"Sometimes we had to improvise. I hate to improvise because I felt like I couldn't find words"
About this Quote
The subtext is linguistic and psychological at once. "Couldn't find words" isn't just stage fright. It's the dread of being reduced to silence in a medium that treats speech as proof of competence and charisma. Coming from an actress who has worked across French and international productions, it also quietly nods to accent, idiom, and cultural code-switching - the way improvisation can punish anyone who doesn't feel fully at home in the dominant tongue. In that light, improv becomes less a creative tool than a test of belonging.
The intent reads as honest demystification: a reminder that performance isn't always about overflowing talent, but about managing constraints. It's also a soft defense of craft. Bejo is valuing the written word, not as a crutch, but as architecture - something that allows emotion to travel without forcing the actor to manufacture language under pressure. The tension is the point: authenticity can be engineered, and "natural" can be the most stressful pose of all.
Quote Details
| Topic | Movie |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Bejo, Berenice. (n.d.). Sometimes we had to improvise. I hate to improvise because I felt like I couldn't find words. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/sometimes-we-had-to-improvise-i-hate-to-improvise-39914/
Chicago Style
Bejo, Berenice. "Sometimes we had to improvise. I hate to improvise because I felt like I couldn't find words." FixQuotes. Accessed February 1, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/sometimes-we-had-to-improvise-i-hate-to-improvise-39914/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Sometimes we had to improvise. I hate to improvise because I felt like I couldn't find words." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/sometimes-we-had-to-improvise-i-hate-to-improvise-39914/. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.



