Daily Inspiration Quote by Joan Severance

There is a deliciously thin line here between playacting and power, and Joan Severance steps right onto it. The sentence isn’t a confession of violence so much as a confession of access: the costume as a key that unlocks other people’s fear, and with it, a kind of control. “Definitely feel” frames it as visceral, not theoretical; she’s describing an altered state. The specificity of “wearing the costume” matters because it makes the transformation external and portable. It’s not her soul turning dark, it’s the uniform doing the work.

The subtext is about permission. Costumes in film and TV aren’t just wardrobe; they’re social contracts. They signal role, authority, threat level. Put a woman in the right outfit, and suddenly strangers rewrite her personality for her: she’s dangerous, she’s untouchable, she’s the one who does the hurting. Severance hints at that feedback loop - people react to the image, and the performer feels the reaction in her body like adrenaline. The line also carries a sly awareness of how violence is aestheticized on screen: “scare” and “hurt” are actions the audience purchases as entertainment, but the actor can still feel their charge as something real.

Contextually, it reads like an actress reflecting on playing a villain or a hyper-stylized figure (the kind of role that trades in intimidation). It’s also a peek behind the glamour: the costume isn’t merely flattering; it’s weaponized symbolism, and she’s honest about how intoxicating that can be.