I always seemed to disappoint them. They expected me to be different than Henry or exactly like Henry. I was neither.

Meaning of the quote

This quote is about how people often expect others to be a certain way, but we are all unique individuals. Peter Fonda was an American actor, and he felt that people were disappointed in him because he didn't match their expectations of being either completely different from his brother Henry or exactly the same as him. He was his own person, not what others wanted him to be.

About Peter Fonda

Peter Fonda, the son of legendary actor Henry Fonda, was an acclaimed actor, director, and screenwriter who played a pivotal role in the counterculture movement of the 1960s. He received numerous awards and nominations, including two Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe wins, for his impactful and diverse body of work.

More about the author

More quotes from Peter Fonda

My abilities grow with each job, whether it’s writing or directing. When I stop learing, I’ll stop working.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I want to be on set and die hearing those words: Where’s Peter?

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

People ask me from time to time what it was like growing up with Henry Fonda as my father. I say, Ever see Fort Apache? He was like Colonel Thursday.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

The word courage – God, I love that word. Words are so important to me.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

It took us a long time to find out that we had been lied to by our parents’ generation. The moralities that were followed during our parents’ generation were basically arbitrary. This caused a rift between the two generations, which was brought on by the beatniks.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I always seemed to disappoint them. They expected me to be different than Henry or exactly like Henry. I was neither.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I wasn’t really aware that my father was working for quite a while. I thought it was my mother who had all the money!

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

If I have enough ego to say I’m a writer, a director, a producer, and an actor, I should have the energy and the knowledge to write a scene for this great actor named Henry Fonda and direct him in it and have it work.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

Bob Dylan is out of the mentorship of Allen Ginsberg.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I don’t trust anybody who didn’t inhale.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

Every director is so different from every other one.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

You don’t become the character.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I’ve always internalized things.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I know I’m responsible for not having got the kind of roles that I’d have liked to. ‘

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I was famous from birth.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I truly miss the genius of the music of John Lennon, as I’m sure everybody does.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I love to direct my daughter, and act with her, and we both want to work with Jane again.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

My actual intake of different substances was far below what people thought it was, no matter how weird or outrageous they think I am.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I knew Henry Fonda was my father, but I didn’t know who I was. They all thought of me as Henry Fonda’s son. Unfortunately for them, they never got to know me.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

Henry Fonda’s son: That’s how everybody identified me until Easy Rider came along. Good old Captain America.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

When Jane and I spoke out, people thought, What ungrateful children those two kids are to be that nasty about their father.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

Lennon was not very fond of me. Lennon didn’t like to be around somebody else who was likely to be the center of attention and didn’t like being on deck with somebody who was intellectually as hot as he was.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I was named Beekeeper of the Year by the Florida State Beekeeping Association.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

It’s wonderful to me that bees have this simple, age-old thing going on.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I have always maintained that society has no business dictating morality.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

Brando’s a family friend. His mother gave my father a shot to be in a play at the Omaha Community Playhouse. That was the first production he was in.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

I want to die in the saddle. I love writing, producing, acting, directing.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

Remember, Alan Greenspan was a member of Ayn Rand’s collective. To understand this is to understand why we are doomed with the Federal Reserve.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)

Getting out from under the shadow of Henry Fonda was difficult.

Peter Fonda

American actor (1940-2019)