“I think of myself as a humble student trying to get better and just lucky to still be getting chances to do it.”

—Actor Jeff Goldblum in an interview with New York Times reporter Kathryn Shattuck
Image for “I think of myself as a humble student trying to get better and just lucky to still be getting chances to do it.”
Dinosaurs Sam Howzit, Creative Commons

Why it's so great: This isn't a particularly elegant sentence. It may even come across as disingenuous – a popular, successful Hollywood actor who, at 65, still claims to be a "humble student" of his craft. But "A Word With" interview with Jeff Goldblum showed a guy who still sweats the work, and still feels grateful to

Jeff Goldblum Creative Commons

have it. The interview – "Jeff Goldlum, Back in 'Jurassic World,' and Making a Small Role Big" – ran in June, on the eve of the release of the fourth, and many say last, of the Jurassic Park sci-fi adventure movies. His comment came when he was asked how it feels to "arrived" as an actor. This posed to a guy who has played in a series of blockbusters, but seldom in a lead role. It put me in mind of the journalistic workhorses who may not boast a wall of awards, but keep showing up, again and again, putting their all into the work at hand. They are the people who understand there are no small stories – only small attitudes. They play the long game, and keep learning. And they do the other thing that, along with showing up, is everything: they do it with joy. I'll take that example, and that reminder, with gratitude.