?




“We think too much and feel too little.”
- Charlie Chaplin
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What's one step you can take to change that?

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Quotes About the Talent Needed for Acting

​"Good acting -- real acting is impossible to spot. Do you ever catch talents like Robert Duvall or Kathy Bates acting? No. I defy you to show me where."
- William Esper

Read about Method Acting and Meisner Technique to learn about this.



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"Acting is behaving truthfully under imaginary circumstances."
- Sanford Meisner

This is probably one of the most famous acting quotes of all time.



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"The best acting is instinctive. It's not intellectual, it's not mechanical, it's instinctive."
- Craig MacDonald

Read more about this in my Ultimate Guide to Meisner Technique and Natural Acting.
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"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words."
- Sanford Meisner

They call it acting, not talking, or showing, or faking. Just act – show, don't tell.



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​“If you get a chance to act in a room that somebody else has paid rent for, then you’re given a free chance to practice your craft.”
- Philip Seymour Hoffman

Have fun and enjoy the audition process – it's the only [almost] guaranteed acting work you'll have.




“You have to be totally tough to deal with all those times when you're being turned down, and then really soft in order to access your character's emotions”
- Felicity Jones

It's critical to be aware of this, accept it, and embrace it. If you don't you'll stay stuck.

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A ​Funny Quote

​Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you've got it made.
- George Burns

YASSSS. I love this.

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​Final Inspirational Quotes for Actors

​“I’m continually trying to make choices that put me against my own comfort zone. As long as you’re uncomfortable, it means you’re growing.”
- Ashton Kutcher

Don't tell yourself you're not ready or good enough yet. Instead, just pretend you are. Go out there and put yourself to the test. Let the world tell you if you're good enough – you don't get to make that decision yourself.
Read more about How to Stop Getting in Your Own Way.



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“You often meet your fate on the road you take to avoid it.”
- Goldie Hawn

This is another way of saying that playing too safe is the surest way to stay where you are (or in some cases, be worse off because of it).



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​“The struggles along the way are only meant to shape you for your purpose.”
- Chadwick Boseman

​There's three parts to a successful actor: #1, The Talent, which is an absolute MUST. Without talent/skill, you're dead. #2, The Manager, which means you need to be professional and focus on your marketing and building relationships. Finally, #3, The Entrepreneur, or the person who is willing to take risks. The Entrepreneur is the one who believes in themselves enough to say, I'm going to take a shot and if I fall down, I trust in myself enough to get back up. I know I have a purpose beyond myself – something so important that I'm willing to fail and even look like an idiot in front of other people... but I'm willing to go through the fire because I know I must.



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“If you know you’re going to fail, then fail gloriously!”
- Cate Blanchett

Don't die a coward's death.



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“I’m not sure what the future holds, but I do know that I’m going to be positive and not wake up feeling desperate. As my dad said, ‘Nic, it is what it is; it’s not what it should have been, not what it could have been; it is what it is.’”
- Nicole Kidman

Having a firm grasp on reality and not making it out to be better (or worse) than it is... that's critical to making good decisions.



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​“Life is very interesting … in the end, some of your greatest pains become your greatest strengths.”
- Drew Barrymore

Do you want to be an actor? Or a re-actor?




“Don’t aspire to make a living; aspire to make a difference.”
Denzel Washington

It takes a purpose beyond yourself to make it to the highest levels in life. Just ask Bruce Lee.

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​Some Final Inspiration for You

To wrap up this post, I recommend you check out this amazing speech by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's one of the greatest speeches I've heard in a while:

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Enjoyed this article?
​
Book more work by thinking "Outside the Industry."

Being inspired to continue moving forward is just one part of growing your acting career.

​As someone who has worked with people in thousands of industries (through my headshot business), I've been able to take growth strategies that work for businesses and apply them directly to actors – to help them grow their careers faster than most would think possible  (examples: one of my clients landed his first-ever Broadway role in just 4 weeks of working with me, and a brand-new actress signed with a high-level agent in just six weeks of working with me).

I'd like to invite you to my free insider newsletter where I share my best material, including:

• How to network easily and authentically with casting directors – even if you hate self-promotion.
• How to find your Type and Brand in just 18 minutes (it doesn't require awkwardly asking lots of random people for feedback)
• How to find a hardworking and reliable agent – even if you don't have a strong resume or reel
• And much more...

Download my free Actor's Toolkit to get started and you'll hear from me a few times a week with unique "outside the industry" strategies. I promise they'll help you build a career you're truly proud of.

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​Martin Bentsen (author of this guide) is an actor marketing coach who uses “outside the industry” thinking to help actors book more work. He’s helped over 6,000 actors with their careers and actor headshots since 2009 and his photography studio City Headshots is ranked #1 on Yelp. He’s spoken at NYU, The New England Theater Conference, The Actor’s Green Room, and other venues.
​
Want to book more acting work by thinking different? Start with his free Actor’s Toolkit to create new opportunities right away, or visit his website at www.martinbentsen.com.

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Some Additional Q&A

​How Do You Encourage an Actor?

1. Ask them why they love acting. By focusing on what they love most about it, the actor will energize themselves to take action and move themselves forward.
2. Tell them to submit more frequently. In my Ultimate Guide to Finding Auditions, I show exact steps to take to find more acting work. Training and auditioning consistently is critical to staying motivated!
3. Keep track of positive feedback. Any time someone gives positive feedback, whether in-person or via email/text, record it somewhere and keep it in a folder. Then when the actor you're trying to encourage is feeling down, read all those positive comments to them!

How Do You Appreciate an Actor?

Show them you care about their work by turning off your phone and paying 100% attention to their performance. Ask them why they got into acting and what they love most about it. Show interest and tell them what they're doing is impressive.

What to Say to an Actor After a Great Performance?

The best way to compliment an actor is to tell them 2-3 specific things about their performance that you loved. Pay close attention and make note of those moments so you can explain them in detail. Giving generalized feedback such as, "You were wonderful," means nothing to actors, whereas specific feedback on what you most liked is infinitely more appreciated.

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​Further Reading

If you enjoyed this article (Inspirational Quotes for Actors), you might be interested in some of these:​
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• Natural Acting: The Ultimate Guide
• ​Acting for Film: The Ultimate Guide
• Acting Resources: Everything You'll Need to Build Your Career