…Passion you have, 
but you are not going to become an actor, 
only God knows what it is!...

 
At his arrival in Copenhagen in 1919 the goal for the 14 year old Hans Christian Andersen was The Royal Theatre. He wanted to become an actor and it was a great pleasure to him to have the theatre's then leading comic actor, Ferdinand Lindgreen, as a teacher and personal director.

Lindgreen made him study a number of Holberg's "dumb lad parts" which Andersen showed a certain talent for. However, according to Andersen the teacher is supposed to have said early on: " Passion you have, but you are not going to become an actor, only God knows what it is!"  

After that he tried the art of ballet and in the following years he participated in the mimic parts in a number of ballets and as a chorus singer and extra in the theatre's operas and plays. Andersen's actual problem at the stage was primarily his rather small talent and his odd physiognomy and obvious difficulty in controlling his movements and gestures when on stage.

His keen efforts to obtain a stage career were brought to an end when he was dismissed from the theatre in 1822 which proved to be a stroke of good luck for his coming career as a poet. To his own great surprise he was granted a free place at Slagelse Grammar School the same year.