"It was great to do and it's exciting to do those things. That's another thing, that one enjoys the game"
About this Quote
Finney’s line reads like an on-set shrug, but it’s a sly little manifesto about what actors are allowed to admit in public: pleasure. The repetition and plain phrasing (“to do,” “to do those things”) isn’t laziness so much as a refusal to mythologize the craft. Where celebrity culture expects either tortured artistry or triumphant branding, Finney offers something almost indecently ordinary: it was fun, and he liked it.
That casualness matters. Actors are trained to give meaning; interviews pressure them to supply a narrative arc, a method, a grand explanation of “the work.” Finney sidesteps the prestige vocabulary and lands on “the game,” a word that demotes the whole enterprise from sacred calling to lived activity. It’s a subtle power move. Calling it a game signals fluency and control: he’s in on the rules, he can compete, he can improvise, and he doesn’t need to perform suffering to prove seriousness.
The subtext is also defensive in a charming way. “That’s another thing” sounds like he’s answering an implied accusation: Isn’t it exhausting? Isn’t it difficult? Shouldn’t you be reverent? His reply insists that enjoyment isn’t a betrayal of depth; it’s part of the engine. For a performer associated with intelligence and range, this is Finney keeping the audience from turning him into a monument. He frames acting as play with stakes, not a shrine.
That casualness matters. Actors are trained to give meaning; interviews pressure them to supply a narrative arc, a method, a grand explanation of “the work.” Finney sidesteps the prestige vocabulary and lands on “the game,” a word that demotes the whole enterprise from sacred calling to lived activity. It’s a subtle power move. Calling it a game signals fluency and control: he’s in on the rules, he can compete, he can improvise, and he doesn’t need to perform suffering to prove seriousness.
The subtext is also defensive in a charming way. “That’s another thing” sounds like he’s answering an implied accusation: Isn’t it exhausting? Isn’t it difficult? Shouldn’t you be reverent? His reply insists that enjoyment isn’t a betrayal of depth; it’s part of the engine. For a performer associated with intelligence and range, this is Finney keeping the audience from turning him into a monument. He frames acting as play with stakes, not a shrine.
Quote Details
| Topic | Excitement |
|---|
More Quotes by Albert
Add to List






