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Character Quotes

Character shows up in fiction, politics and physics.

"Character" is used two distinct ways in this collection — as a literary term about how a fictional character carries moral weight, and as a description of personal integrity tied to one's politics and work. For traits and personality more broadly, see Personality quotes.

Ten years of character development affords you a lot. You get a chance to dig deeper and deeper and deeper into a person.

Quotes by Jon Tenney

You, the actor, must be aware of when you're being funny, but the character you're playing should always be oblivious to the fact.

Quotes by Jon Lovitz

Representation means having characters with layers, showing them as human beings, so we can relate or have mixed emotions for that character.

Quotes by Jon M. Chu

I felt very comfortable playing Don Draper, because I knew that Don Draper is a character - that Dick Whitman is playing Don Draper. I felt very comfortable in that manufactured-confidence mode. He himself is manufacturing it.

Quotes by Jon Hamm

Mostly, I have to say as an actor, to find a character that's been rich enough for 10 seasons of shows... that's very rare.

Quotes by Jon Cryer

On the stage you develop a character that's different from yourself. In a film they're always saying, 'Walk over here. Say this line. Be you.'

Quotes by Jon Cryer

I want to play a character which is as far away from myself as possible and a character that isn't even human, a superhero is just that.

Quotes by Joivan Wade

A lot of people think, like, 'JoJo' is fake or 'JoJo' is a character. But, like, it's not.

Quotes by JoJo Siwa

Match play really exposes your character and how much of a will to win you have in your heart.

Quotes by Johnny Miller

In a series, you really need to stay open-minded. It's not like a play or a film, where you can create and fully commit to your character's back-story.

Quotes by Johnny Galecki

It's never been a priority for me to concentrate on the likability of the character.

Quotes by Johnny Galecki

'Ray Donovan' was all fiction and pure fun, to be working with such greats as Liev Schreiber and Jon Voight. My character was recurring, but my storyline was intricate to the whole thing. With the character that I played, I...

Quotes by Johnathon Schaech

People recognize me on the street for all kinds of different things that I've done. 'That Thing You Do' remains to be my favorite film in which I played my favorite character. That role is the one that I'm most...

Quotes by Johnathon Schaech

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Quotes by John Wooden

Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character.

Quotes by John Wooden

One of the great things and one of the horrible things about the American character is this extraordinary optimism and arrogance that everything will continue to be great and keep looking up.

Quotes by John Wells

In my first film, Five Corners, I played a very scary, violent crazed character, and it exposed me to a lot of directors.

Quotes by John Turturro

Parts like Morse don't grow on trees. He's a great character.

Quotes by John Thaw

Eccentricity has always abounded when and where strength of character had abounded; and the amount of eccentricity in a society has generally been proportional to the amount of genius, mental vigor, and courage which it contained.

Quotes by John Stuart Mill

All action is for the sake of some end; and rules of action, it seems natural to suppose, must take their whole character and color from the end to which they are subservient.

Quotes by John Stuart Mill

Frequently Asked Questions

What different meanings of "character" appear on this page?
Several - literary character in the sense of a written character's moral dimension, the idea that one's politics and the character of their work are inseparable, the freeing quality of dialogue comedy, and even a scientific reference to the "duality of character" in matter and radiation.
Is there a quote about writing and moral character in fiction?
Yes, one quote discusses how everything in fiction ultimately comes down to the relationship between the reader, the writer, and the characters, questioning whether a character addresses moral being in an important way. For more, see the Characters page.
Is there a quote connecting politics and creative work?
Yes, one quote states a belief that "one's politics and the character of his particular work are inseparable," reflecting a radical viewpoint. Browse the Personality page for more on how personal outlook shapes expression.
Is there a quote about comedy writing and characters?
Yes, one quote describes finding it liberating that in dialogue comedy, the characters and what they say aren't the writer themselves - just fleeting thoughts and observations rather than stated truths. For more on how characters take shape, see the Character Development page.
Is there a scientific quote about "character" here?
Yes, interestingly - one quote uses "duality of character" to describe how matter and radiation sometimes behave like waves and sometimes like particles, applying the word in a scientific rather than literary sense. For more on how character is portrayed, check out the Characterization page.

Unusually, one entry borrows the word from physics, describing the dual wave-and-particle character of matter and radiation. Continue with Characters quotes or Character Development quotes.