"It was total naivety that got me to Hollywood. I thought it was going to happen straight away. I told myself 'give it 5 years, there's no way I'll be here after that if it doesn't happen'. Cut to ten years later!"
About this Quote
The intent is disarmingly practical. Watts isn't auditioning for sympathy or mystique; she's puncturing the narrative that talent plus confidence equals a straight shot. "Total naivety" is doing double duty: it admits ignorance while quietly crediting that ignorance as fuel. The subtext is that realism might have stopped her. If she'd understood the odds - the gatekeepers, the typecasting, the slow churn of small roles and missed calls - she may have never gone.
Context matters here: Watts is now a respected, award-nominated actor, which makes the confession feel less like regret and more like a survival strategy rebranded as wisdom. The humor keeps it from turning into a motivational poster. It's a story about time, but also about how Hollywood measures time differently: not in years, but in persistence, proximity, and the ability to keep believing even after the timeline collapses.
Quote Details
| Topic | Perseverance |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Watts, Naomi. (2026, January 16). It was total naivety that got me to Hollywood. I thought it was going to happen straight away. I told myself 'give it 5 years, there's no way I'll be here after that if it doesn't happen'. Cut to ten years later! FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-was-total-naivety-that-got-me-to-hollywood-i-90073/
Chicago Style
Watts, Naomi. "It was total naivety that got me to Hollywood. I thought it was going to happen straight away. I told myself 'give it 5 years, there's no way I'll be here after that if it doesn't happen'. Cut to ten years later!" FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-was-total-naivety-that-got-me-to-hollywood-i-90073/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"It was total naivety that got me to Hollywood. I thought it was going to happen straight away. I told myself 'give it 5 years, there's no way I'll be here after that if it doesn't happen'. Cut to ten years later!" FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-was-total-naivety-that-got-me-to-hollywood-i-90073/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.


