"You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission, they feel for the fact of how competent they are, and how their expertise and they're the right one for the job. But ultimately they find out they've been actually chosen for their incompetence"
About this Quote
The intent is comedic, but the subtext is sharper than a simple gag about bungling spies. It winks at the way institutions launder failure into strategy. "Incompetence" becomes cover, scapegoat, plausible deniability: if the mission goes sideways, the people in charge can shrug and say the team was never meant to succeed, or never meant to be taken seriously. Theres also a quiet jab at the audition economy of modern work, where everyone is asked to perform competence while the system sometimes rewards obedience, expendability, or just being the most convenient body.
Context matters: coming from an actor known for playing a likable underachiever, the line doubles as brand-aware commentary. LeBlanc sells the twist with self-deprecating credibility. You can hear the meta-joke: what if the "wrong guy" archetype isnt a fluke, but the actual design?
Quote Details
| Topic | Sarcastic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
LeBlanc, Matt. (2026, February 18). You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission, they feel for the fact of how competent they are, and how their expertise and they're the right one for the job. But ultimately they find out they've been actually chosen for their incompetence. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-74642/
Chicago Style
LeBlanc, Matt. "You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission, they feel for the fact of how competent they are, and how their expertise and they're the right one for the job. But ultimately they find out they've been actually chosen for their incompetence." FixQuotes. February 18, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-74642/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"You basically have a group of four spies who are chosen for a mission, they feel for the fact of how competent they are, and how their expertise and they're the right one for the job. But ultimately they find out they've been actually chosen for their incompetence." FixQuotes, 18 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/you-basically-have-a-group-of-four-spies-who-are-74642/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.




