"Actors have to be there and do the work, and that's enough"
About this Quote
The subtext is a refusal of everything that has increasingly been stapled onto celebrity. In an era when actors are expected to be brand strategists, moral commentators, and social-media content machines, Deneuve is defending an older professional ethic: the job is the performance, not the performance of the self. "And that's enough" is the key phrase, a small act of resistance against the idea that artists owe audiences transparency, relatability, or ideological clarity on command.
It also reads as a provocation inside acting culture itself, where authenticity is often treated like a sacred currency. Deneuve, long associated with controlled elegance and emotional privacy, implies that sincerity is optional; competence isn't. Her intent feels pragmatic, even slightly defiant: stop chasing the myth of the actor as vessel of truth and remember the craft is built on discipline, collaboration, and showing up when you don't feel luminous.
Context matters: Deneuve came up in a European cinema tradition that prized restraint and mystery, where distance could be a kind of power. This quote protects that mystique not as pose, but as professional hygiene.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Deneuve, Catherine. (n.d.). Actors have to be there and do the work, and that's enough. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/actors-have-to-be-there-and-do-the-work-and-thats-139702/
Chicago Style
Deneuve, Catherine. "Actors have to be there and do the work, and that's enough." FixQuotes. Accessed February 2, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/actors-have-to-be-there-and-do-the-work-and-thats-139702/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Actors have to be there and do the work, and that's enough." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/actors-have-to-be-there-and-do-the-work-and-thats-139702/. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.




