"Well, I'm eventually gonna take the Daryl Hannah parts"
About this Quote
It lands like a heckle aimed at Hollywood’s casting machine, and it’s funnier because the target is so oddly specific. Gilbert Gottfried, forever typecast as the abrasive voice, frames ambition in the most unglamorous way possible: not “I’ll be a leading man,” but “I’ll take the Daryl Hannah parts.” The joke hinges on misalignment. Hannah’s screen persona, especially in the ’80s and ’90s, signaled ethereal beauty and quiet magnetism; Gottfried’s brand was nasal chaos, a human car alarm. Putting himself in her roles is an intentional category error, and the friction is the point.
The intent is twofold. First, it punctures the self-seriousness of actors’ career narratives. Second, it exposes how arbitrary “parts” can be when they’re treated like property passed around by an industry that prizes surfaces. By saying “eventually,” he mimics the language of entitlement and upward mobility - the idea that with enough persistence you graduate into someone else’s lane. Coming from Gottfried, it reads as anti-entitlement: a comedian staging the fantasy just to show how ridiculous the ladder is.
The subtext is also about visibility and erasure. “Take the parts” suggests a zero-sum economy where roles are scarce, especially for women who get cycled out of the ingenue slot. Gottfried’s absurdity smuggles in a darker truth: Hollywood is always “eventually” replacing someone, and the system treats that replacement like a natural progression rather than a decision. That’s classic Gottfried - a filthy laugh that leaves a little aftertaste.
The intent is twofold. First, it punctures the self-seriousness of actors’ career narratives. Second, it exposes how arbitrary “parts” can be when they’re treated like property passed around by an industry that prizes surfaces. By saying “eventually,” he mimics the language of entitlement and upward mobility - the idea that with enough persistence you graduate into someone else’s lane. Coming from Gottfried, it reads as anti-entitlement: a comedian staging the fantasy just to show how ridiculous the ladder is.
The subtext is also about visibility and erasure. “Take the parts” suggests a zero-sum economy where roles are scarce, especially for women who get cycled out of the ingenue slot. Gottfried’s absurdity smuggles in a darker truth: Hollywood is always “eventually” replacing someone, and the system treats that replacement like a natural progression rather than a decision. That’s classic Gottfried - a filthy laugh that leaves a little aftertaste.
Quote Details
| Topic | Witty One-Liners |
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