Kazan on Himself As An Actor

One of my first great acting teachers, Kimber Wheelock, used to reference a Kazan quote all the time:

Kazan was once asked why he had left acting to become a director. Kazan replied, “As an actor, I was like a violin that could only play 2 or 3 notes.”

Kimber used this as an example to us: KNOW who you are. KNOW your instrument. The greatest asset an actor can EVER have is NOT talent, but self-knowledge.

Kazan was able to look at his talent (and he obviously had a gift … anyone who ever saw him act never forgot it) – and say, “I do not have a good enough range to really make it. I might as well find something else to do.”

Along those lines, here is a quote from Elia Kazan:

“I don’t have great range. I am no good with music or spectacles. The classics are beyond me. . . . I am a mediocre director except when a play or film touches a part of my life’s experience. . . . I do have courage, even some daring. I am able to talk to actors. . . . to arouse them to better work. I have strong, even violent, feelings, and they are assets.”