How many times can you play an action character, or a quirky

The words of Edward Herrmann—“How many times can you play an action character, or a quirky romantic? Every actor has to find his own way to make each character unique.”—carry the wisdom of a craftsman who has walked long upon the stage of life. Here he reveals the essence of artistry: that the task is not merely to repeat a form, but to breathe new life into it, to make each portrayal, each act, each creation unique. For what is art if it becomes repetition? It is but an echo fading into silence. But when the artist reshapes the familiar into something fresh, the role is reborn, and the audience beholds not the mask of stereotype but the soul of truth.

Herrmann speaks first of the action character and the quirky romantic, figures that audiences know well, for they are played often in film and theater. Yet he does not mock them. Instead, he warns of the danger of falling into patterns, of becoming a shadow of oneself. An actor who repeats without reinvention becomes a statue: fixed, unmoving, lifeless. The challenge, then, is not the type of role, but the courage to seek within it something hidden—something personal, something unrepeatable.

The origin of this teaching lies in the history of performance itself. The ancient Greeks, whose tragedies and comedies formed the bedrock of drama, repeated the same myths—of Oedipus, of Antigone, of Medea—again and again. Yet each playwright, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, gave the same tale a different soul. They understood what Herrmann teaches: that even when the story is familiar, the voice of the artist can make it new. So too must every actor, every creator, every human being find their way of transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Consider also the life of Marlon Brando, who entered the stage of cinema at a time when acting had grown stiff and theatrical. He too played roles that others had played—lovers, rebels, leaders—but he infused them with a raw humanity, a trembling authenticity that made them utterly unique. In A Streetcar Named Desire and On the Waterfront, Brando gave the world not just characters, but living, breathing souls. He embodied Herrmann’s teaching: that the greatness of an actor lies not in the role itself, but in the uniqueness brought to it.

Yet Herrmann’s words are not for actors alone. For do we not all play roles in life? We are workers, parents, children, friends. We perform tasks countless others have performed before us. But if we live only by repetition, our lives become stale, hollow imitations. The wisdom here is that each person must discover how to bring uniqueness into their daily roles, to infuse them with their own essence. A parent’s love, though as old as time, is unique when it flows through one’s own heart. A worker’s craft, though repeated for generations, is unique when performed with devotion and individuality.

The lesson is clear: whatever role life assigns you, do not play it as a copy. Seek your own path, your own voice, your own spark. Ask yourself: What truth can I bring to this moment that only I can give? Do not fear that the role has been played before, for it always has. Fear only that you will fail to make it your own. For life, like art, is not about invention from nothing, but about breathing soul into what already exists.

Practically, this means living with awareness and intention. If you are in a familiar role, look deeper: find a detail, a gesture, a word, an approach that makes it distinctively yours. In your relationships, show your unique tenderness. In your work, let your unique creativity shine. In every role, whether grand or humble, bring yourself fully, and you will transform the ordinary into something timeless.

Thus, Edward Herrmann’s words become not merely a reflection on acting, but a teaching for all of life. Do not live as an echo, live as a voice. Do not repeat as a shadow, live as a flame. For the world does not need another copy of what has been done—it needs your uniqueness, shining forth, turning even the most familiar role into something unforgettable.