A Quote by Burgess Meredith

I was born a character actor. I was never really a leading man type.

Burgess Meredith

Quote Topics

Actor Born Character Character Actor Leading Leading Man Man Never Really Type

Quote Author

Burgess Meredith
American - Actor
November 16, 1907 - September 9, 1997

I'm an actor. I'll take a lead if it's offered. The really good actors can fill a character, no matter what the role is. A good leading man is a character actor; a good character actor can be a leading man.

Edward Herrmann

I've never thought of myself as a classic leading man. I'm a character actor who happens to play leading roles. Come on, look at me. I'm really Desperate Dan.

James Nesbitt

I was never really a character actor - I was a leading man who was always cast as a character. I wanted to be Jack Nicholson or Jean Gabin.

Robert Shaw

I have a problem with the term 'leading man.' It's so limiting; it involves not upsetting anyone. Obviously, we have anti-heroes now, but if we're talking about the two tropes - character actor and leading man - I would so rather be a character actor. That's why I have a career.

Jimmi Simpson

For an actor to be working at all is a kind of miracle, because most actors aren't. So it's just silly for a working actor to say, 'Oh, I don't care if anybody knows I'm gay' especially if you're a leading man. Personally, I wouldn't advise a gay leading man-type actor to come out.

Richard Chamberlain

I never really thought of myself as being an action hero or a leading man, or any of that. I'm a character actor.

Aaron Paul

I never really thought of myself as being an action hero or a leading man or any of that. I'm a character actor.

Aaron Paul

I have played some wonderful leading roles on stage and had the whole 'China Beach' years where I really played a leading man on that. That was a fun change for a character actor. But I'm perfectly happy going back to building my gallery of memorable character roles.

Robert Picardo

It's weird but I've never really been the type to have fixations on the leading man actor. I've always been drawn more to the rock star. I love a guy on the microphone commanding an audience.

Amanda Crew

How you look is part of what acting is, but the way I look at it, every actor is a character actor. Someone once told me at a casting, 'You're a character actor in a leading man's body,' and I can live with that.

Santiago Cabrera

I don't have to be a leading man. I can be a character actor. That's really what interests me anyway.

Mark Ruffalo

I don't really think there's much difference between a character actor and a leading man besides aesthetics.

Jeremy Renner

The ability to stretch my range into all genres and characters is something I take great pleasure in doing. I thoroughly enjoy it. I consider myself a character actor, though some think of me as a leading man. As an actor, I love shifting gears from character to character, and the more range I can expand, the better.

Brian Tee

I've never had any delusions about being a leading man, and it's not sour grapes to say that in the best films that I've always enjoyed, the cliched leading man type isn't a part of the picture.