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DisputedCommonly credited to Cary Grant; the attribution does not hold up.
“Acting is a matter of hiding what you have to show and showing what you have to hide.”
On the attribution
This aphorism does not appear in Grant's 1963 autobiography or in any verified interview or transcript, and no primary source has ever been produced for it.
On the same subject.
“I made a lot of mistakes out of loneliness. Consequently, I know a great deal about it.”
Cary Grant
“It took time to be accepted; it almost took twenty years until I got to be like a well-advertised brand of tea. Housewives bought that kind rather than take a chance on a brand they are not familiar with.”
Cary Grant · 1961
“I suppose you might call me the sophisticated type. I like to act with dialogue. Not with grunts.”
Cary Grant · 1958
“I really am a happy, amusing fellow at heart. Trouble is I seem the only one left.”
Cary Grant · 1958