"Well, one of the problems of working on a story with a character that sacred in the religions of the world or in a picture about that person, is that you have to forget about that and play it as real as you can because you can't look at yourself and judge yourself"

This quote by Rod Steiger talks to the problem of portraying a character that is sacred in the religious beliefs of the world. It is a tip that when playing such a character, one should forget the character's religious significance and rather concentrate on playing the character as realistically as possible. Steiger is cautioning versus evaluating oneself too roughly when playing such a character, as it is easy to end up being overwhelmed by the weight of the character's spiritual value. He is emphasizing the importance of dealing with the character as a real individual, rather than a sign of a faith. This quote is a pointer that when playing a character of religious significance, one must focus on the character's humanity and not be too difficult on oneself.