The Great Acting Blog: “Wise Words From 5 Great Novelists”

The Great Acting Blog: “Wise Words From 5 Great Novelists”

In many respects, it is preferable to learn from those who belong to a different field than our own. Our view is less prejudiced because the insight offered is not intended to influence specifically what we do, there is no intent to manipulate – an acting teacher for example, may  speak simply to try and sell more classes to a young actor, but this can hardly be true of great novelists from a bygone era.

And so it is then, that I offer these five rather powerful statements from five extraordinary artists. For me, I draw from them the lesson that the highest goal in our work is to arrive at the truth, but that it’s not an easy task, it’s a question of keeping going, searching continuously and staying strong.

“Ever tried. Ever Failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.”  Samuel Beckett

“The hero of my tale, whom I love with all the power of my soul, whom I have tried to portray in all his beauty, who has been, is, and will be beautiful, is Truth.” Leo Tolstoy

“A man’s work is nothing but his slow trek to rediscover, through the detours of, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first opened.” Albert Camus

“What matters most is how well you walk through the fire.” Charles Bukowski

“It is not down on any map; true places never are.”  Herman Melville