The difference between my generation of actors and their generation is that they were bigger than life. We are not bigger than life
The people I worked with were bigger than life. Once you put them on the screen, they were huge.
Who's the bigger person in the end? The man who allows his dog to do what he does or the dog, who gives everything for the man.
The closest thing we have to bigger than life is Clint Eastwood, and Clint's not really bigger than life, nor would he really want to be.