John Candy: Pay Actors to Wait
on Sunday, October 31, 2021John Candy Money Quote saying he believed that acting is as much about waiting as it is about acting – being paid for the waits between scenes. John Candy said:
“You don’t pay an actor to act. An actor will do that for free because we love to act. You pay an actor to wait” — John Candy
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In this quote, John Candy seems to be making a humorous observation about the realities of being an actor between roles. Specifically:
- Candy notes that actors will happily take on parts and perform their craft without needing to be paid, since they genuinely enjoy the art of acting itself.
- However, he acknowledges that what actors do need to be compensated for is the downtime spent “waiting” between jobs for new opportunities to arise and their next role.
- Candy implies that while the acting itself is intrinsically rewarding, living costs money. So payment is important for supporting actors during periods without work.
The best interpretation is that Candy is jokingly pointing out that payment isn’t required to motivate actors during the performance process itself, but rather to sustain them financially during the inevitable intervals spent not actively acting but hoping for their next job. His comment wryly highlights the business realities of making a career out of unpredictable project work in the entertainment industry.