"I'm not trying necessarily to become a movie star; that wouldn't be bad but that's not the aim. I'm just trying to do interesting things and go into areas where I've not been before"
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Phil Collins is doing a careful bit of brand management here, the kind that only becomes necessary when fame starts spilling into adjacent industries. The line rejects the most cynical reading of a musician crossing into film acting: that it’s a vanity project, a cash grab, or a desperate bid to stay visible. By saying “that wouldn’t be bad,” he admits the obvious without looking hungry for it. It’s a rhetorical sidestep that keeps ambition on the table while refusing to let ambition be the story.
The real engine is the word “interesting.” Collins frames his motive as curiosity rather than conquest, which plays well in a culture that punishes performers for seeming too calculated. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when celebrity became more frictionless across media, “movie star” carried a particular kind of bloat: a status symbol that could cheapen the craft narrative. Collins positions himself as a worker, not a collector of trophies, implying that the respectable path is risk, not coronation.
“Go into areas where I’ve not been before” also reads like a preemptive defense against fans who want the familiar. It’s an artist asking permission to evolve, but without begging for it. The subtext is controlled restlessness: he’s successful enough to chase novelty, yet aware that novelty will be judged as ego unless he anchors it in artistic appetite. In one sentence, he turns potential backlash into a story of exploration, not escape.
The real engine is the word “interesting.” Collins frames his motive as curiosity rather than conquest, which plays well in a culture that punishes performers for seeming too calculated. In the 1980s and early 1990s, when celebrity became more frictionless across media, “movie star” carried a particular kind of bloat: a status symbol that could cheapen the craft narrative. Collins positions himself as a worker, not a collector of trophies, implying that the respectable path is risk, not coronation.
“Go into areas where I’ve not been before” also reads like a preemptive defense against fans who want the familiar. It’s an artist asking permission to evolve, but without begging for it. The subtext is controlled restlessness: he’s successful enough to chase novelty, yet aware that novelty will be judged as ego unless he anchors it in artistic appetite. In one sentence, he turns potential backlash into a story of exploration, not escape.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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