"I'd like to direct some, act in some of them, and produce"
About this Quote
It is ambition phrased as logistics, the kind that sounds modest until you hear what it implies: control. Corbin Bernsen isn’t fantasizing about fame or “the craft” in abstract terms; he’s listing job titles. That matters. For an actor who came up in an era when television could typecast you as efficiently as it could make you rich, the desire to “direct,” “act,” and “produce” reads like a preemptive escape hatch from being trapped in someone else’s version of your range.
The quote’s plainness is the tell. Bernsen doesn’t dress the pivot in mystique; he treats it like the next sensible step in a working life. That tone carries subtext: acting alone can be dependency. You wait for calls, for greenlights, for a part that isn’t a rerun of the last one. Producing is leverage, the ability to initiate rather than audition. Directing is authorship, shaping performance and story from the outside while still understanding the inside.
There’s also a cultural context baked in: the late-20th-century rise of the actor-producer, as Hollywood’s business hardened and celebrity became a brand with extensions. Saying “some of them” suggests a measured strategy, not a coup. He wants a portfolio, not a coronation. In three verbs, Bernsen sketches the modern entertainer’s evolution from hired face to creative stakeholder, chasing not just roles but agency.
The quote’s plainness is the tell. Bernsen doesn’t dress the pivot in mystique; he treats it like the next sensible step in a working life. That tone carries subtext: acting alone can be dependency. You wait for calls, for greenlights, for a part that isn’t a rerun of the last one. Producing is leverage, the ability to initiate rather than audition. Directing is authorship, shaping performance and story from the outside while still understanding the inside.
There’s also a cultural context baked in: the late-20th-century rise of the actor-producer, as Hollywood’s business hardened and celebrity became a brand with extensions. Saying “some of them” suggests a measured strategy, not a coup. He wants a portfolio, not a coronation. In three verbs, Bernsen sketches the modern entertainer’s evolution from hired face to creative stakeholder, chasing not just roles but agency.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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