There's only so long
There's a quote by Jude Law I've come across,

"Personally speaking there's only so long you can go from film to film to film. There's an inspiration an actor gets from the stage."

Could someone please rephrase the "there's only so long you can go from film to film" part for me? Am I right thinking it means something like
"An actor can be in cinematography for a limited amount of time" (after which most turn to theatre).
I'm just not sure I understand this construction correctly (or at all).

И если вы вдруг говорите по-русски — подскажите, пожалуйста, как это правильно перевести?

Question

There's only so long
There's a quote by Jude Law I've come across,

"Personally speaking there's only so long you can go from film to film to film. There's an inspiration an actor gets from the stage."

Could someone please rephrase the "there's only so long you can go from film to film" part for me? Am I right thinking it means something like
"An actor can be in cinematography for a limited amount of time" (after which most turn to theatre). 
I'm just not sure I understand this construction correctly (or at all).

И если вы вдруг говорите по-русски — подскажите, пожалуйста, как это правильно перевести?

Answer

Yes. "Only... so" means "there is a limit. It is impossible for there to be more."

You can only hold your breath for so long.
There's only so long you can wait in line before your legs start to hurt.
No matter how much you like candy, you can only eat so much of it before you get sick.
You can only read so many of Lee Child's novels before they start to seem stale and formulaic.

Answer

Yes, your meaning matches his. One could also say "there's only so long (that) I can walk without taking a rest". "T o s l that I can read before my eyes hurt" etc etc

Answer

I see... It seems like it has a slightly different meaning, then... Thank you, James!

Answer

It’s pretty much saying that an actor who only does films will quickly lose inspiration and that he needs the theater (plays) to keep the acting spark alive, he draws inspiration for acting from live theater.

Answers · 6

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