Logo - Feel The Words

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.

Bond in 'Goldeneye' is pretty much a set character. To be honest, he's another version of Connery, and Connery was terrific. How many submarines can you blow up? How many control rooms are evaporating?

Quotes by Martin Campbell

I'd just like to see a role for women where someone who isn't traditionally attractive is not portraying the best friend. You know, the character that only speaks in questions. 'Gee, are you gonna go out with him? Do you...

Quotes by Martha Plimpton

I like cluttered, old, dark-wood antiques. I like character.

Quotes by Martha Plimpton

Cigarettes are an instant signifier in culture. It punctuates a joke, or puts that extra zing on a punch line. I like them as a prop. I think it can be really useful for character and texture and contrast and...

Quotes by Martha Plimpton

I do read P.D. James because she pays much more attention to character, to a particular atmosphere or setting. But most mystery writers, I think, are controlled by the plot.

Quotes by Martha Grimes

To act, no matter how the character is, you have to love and have compassion for the character you're playing.

Quotes by Marshall Allman

You can't judge a character that you're playing, because then you're fighting against doing what the character's doing.

Quotes by Marshall Allman

If I were writing an article for the newspaper, it would be thesis statement, information, information, supporting arguments. That would be the setup. When I'm making a documentary, the pacing of the film and the way that you sort of...

Quotes by Marshall Curry

When I'm making documentaries, I think a lot about how fiction films play. I want them to have the pacing, the twists and the character development of fiction films.

Quotes by Marshall Curry

I'm looking for a charismatic character - somebody who you just want to look at and listen to and whom the camera likes. I'm also looking for a narrative arc: Something is going to happen, and there will be a...

Quotes by Marshall Curry

I think the Greeks were the only people ever to nail character. Their heroes are deeply flawed.

Quotes by Marlon James

Confident people, who understand comedy, improvise so much better than people who are scared. You can't be scared to improvise. You have to know your character, and then you have to let go.

Quotes by Marlon Wayans

The American women are very pretty and have great simplicity of character, and the extreme neatness of their appearance is truly delightful: cleanliness is everywhere even more studiously attended to here than in England.

Quotes by Marquis de Lafayette

Man's natural character is to imitate; that of the sensitive man is to resemble as closely as possible the person whom he loves. It is only by imitating the vices of others that I have earned my misfortunes.

Quotes by Marquis de Sade

When they do bring on new people, it's good for the show. It's like getting a new toy. The writers enjoy it because it's a whole new character that they can write for, one that they aren't used to writing...

Quotes by Mark-Paul Gosselaar

With film, it's all about the actor being able to feel the things that the character's feeling. It must do some strange things to your mind. Music I find much easier because you're being honest about where you are as...

Quotes by Marketa Irglova

When they first asked me to do 'Hulk,' my first instinct was to say no because I didn't think I had anything to say with the character, especially when they said, 'Please do what you did with 'Daredevil,' whatever that...

Quotes by Mark Waid

Every ongoing character has to start somewhere.

Quotes by Mark Waid

I'm a big fan of when you model a character as someone with a biological origin, doing deep dives and a lot of research.

Quotes by Mark Waid

Everyone knows what it's like to make the wrong decision for the right reasons. For me, wrong decisions are the heart of drama - a character who's always making the right decisions is boring.

Quotes by Mark Waid

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.