"I'm never going to retire"
About this Quote
"I'm never going to retire" lands like a defiant little spell in an industry built to make you feel replaceable. Coming from Rene Auberjonois, it isn’t macho bravado so much as an actor’s quiet refusal to be filed away the moment the calendar says “senior.” Actors don’t retire the way office workers do; they get fewer calls, smaller parts, more “legacy” talk. So the line isn’t just about stamina. It’s about agency.
The intent reads as both practical and existential: work is the engine that keeps craft sharp, identity coherent, and curiosity fed. For performers, the job is less a ladder than a lifetime practice. Auberjonois built a career on range and specificity, the kind of actor who can disappear into a role, who treats character as a form of problem-solving. “Never” signals a commitment to that ongoing puzzle, not to celebrity.
The subtext also carries a subtle critique of how we imagine aging. Retirement is supposed to be a reward; here it’s framed as a diminishment, a cultural script that says older people should step aside and become “inspiring” from a distance rather than present-tense participants. For a working actor, staying in the game is a way to keep being seen as useful, current, and complex.
Context matters: show business loves comebacks, but it’s indifferent to continuities. This line insists on continuity. It’s not sentimental; it’s professional pride with an edge of survival.
The intent reads as both practical and existential: work is the engine that keeps craft sharp, identity coherent, and curiosity fed. For performers, the job is less a ladder than a lifetime practice. Auberjonois built a career on range and specificity, the kind of actor who can disappear into a role, who treats character as a form of problem-solving. “Never” signals a commitment to that ongoing puzzle, not to celebrity.
The subtext also carries a subtle critique of how we imagine aging. Retirement is supposed to be a reward; here it’s framed as a diminishment, a cultural script that says older people should step aside and become “inspiring” from a distance rather than present-tense participants. For a working actor, staying in the game is a way to keep being seen as useful, current, and complex.
Context matters: show business loves comebacks, but it’s indifferent to continuities. This line insists on continuity. It’s not sentimental; it’s professional pride with an edge of survival.
Quote Details
| Topic | Retirement |
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