"I'm sort of an experimenter; I thought it'd be interesting to play around and see what's there"
About this Quote
“Play around” sounds casual, almost childlike, but it’s also a professional strategy. Actors are paid to take other people’s words and make them feel lived-in; the fastest route there is often not intensity but exploration. Bernsen’s phrasing suggests process over product: try a choice, break a habit, poke at a scene until it reveals something. The line “see what’s there” implies that meaning isn’t manufactured solely by willpower. It’s discovered through contact: with a script, a director’s notes, a co-star’s timing, the day’s mood. The work is less about projecting an identity than excavating possibilities.
The subtext is also defensive in a smart way. Calling yourself an experimenter shields you from the expectation of always being “right.” It positions career moves, genre shifts, even oddball roles as curiosity-driven rather than desperation or reinvention for its own sake. Coming from a working actor with a long resume, it reads like a refusal to calcify into brand. In a culture obsessed with definitive takes, Bernsen makes a case for provisional ones - and for the creative leverage you get when you treat your own persona as a laboratory.
Quote Details
| Topic | Learning |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bernsen, Corbin. (2026, January 14). I'm sort of an experimenter; I thought it'd be interesting to play around and see what's there. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-sort-of-an-experimenter-i-thought-itd-be-139804/
Chicago Style
Bernsen, Corbin. "I'm sort of an experimenter; I thought it'd be interesting to play around and see what's there." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-sort-of-an-experimenter-i-thought-itd-be-139804/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I'm sort of an experimenter; I thought it'd be interesting to play around and see what's there." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/im-sort-of-an-experimenter-i-thought-itd-be-139804/. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.






