"I don't see the point in signing on to do something and then leaving"
About this Quote
The phrasing does important work. “Signing on” is deliberately corporate, the language of contracts and call sheets rather than art. By pairing that with the blunt moral clarity of “then leaving,” Speedman frames an early departure as not merely inconvenient but senseless. It implies a basic ethic: if you take the job, you owe the people around you some continuity. That “you” includes co-stars whose story arcs depend on yours, writers forced into hasty rewrites, and crews who lose weeks of planning because a name decides to vanish.
The subtext is also image management, but the appealing kind: reliability as a scarce commodity. Actors are judged not only on talent but on whether they’re a stabilizing force on set, especially in long-form TV where endurance matters as much as charisma. Speedman’s remark reads like a quiet rebuke to the prestige-era habit of treating series regular roles as stepping-stones. It positions him as someone who respects the ensemble and the work itself, not just the spotlight.
Quote Details
| Topic | Honesty & Integrity |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Speedman, Scott. (2026, January 15). I don't see the point in signing on to do something and then leaving. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-see-the-point-in-signing-on-to-do-166640/
Chicago Style
Speedman, Scott. "I don't see the point in signing on to do something and then leaving." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-see-the-point-in-signing-on-to-do-166640/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I don't see the point in signing on to do something and then leaving." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-dont-see-the-point-in-signing-on-to-do-166640/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.