"I've tried to let the work I do speak"
About this Quote
The subtext is also about control. Actors are constantly narrated by others - publicists, critics, casting directors, internet lore. “Let the work…speak” is an attempt to shift authorship back to the performance, to the only thing an actor can truly own once the cameras roll. It’s a modest sentence that functions as a boundary: judge me by what I made, not by my self-mythology.
Culturally, it lands as an old-school stance in a timeline where “personal brand” has become a job requirement, even for artists. Morse’s approach suggests a different kind of ambition: not to be constantly legible, but to be consistently good. The line sells no grand narrative, which is exactly the point. It’s an actor arguing that the real statement is the accumulated evidence - scene by scene, role by role - and that anything louder is usually compensation.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Morse, David. (2026, January 15). I've tried to let the work I do speak. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-tried-to-let-the-work-i-do-speak-147601/
Chicago Style
Morse, David. "I've tried to let the work I do speak." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-tried-to-let-the-work-i-do-speak-147601/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I've tried to let the work I do speak." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/ive-tried-to-let-the-work-i-do-speak-147601/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.







