"I enjoy my work. I haven't been an actor for 30 years without getting pleasure out of the profession"
About this Quote
The subtext is also defensive in a very Hollywood way: enjoyment becomes a shield against pity. Lugosi's career, especially in the American imagination, is haunted by typecasting and the narrowing effect of Dracula on his opportunities. Saying he has stayed in the profession for three decades without pleasure is unthinkable; therefore, the profession hasn’t beaten him. He’s reclaiming agency in a narrative that often treats him as a victim of the studio system and of a role that became a cultural monopoly on his identity.
The line works because it’s both ordinary and loaded. It’s the kind of thing a working actor might say to an interviewer, yet coming from Lugosi it reads like a final insistence that the job was never just a gothic trap. It was a craft, a paycheck, a calling, and, crucially, still his to enjoy.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Lugosi, Bela. (2026, January 18). I enjoy my work. I haven't been an actor for 30 years without getting pleasure out of the profession. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-enjoy-my-work-i-havent-been-an-actor-for-30-18543/
Chicago Style
Lugosi, Bela. "I enjoy my work. I haven't been an actor for 30 years without getting pleasure out of the profession." FixQuotes. January 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-enjoy-my-work-i-havent-been-an-actor-for-30-18543/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I enjoy my work. I haven't been an actor for 30 years without getting pleasure out of the profession." FixQuotes, 18 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-enjoy-my-work-i-havent-been-an-actor-for-30-18543/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.





