"What we do at its very, very best, at its very, very most, will shift us slightly in our seat. If only for two hours, great. If for the rest of our lives, even better"
About this Quote
The repetition - "very, very best... very, very most" - reads like an actor talking himself down from grandiosity. It`s a humblebrag with guardrails: yes, the work matters, but its impact is often incremental and fleeting. "If only for two hours" is a blunt nod to the transactional reality of performance: you bought a ticket; you gave your time; the piece should earn that time by nudging you out of autopilot. It`s also a defense against cynicism in an entertainment economy trained to treat content as wallpaper.
Then Scott slips in the aspiration: "If for the rest of our lives, even better". The subtext is that permanence is the exception, not the job description. Great acting doesn`t promise conversion; it offers contact - a moment of friction with yourself. Sometimes that friction evaporates when the credits roll. Sometimes it becomes a reference point you keep returning to, long after you`ve left the theater seat that first moved.
Quote Details
| Topic | Live in the Moment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Scott, Campbell. (2026, January 17). What we do at its very, very best, at its very, very most, will shift us slightly in our seat. If only for two hours, great. If for the rest of our lives, even better. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-we-do-at-its-very-very-best-at-its-very-very-50534/
Chicago Style
Scott, Campbell. "What we do at its very, very best, at its very, very most, will shift us slightly in our seat. If only for two hours, great. If for the rest of our lives, even better." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-we-do-at-its-very-very-best-at-its-very-very-50534/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"What we do at its very, very best, at its very, very most, will shift us slightly in our seat. If only for two hours, great. If for the rest of our lives, even better." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-we-do-at-its-very-very-best-at-its-very-very-50534/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.











