They said I couldn’t play anything but an English boy. I knew I could. So I went to New York.
Meaning of the quote
Roddy McDowall, a British actor, was told he could only play characters who were English boys. But he believed he could do more. So he decided to go to New York City to prove them wrong and show that he could play different types of roles.
About Roddy McDowall
Roddy McDowall was a British and American actor who had a prolific career spanning over 60 years and 270 screen and stage roles. He achieved prominence as a child actor in films like How Green Was My Valley, My Friend Flicka, and Lassie Come Home, and later transitioned to adult roles, including playing Cornelius and Caesar in the original Planet of the Apes film series. McDowall was also a photographer, journalist, and contributed to various charities and film preservation efforts.
More quotes from Roddy McDowall
They said I couldn’t play anything but an English boy. I knew I could. So I went to New York.
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My whole life I’ve been trying to prove I’m not just yesterday.
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I still have the actor’s disease. I always think I’ll never get another job.
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I enjoyed being in movies when I was a boy. As a child you’re not acting – you believe.
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I started to study, because I knew I had to learn a lot about myself as an actor; you can’t act the same as you did as a child.
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Fortunately, I happened to go east at a time when live television was centered in New York.
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