"When the time came to make a decision about what do in life, I found myself thinking that acting was the thing I loved to do, so I applied to drama school. And then, I didn't get in - twice"
About this Quote
The power here is how casually Emily Watson punctures the myth of the “destined” artist. She starts with the clean, motivational version of the story - time to decide, follow the thing you love, apply to drama school - then yanks the rug out with that clipped admission: “I didn’t get in - twice.” The dash does a lot of work. It’s comedic timing, yes, but it’s also a refusal to romanticize the pathway. Love isn’t presented as a magic credential; it’s just the first input into a system that can say no.
Watson’s intent reads less like confession than like recalibration. In a culture that treats arts careers as either fairy tales or cautionary tales, she offers a third option: aspiration plus rejection, coexisting without melodrama. The subtext is resilience without self-mythologizing. She doesn’t frame the rejections as persecution or evidence she “wasn’t meant” to act. She simply states them as part of the route, which is quietly radical in an industry built on gatekeeping and narrative polish.
Context matters: drama schools in the UK function as high-status filters, and “not getting in” carries an implied verdict on talent, class fit, accent, look, temperament. By mentioning “twice,” she normalizes persistence while also hinting at how arbitrary the door can be. It lands as encouragement, but not the cheesy kind - more like permission to keep going even when the institution doesn’t validate you on schedule.
Watson’s intent reads less like confession than like recalibration. In a culture that treats arts careers as either fairy tales or cautionary tales, she offers a third option: aspiration plus rejection, coexisting without melodrama. The subtext is resilience without self-mythologizing. She doesn’t frame the rejections as persecution or evidence she “wasn’t meant” to act. She simply states them as part of the route, which is quietly radical in an industry built on gatekeeping and narrative polish.
Context matters: drama schools in the UK function as high-status filters, and “not getting in” carries an implied verdict on talent, class fit, accent, look, temperament. By mentioning “twice,” she normalizes persistence while also hinting at how arbitrary the door can be. It lands as encouragement, but not the cheesy kind - more like permission to keep going even when the institution doesn’t validate you on schedule.
Quote Details
| Topic | Failure |
|---|
More Quotes by Emily
Add to List
