Daily Inspiration Quote by David Selby

Luck is the story people want to tell about acting, because it preserves the myth: raw talent discovered, fate intervening, the right face in the right room. David Selby’s line quietly punctures that romance. He grants “some sort of intuition” just enough space to acknowledge the mysterious part of performance - the split-second read of a scene partner, the instinct for when to hold back, the gut sense of what an audience will believe. Then he reclaims authorship with “but I believe in training a great deal,” shifting the center of gravity from destiny to discipline.

The intent is pragmatic, almost corrective: don’t mistake a career for a cosmic wink. Selby isn’t denying charisma; he’s demoting it. “Lucky” becomes a polite euphemism for what outsiders label as luck because they don’t see the years of voice work, movement training, script analysis, repetition, rejection, and the boring craft of staying ready. The subtext is also defensive in the best way: actors are often treated as either magical or frivolous. Training is his receipt, proof that the work can be studied, refined, and earned.

Context matters here because Selby came up in an era when stage credibility and technique still functioned like cultural currency, even for performers crossing into television and film. The quote reads like a professional ethos forged against the industry’s randomness: you can’t control casting, timing, or taste, but you can control preparation. Intuition gets you in the door; training keeps you from being a fluke.