This has truly been Zendaya’s year. Since the beginning of 2026, the actor has starred in The Drama, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and the final season of Euphoria, and she has Dune: Part Three lined up for December. She got married to her Spider-Man co-star, Tom Holland, this year, and their latest film together is on its way to becoming one of the greatest box-office successes of Hollywood of all time.
This truly is Zendaya’s world at the moment, and we are only living in it. The actor turns 30 today, and to celebrate the day, today’s quote is an excerpt from her 2021 interview with Interview magazine, where she stated: “The only way to get great is to be fearless and try.”
What does Zendaya’s quote mean?
In the aforementioned interview, Zendaya sat with her Euphoria co-star Colman Domingo and discussed work and life. While talking about figuring out their craft, Zendaya pointed out that as actors, they should not fear looking “stupid.”
It is a philosophy that she applies in other parts of her life as well, because she knows that trying something new for the first time means that one might not necessarily be great at the thing. If they fear failure so much that they do not try at all, they are never going to be great at it.
In Zendaya’s words, “I think something that many actors have, which is something you learn, is that you can’t be afraid to look stupid, you can’t be afraid to mess up, you can’t be afraid of anything. I’m trying to apply that to other parts of my life, because I’m always afraid to do things in fear of not being great. But the only way to get great is to be fearless and try.”
What is the relevance of Zendaya’s quote?
Zendaya’s quote is an excellent mantra to follow in most aspects of life. We expect ourselves to be good at stuff. Some people bear the burden of expectations of not just themselves, but others as well. However, one should always remember that unless they are a generational talent, they are not likely to be truly great at anything without learning and practice. And facing challenges is a natural part of it.
While learning or practising something, one should not focus on whether or not they are looking stupid, but rather on how well they are picking up the craft. Being fearless and trying is the path to learning something new and excelling at it, whether for a performance on screen or in life.
