"The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match"
About this Quote
Coming from an actor, the subtext is almost occupational. Performers are trained to fill space: with voice, with presence, with story. “Quieten me” reads like the complaint of a spouse, a friend, a publicist, maybe even the inner critic that tells entertainers they’re “on” too often. Tennis, then, is a socially acceptable off-switch: structured, physical, competitive, and crucially, shared. You can’t monologue your way through a rally.
There’s also a class-coded wink. Tennis matches conjure country-club ease, polite rivalries, weekend invitations - the kind of environment where a mid-century screen star could be “ordinary” without actually being anonymous. Forsythe’s intent feels less like a manifesto than a charming boundary: if you want less noise from me, don’t scold me. Give me a court, a schedule, a reason to trade chatter for motion.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Forsythe, John. (2026, January 15). The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-way-to-quieten-me-is-to-invite-me-to-a-158688/
Chicago Style
Forsythe, John. "The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-way-to-quieten-me-is-to-invite-me-to-a-158688/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The only way to quieten me is to invite me to a tennis match." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-only-way-to-quieten-me-is-to-invite-me-to-a-158688/. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.







