"Sometimes you have to go places with characters and emotions within yourself you don't want to do, but you have a duty to the story and as a storyteller to do it"
About this Quote
Jackman is admitting something audiences like to pretend isn’t true: the “magic” on screen is often a controlled act of self-violation. The line turns acting away from glamour and toward obligation. Not inspiration, not self-expression, but duty - a word that carries the weight of craft, professionalism, and a kind of moral contract with the material.
The intent is practical and quietly confessional. “Go places” is euphemistic, almost gentle, for the harsher reality of rummaging through private fear, grief, desire, shame. By framing those inner regions as “characters and emotions within yourself,” he collapses the boundary between role and person without getting mystical about it. He’s not claiming actors become their characters; he’s saying the raw ingredients are already in you, and the job is extracting them on command.
The subtext is resistance. “You don’t want to” acknowledges self-protection: the psyche has good reasons for keeping certain doors shut. Jackman’s move is to legitimize that reluctance while also refusing it. The phrase “duty to the story” is a disciplinary mantra, the way a working actor talks himself into another take that costs something. It also flatters the audience’s stake: the story deserves honesty, and honesty has a price.
Contextually, this lands as a corrective to celebrity talk-show acting wisdom. Jackman, known for charismatic, physically commanding roles (and musical-theater polish), positions seriousness not as brooding intensity but as consent to discomfort in service of narrative. It’s a populist credo for high-level craft: your feelings are not the point; the story is.
The intent is practical and quietly confessional. “Go places” is euphemistic, almost gentle, for the harsher reality of rummaging through private fear, grief, desire, shame. By framing those inner regions as “characters and emotions within yourself,” he collapses the boundary between role and person without getting mystical about it. He’s not claiming actors become their characters; he’s saying the raw ingredients are already in you, and the job is extracting them on command.
The subtext is resistance. “You don’t want to” acknowledges self-protection: the psyche has good reasons for keeping certain doors shut. Jackman’s move is to legitimize that reluctance while also refusing it. The phrase “duty to the story” is a disciplinary mantra, the way a working actor talks himself into another take that costs something. It also flatters the audience’s stake: the story deserves honesty, and honesty has a price.
Contextually, this lands as a corrective to celebrity talk-show acting wisdom. Jackman, known for charismatic, physically commanding roles (and musical-theater polish), positions seriousness not as brooding intensity but as consent to discomfort in service of narrative. It’s a populist credo for high-level craft: your feelings are not the point; the story is.
Quote Details
| Topic | Writing |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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