Douglas Hodge Quotes

Powerful Douglas Hodge for Daily Growth

About Douglas Hodge

Douglas Hodge (1956 - present) is a versatile British actor, director, and playwright who has made significant contributions to the world of theater and television. Born in London on April 14, 1956, Hodge's passion for acting was ignited at an early age. After attending Tonbridge School, he trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) where he graduated in 1978. Hodge's career took off in the late 1970s when he joined the National Theatre Company. Over the next few years, he appeared in numerous productions, including "Hamlet," "Macbeth," and "Henry V." In 1983, Hodge made his West End debut in "The Real Thing" by Tom Stoppard. His performance earned him a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actor. Transitioning to television, Hodge became a familiar face on British screens. He played the role of David Hunter in the popular series "Holby City" from 2004 to 2015, and portrayed Charles Dickens in the biographical film "The Invisible Woman" in 2013. As a playwright, Hodge's work is marked by his keen understanding of human nature and wit. His play "Phedre," an adaptation of Racine's classic tragedy, premiered at the National Theatre in 2014. Throughout his career, Hodge has demonstrated a remarkable range, from classical roles to contemporary characters. His work continues to captivate audiences and influence a new generation of actors and playwrights.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"The best way to predict your future is to create it."

This quote by Douglas Hodge emphasizes personal responsibility and proactive decision-making in shaping one's future. In essence, it suggests that instead of passively waiting for events to unfold, one should actively design their destiny through purposeful actions and choices. It encourages individuals to take control over their lives and use their skills, knowledge, and ambition to create the future they desire.


"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."

This quote by Douglas Hodge emphasizes the importance of resilience in the pursuit of success. It suggests that temporary setbacks or failures (success or failure) do not define one's journey, but rather it's the ability to keep moving forward with courage that truly matters. In other words, it is important to persist and maintain a positive attitude even when faced with obstacles or adversity, as these challenges only serve to strengthen one's character and increase the potential for long-term success.


"Life doesn't get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient."

This quote suggests that life's challenges do not become less intense as time goes on, but rather, individuals grow to become more robust and resilient in the face of adversity. In other words, our personal strength and ability to bounce back from difficulties increases over time, making us better equipped to handle whatever life throws our way.


"The only impossible journey is the one you never begin."

This quote by Douglas Hodge emphasizes that no endeavor, however challenging or daunting it may seem, is truly impossible unless one chooses not to attempt it. It encourages us to take the first step towards our goals, as even the most difficult journeys can begin with a single action. The message is to embrace change, challenge ourselves, and never let fear of the unknown hold us back from starting on a new path or pursuing our dreams.


"Everything you've ever wanted is on the other side of fear."

This quote by Douglas Hodge underscores that achieving one's desires often requires conquering fear, as it's a common barrier preventing us from pursuing our goals and aspirations. Fear can be paralyzing, but recognizing its presence should encourage us to push beyond it, for on the other side lies potential growth, accomplishment, and fulfillment.


If you're a classical actor, every Shakespearean part you play, you then say, 'McKellen did it this way,' and, 'Jacobi did it this way.' There's a whole list of Oliviers and people, whether you play Hamlet or Richard II or Richard III, any of those roles. And I found that a bit when I did 'La Cage.' It didn't bother me one bit.

- Douglas Hodge

Play, Part, Hamlet, III

To do eight shows a week saying exactly the same lines, you have to be obsessively perfecting it or utterly mindless.

- Douglas Hodge

Week, Eight, Exactly, Mindless

As soon as I walk down that sticky six-mile patterned carpet that welcomes you at Heathrow, I buy the Sunday papers and read the fashion supplements cover to cover. Even though hardly a single word in them seems directed at any male who ever lived, I find them compulsive reading.

- Douglas Hodge

Down, Buy, Papers, Welcomes

Bowie has been in my mind as someone who disappeared from the public for a long time and then emerged. A strange, exotic creature - he seems to inherit a tradition of enigma and exclusiveness.

- Douglas Hodge

Mind, Enigma, Been, Inherit

I was doing a movie, 'Diana,' and I pulled aside the guy who was making the nose for Naomi Watts and said, 'I'm about to do 'Cyrano.' So he did various Photoshops of different looks that might work. I was really against any kind of 'Pinocchio' theater thing. The way that it's described in the play is this disfigurement.

- Douglas Hodge

Play, Doing, Naomi, Pinocchio

I haven't watched telly for years.

- Douglas Hodge

Years, Watched, Telly

I've always written songs. I'd come home from school and play piano for hours on end, just banging around.

- Douglas Hodge

Play, Always, Hours, Banging

In our culture, good looks are so important, and today he'd head straight for a plastic surgeon, but in Cyrano's time, the nose was who he was, and it didn't matter that he was a brilliant poet, a brilliant swordsman, a brilliant man. His nose defined him.

- Douglas Hodge

Surgeon, Matter, Our, Defined

While I was in 'Inadmissible Evidence' at the Donmar, I was mugged at the HSBC ATM on Shaftesbury Avenue. I grabbed one of the men, and when the police arrived, they put both me and him against a wall until they worked out which of us was the criminal.

- Douglas Hodge

Against, Evidence, Mugged, Criminal

The next Bond ought to be a woman or, at least, a black actor.

- Douglas Hodge

Woman, Actor, Next, Ought

I grew up in Gillingham in Kent, and my dad commuted to Victoria Station every day. I remember travelling in with him one day and the noise, the people, and the heat leaving me wide-eyed and grinning.

- Douglas Hodge

Heat, I Remember, Dad, Kent

In England, I've had a more balanced career directing and acting. It can be quite difficult to juggle the two careers.

- Douglas Hodge

Career, England, More, Juggle

It just tends to be that the grass is always greener. If I'm doing a movie, I suddenly think, 'Oh God, I wish I could just get a play script I could get my teeth into.' If I'm doing eight shows a week in a West End musical, I think, 'God, how lovely it would be to be in a TV series right now.'

- Douglas Hodge

Play, Doing, TV, Tends

The review I've been most offended by came when I played Hamlet. I'd always prided myself on being an 'invisible actor' and not getting in the way of the play. But this review didn't mention me once. That's worse than being insulted.

- Douglas Hodge

Play, Offended, Been, Review

When I did 'Cyrano' for Roundabout, I was originally supposed to direct and play the title role, but I quickly realized that was madness, and we called in Jamie Lloyd, who directed me in Osborne's 'Inadmissible Evidence.'

- Douglas Hodge

Play, Role, Directed, Jamie

I'm always being introduced as 'Tony Award-winning Douglas Hodge.' It's extraordinary.

- Douglas Hodge

Extraordinary, Always, Tony, Douglas

The only way I survived at school was by doing impersonations of teachers and pupils. That led to me winning a talent competition when I was 16; the prize was three or four gigs in working men's clubs. I was just showing off: at the time, I thought that's what acting was.

- Douglas Hodge

Thought, Doing, Pupils, Survived

I've been doing a little project with my 11-year-old son, Charlie: we're canoeing from the source of the Thames to the Houses of Parliament. It's taken us three years so far, and we're only half way.

- Douglas Hodge

Doing, Been, Half, Thames

It doesn't matter how big the set is or how florid the music is: if it doesn't touch people's hearts, then I don't want to be in it.

- Douglas Hodge

Want, Big, Set, Hearts

I love filming in London. In New York, every street is familiar because you have seen it in a movie. They mythologise their own city. You're forever trying to get down streets that have been blocked off because of shooting. In London, they don't put up with it; they're grumpy.

- Douglas Hodge

Love, London, Been, Filming

I had this contract to write songs for people when I was about 18. I don't think any of them were taken up; I was a complete failure at it! But I've kept doing it, writing little songs for myself.

- Douglas Hodge

Doing, About, Had, Complete

It's pretty hard to play 'Romeo and Juliet' with someone and not fall in love.

- Douglas Hodge

Love, Play, Romeo, Juliet

For a time, I really thought acting was just impersonating. But impersonation is just big brush strokes, really. What makes acting different is empathy.

- Douglas Hodge

Empathy, Big, Brush, Strokes

I'm very prescriptive about my routine. Almost nothing changes: I have the same meal - pasta with Bolognese sauce - between shows; the person who dresses me stands on the same side every time; I take the same route to the stage. I'm very OCD about these things, as most actors are.

- Douglas Hodge

Very, About, Almost, Dresses

I can't stand interpretation. I think it's one of the great scourges of the theater. I just think, 'Don't get in the way of the play.'

- Douglas Hodge

Play, Think, I Think, Interpretation

When you sit down and there's nothing, and then you write a song and there's something, that's the most extraordinary feeling.

- Douglas Hodge

Song, Nothing, Then, Extraordinary

There's a certain amount of screwball and genius in 'Willy Wonka.'

- Douglas Hodge

Amount, Certain, Genius

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