"It was far more fun than work doing those shows for all those years, we all loved each other and loved going to work, we all understood how fortunate we were to be in that place, to have achieved that success worldwide"
About this Quote
A veteran actor doesn’t casually rewrite labor as play unless he’s doing reputation work. Steve Kanaly’s line is a warm, almost tactical recollection: it frames a long-running TV job not as a grind but as a rare pocket of professional joy, the kind that’s easier to believe when everyone involved knows how quickly the industry turns on you.
The intent is partly gratitude, partly inoculation. By insisting it was “far more fun than work,” Kanaly pushes against the default narrative of set politics, exhaustion, and ego. That’s not naive; it’s selective. The repetition of “we” is the tell. He’s not centering himself as the star who endured it all, but presenting the ensemble as a unit, a family-with-boundaries, which is how cast members often protect the legacy of a show and, by extension, their own place in it.
There’s subtext in the phrase “we all understood how fortunate we were.” It acknowledges the precariousness of acting without saying the quiet part: most careers don’t get years of steady work, much less “success worldwide.” The worldwide clause also doubles as a gentle flex, a reminder that this wasn’t just a job, it was a cultural export.
Contextually, this reads like an interview-era reflection from someone looking back on a defining credit. It’s nostalgia with a purpose: to sanctify the working environment, to honor colleagues, and to place the show’s success in the realm of communal achievement rather than individual mythmaking.
The intent is partly gratitude, partly inoculation. By insisting it was “far more fun than work,” Kanaly pushes against the default narrative of set politics, exhaustion, and ego. That’s not naive; it’s selective. The repetition of “we” is the tell. He’s not centering himself as the star who endured it all, but presenting the ensemble as a unit, a family-with-boundaries, which is how cast members often protect the legacy of a show and, by extension, their own place in it.
There’s subtext in the phrase “we all understood how fortunate we were.” It acknowledges the precariousness of acting without saying the quiet part: most careers don’t get years of steady work, much less “success worldwide.” The worldwide clause also doubles as a gentle flex, a reminder that this wasn’t just a job, it was a cultural export.
Contextually, this reads like an interview-era reflection from someone looking back on a defining credit. It’s nostalgia with a purpose: to sanctify the working environment, to honor colleagues, and to place the show’s success in the realm of communal achievement rather than individual mythmaking.
Quote Details
| Topic | Teamwork |
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