Daily Inspiration Quote by Rene Auberjonois

“The best scene is the last great scene I did” is the actor’s version of a forward-facing mirror: it flatters the past without living in it. Coming from Rene Auberjonois, a consummate character actor who built a career on range rather than celebrity, the line reads like a survival tactic for artists who can’t afford nostalgia. It’s not false modesty so much as professional hygiene. In an industry that archives everything and replays it endlessly, he’s insisting the only “best” that matters is the one still warm in the body.

The wording is slyly competitive. “Best” invites comparison; “last great scene” refuses the scoreboard. It dodges the fan question (“What was your favorite?”) and replaces it with an ethic: judge me by my current instrument, not my greatest hits. There’s also a quiet jab at the myth of the definitive performance. Acting, he implies, isn’t a trophy case; it’s a practice. The “great” is conditional, a moment you reach and then immediately have to chase again.

Context matters here: Auberjonois lived in repertory rhythms - theater discipline, television pace, the constant reset of new roles. For a working actor, momentum is currency. The subtext is less “I’m always getting better” than “I stay alive by staying in motion.” It’s ambition without the bravado, pride without the self-mythologizing: a craftsperson choosing the next take over the legend.