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Doing Quotes

On action, effort and the discipline of doing the work.

These lines describe doing in its many forms: the overlap between film and television production, the uncertainty built into research, and committing to work you believe in even without much recognition. For more, see our Action quotes.

There is a construct in computer programming called 'the infinite loop' which enables a computer to do what no other physical machine can do - to operate in perpetuity without tiring. In the same way it doesn't know exhaustion, it...

Quotes by John Maeda

'Frasier' was a classy gig. I didn't for one minute think it was less prestigious or artistic than doing a play.

Quotes by John Mahoney

The first play I did was 'Philadelphia Here I Come.' Can you imagine that? I am 37 years old I am doing my second professional play and I am on stage with John Malkovich. Joan Allen, Laurie Metcalf and Gary...

Quotes by John Mahoney

That's how I learned how to act. I learned by doing it. I didn't start acting until I was 37.

Quotes by John Mahoney

I belonged to Stratford Children's Theater when I was a boy growing up in Manchester. Even then, I was always doing character parts.

Quotes by John Mahoney

I like to learn the lines and not get any precontrived things in my head about the part. Just get on stage and see what the other actors are doing, and respond to them as honestly as I can.

Quotes by John Mahoney

In animation, there's this exhilarating moment of discovery when you see the film and you say, Oh THAT'S what I was doing.

Quotes by John Lithgow

It is my hope that by reducing the tax burden on small business owners that we can help them grow their businesses and, in doing so, create jobs.

Quotes by John Liu

My father liked doing carpentry work, construction work, in the summer vacation. And so my mother designed a cabin, a log cabin, like a - it was like a Swiss chalet. I was twelve years old, and my father and...

Quotes by John Lautner

But here I am today recording this and I'm in the studio with all the others on a clean mic. It's extraordinary, the actor's found a way of doing it for himself.

Quotes by John Leeson

I was always the front man for what I was doing from when I was 6.

Quotes by John Legend

The civil rights movement was based on faith. Many of us who were participants in this movement saw our involvement as an extension of our faith. We saw ourselves doing the work of the Almighty. Segregation and racial discrimination were...

Quotes by John Lewis

I'm really not feeling one way or the other with comedy or drama, I'm just sort of doing projects that I've been finding really fun to be a part of.

Quotes by John Krasinski

My favorite water cooler topic is fantasy football. I used to make fun of friends for doing it and now I'm obsessed.

Quotes by John Krasinski

Understanding the customer, feeling what they are feeling, seeing what competitors are doing, you end up having a richer sense of the marketplace.

Quotes by John L. Flannery

If I wasn't doing this kind of exploration, I'd like to be doing some other kind of exploration. It might be more risky, or less risky, but, in the business of exploration, risk is part of the territory.

Quotes by John L. Phillips

I'd like to be doing quality acting in a quality role and making as many people as possible happy.

Quotes by John Larroquette

When actors get pigeonholed, that's their own doing to a large degree. Because if you do something that people like, obviously they're going to ask you to do it again. It's up to you to say no. If you're that...

Quotes by John Larroquette

The initial research will be very indiscriminate. I do a lot of reading, buy a stack of books and read and digest them, and then I start doing phone interviews and archival research and then the travelling.

Quotes by John Jeremiah Sullivan

You just keep doing stuff, and one thing evolves into another. Then suddenly it's like, 'Oh, wait, I'm here surfing against Kelly Slater and all these guys I grew up watching.'

Quotes by John John Florence

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does "doing" mean across these quotes?
The quotes use "doing" to describe the actual craft of working (film vs. TV production), following through on belief in your own work, playing certain kinds of roles, and even the nature of research itself.
Is there a quote comparing film and TV work?
Yes: "When you're doing the work, film and TV are exactly the same. TV is just film in reduced pieces." For more on taking action rather than just planning, see Action.
Is there a witty quote about research here?
Yes: "Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing" is a short, self-aware take on the research process.
Does this page include anything about acting roles or casting?
Yes, one quote describes being cast more often as a villain-type ("more Iago than Hamlet") while insisting the real goal is playing people doing the right thing rather than simple villains. For more on positive action, see Doing Good.
Is there a quote about believing in your own work despite doubt?
Yes, one recalls finding award shows hard to watch early in a music career, "because I believed in what I was doing" even while unsure of having a real shot. For more short, punchy takes on getting things done, see Doin or Doers.

Also see our Doing Good quotes for a values-driven angle, or Doers quotes celebrating people who take action.