Daily Inspiration Quote by Meryl Streep

Streep is doing something deceptively potent here: she’s practicing taste as a form of power. Calling Chris Cooper “one of my favorite actors in the world” isn’t just a compliment; it’s an endorsement that reframes him for anyone still treating him like a reliable character-actor utility player rather than a quiet heavyweight. Coming from Streep, “favorite” becomes a kind of cultural allocation of prestige.

The second sentence does the real work. “I’ve seen him in most everything he’s done” signals not casual admiration but close attention. It’s the difference between liking someone’s hits and tracking their whole arc, including the small films, the supporting turns, the odd choices. Streep is telling you she’s watching the craft, not the marketing. That’s a subtle flex, too: she’s aligning herself with a cinephile’s credibility while also modeling what serious actors respect in other actors.

There’s subtext about the industry’s hierarchy. Cooper’s strength has often been restraint: the guy who underplays, listens, makes other people better. Streep’s praise pushes back against a fame economy that rewards visibility over precision. It’s also collegial politics done with elegance: she elevates a peer without sounding strategic, because she frames it as genuine fandom.

Context matters: when an actor of Streep’s stature singles out someone known for textured, unshowy work, it reads like a values statement. She’s arguing, in one breezy line, for the kind of acting that doesn’t beg for attention but earns it anyway.