I love the wry motto of the Paleontological Society meant both literally and figuratively for hammers are the main tool of our trade: Frango ut patefaciam - I break in order to reveal.
Being an actor means asking people to look at you. I guess I accept that. But it's a profession in which the job is to show another world and other people. You may access it through bits of yourself and your imagination and experience but actually in the end you're not playing yourself.