Great acting is being able to create a character. Great character is being able to be yourself.

Leguizamo draws a sharp distinction between professional craft and personal integrity. “Great acting” refers to the actor’s technical and imaginative ability to invent a believable other—voice, gesture, psychology, and history—so an audience accepts the illusion of a separate person. By contrast, “great character” shifts from performance to ethics: the harder, rarer achievement is to live without pretense, to act from one’s real values rather than social pressure or image-management. The pairing suggests that while acting celebrates transformation, a well-formed character is measured by authenticity and self-possession—being fully oneself even when it is inconvenient or unpopular.