What’s On Their Faces

“…when you are a child who is unwanted or unwelcome, and the essence of what you are seems to be unacceptable, you look for an identity that will be acceptable. Usually this identity is found in faces you are talking to. You make a habit of studying people, finding out the way they talk, the answers that they give and their points of view; then, in a form of self-defense, you reflect what’s on their faces and how they act because most people like to see reflections of themselves.”

~ Marlon Brando, talking about how his childhood insecurities provided emotional material which he used as an actor, from Songs My Mother Taught Me. This quote was part of a review by Michiko Kakutani of Somebody: the reckless life and remarkable career of Marlon Brando,  a new biography of the actor written by Stefan Kanfer.

[Thanks http://mysite.verizon.net/resohdyv/Kit!]