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Daily Inspiration Quote by Steve Burton

"Actually, I get a little say in what my character would or wouldn't do"

About this Quote

There is a quiet power move hiding in that casual "Actually". Burton isn’t delivering a manifesto; he’s correcting an assumption the audience is rarely invited to notice: that actors on long-running TV are interchangeable mouthpieces for whatever the writers type that week. The line lands because it’s both modest and assertive, the kind of boundary-setting that sounds reasonable while reclaiming status.

The phrasing matters. "A little say" is strategically small. He’s not claiming auteur control, he’s claiming dignity - the right to veto behavior that would betray the character’s internal logic. That’s the subtext: after years of inhabiting the same role, the actor becomes a continuity engine, a living archive of motivations, rhythms, and limits. Soap operas and serialized dramas thrive on shock, reversals, and ratings-friendly pivots; the actor’s job is often to sell the turn even when it feels like a cheat. Burton’s comment signals a negotiation with that machine.

Contextually, it reads as an inside-baseball glimpse of how character integrity gets maintained in industrial storytelling. Fans like to argue about "out of character" moments as if they’re purely artistic failures; Burton reminds us they’re also production decisions, competing priorities, and time pressure. His intent isn’t to undermine writers, but to legitimize performance as authorship in miniature: not inventing the plot, but protecting the person inside it.

Quote Details

TopicMovie
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Burton, Steve. (2026, January 16). Actually, I get a little say in what my character would or wouldn't do. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/actually-i-get-a-little-say-in-what-my-character-107167/

Chicago Style
Burton, Steve. "Actually, I get a little say in what my character would or wouldn't do." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/actually-i-get-a-little-say-in-what-my-character-107167/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Actually, I get a little say in what my character would or wouldn't do." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/actually-i-get-a-little-say-in-what-my-character-107167/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.

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Steve Burton (born June 28, 1970) is a Actor from USA.

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