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Daily Inspiration Quote by David Thewlis

"I keep myself content by doing lots of different stuff and make sure that my next role is completely different to the last. I just enjoy the versatility of it, the challenge of doing lots of different things. It keeps the job interesting"

About this Quote

Restlessness is the point here, and Thewlis frames it as a discipline rather than a personality quirk. In an industry that rewards brand consistency, he’s describing a small act of resistance: refusing to become a “type,” refusing to let the market sand him down into a reliable product. The word content is doing quiet work. It suggests the baseline emotional problem of acting isn’t fame or money; it’s monotony, the creeping sense that you’re repeating yourself for other people’s convenience.

His insistence that each role be “completely different” reads like an artistic hygiene practice. Actors don’t just perform characters; they accumulate them. The subtext is that repetition can calcify into self-parody, and versatility becomes a way to stay porous - to keep craft from turning into a set of tricks. “Challenge” isn’t the macho talk of suffering for art; it’s a practical tool for staying awake. If the work stops stretching you, it stops teaching you, and then you’re just executing.

Context matters: Thewlis is a career character actor who’s moved between prestige drama, off-kilter indies, and franchise visibility. For someone in that lane, versatility isn’t a luxury, it’s a strategy for longevity. The line also nods to the actor’s private bargain: you trade stability for the chance to continually reinvent your inner weather. “It keeps the job interesting” sounds modest, but it’s a thesis about creative survival in a culture that prefers you predictable.

Quote Details

TopicCareer
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Thewlis, David. (2026, January 15). I keep myself content by doing lots of different stuff and make sure that my next role is completely different to the last. I just enjoy the versatility of it, the challenge of doing lots of different things. It keeps the job interesting. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-keep-myself-content-by-doing-lots-of-different-141042/

Chicago Style
Thewlis, David. "I keep myself content by doing lots of different stuff and make sure that my next role is completely different to the last. I just enjoy the versatility of it, the challenge of doing lots of different things. It keeps the job interesting." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-keep-myself-content-by-doing-lots-of-different-141042/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I keep myself content by doing lots of different stuff and make sure that my next role is completely different to the last. I just enjoy the versatility of it, the challenge of doing lots of different things. It keeps the job interesting." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-keep-myself-content-by-doing-lots-of-different-141042/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

David Thewlis

David Thewlis (born March 20, 1963) is a Actor from United Kingdom.

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