ALT-3 What you need to know about a Career in Acting
A career in acting can be broken down into two categories, Practical and Artistic. In some ways you might be fooling yourself if you have to even ask the question, should I be an actor? Most people who are good actors have really never wanted to be anything else. But, then again, as Rob Mitchum once put it - "I only did it to meet girls". But I'm sure he found the art along the way. As Sir Ralph Richardson once answered when asked why he became an actor, he replied, "I wasn't good at anything else." This may seem funny, but it also reveals that he only ever had an interest in acting. With the answers below, this guide assumes you have already done your training at the best school possible and are still committed to being an actor. Okau, first the practical side.
How can I support myself between gigs?
You should have either developed a second string to your bow in a complementary field e.g. become a good-earning street performer, or playing an instrument in an orchestra, or in a band at local clubs (Clint Eastwood and Woody Allen played sax at clubs), or work for a film production company in some capacity, and so on. It's also always a good idea to have a trade. Harrison Ford was a carpenter and specialized in doing jobs for Hollywood actors and producers. Acting is like all other industries, it's more a case of who you know, than what you know (although the what you know keeps you at the top later). You will never get selected for the big break if no one knows you. Harrison Ford got "Raiders" when Tom Selleck had to turn it down because of "Magnum". He only got "Raiders" because he got his break in "Star Wars" and only got his break in "Stars Wars" because he was Johnny on the spot in Hollywood when they were casting. He was there, and the locals knew him. In fact, he had been there for many, many years. So, ask yourself, do you have the capacity to stay in the vicinity of agents and producers for many years through alternative means of employment? If the answer is 'no' then acting is not for you.
Do you have a fall back position monetarily?
For instance, do you have money earned sufficient for you to own a house or apartment in the right location so that your ability to stay the distance is enhanced? It is the practical side of day to day living that wears many people down and takes them out of acting. Remember, actors you see on screen have not necessarily 'made it'. Even regular character actors are often scraping for a buck. If you earn anything in the acting field, immediately put it into real estate or sound investments to further shaw up your ability to keep on keeping on. Acting is like other careers in that you must see to the practical side of life at all times in order to ensure your future staying power. The next 'gig' is never enough on its own to save you.
Are you prepared to live away from your usual family and friends for long periods of time?
Don't discount this. Lonliness is a very dangerous element which destroys many young actor's careers. If you are going to travel to where the action is, and believe me you have to, then counsel yourself as to your own strength of character to withstand lonliness. You may fall in love and want to have children, but sorry, the early stages of a show biz career make this impractical and often fatal, career-wise. Are you prepared to give family life for around ten - fifteen years?
Are you prepared to live a monastic life?
Yes, you always hear about those Hollywood hell-raisers, hard-drinking, hard-living devil-may-care actors. Aside from generally being a load of crock, this is AFTER they have already made their money. You don't get to look great physically and be mentally sharp enough to memorize long passages of dialogue if you are bloated and de-toxing from drugs and alcohol. Top actors train very hard and live regimented lives. They must see to a strict diet and daily exercise routine, not to mention keeping their performance skills at peak level with acting exercises. Until you master them completely, these elements must be incorporated in your day to day life, and interspersed with jobs that pay the rent - so there is precious little time for hell-raising.
Can you see yourself wearing old jeans and driving a beat up Ford that belches smoke, while your friends who got their accountancy degrees by age 23 are buying their second house and taking their holidays in Fiji?
This doesn't just happen to actors that don't make it, it happens to all actors. You don't get regular work until a) industry people know you, and b) audiences know you. This takes a long time, around a decade or more. Are you prepared to swallow your pride and watch others go by on the monetary ladder while you mark time? If the answer is no, then don't do it.
Artistic.
Are you prepared to act, act, act?
Great actors such as George C. Scott have often completed around a hundred plays in performance before being 'discovered'. It's the old story - how did you become an overnight success? Simple, I worked at it for 20 years. You must train, train, train, day in, day out, and you must do it despite chucking burgers at Burger King to pay the rent.
Do you love observing humanity?
Acting is the interpretation of the behavior of others. It is about processing the different experiences of life, as different individuals do. You will not be a great actor if people bore you, or rather, the observation of people bores you. In order to be a good actor, you have to become a people processer, and you have to have as wide an experience of people as possible in order to interpret correctly.
Do you love words, literature?
If not, you may be in the wrong game. You may not like reading so much as writing, but even so, you must love the use of words, for they are your stock in trade. It is how you use words that marks you as a good or bad actor.
Are you prepared to be humble?
Wisdom gained with humility is what life is about. This is absolutely applicable to acting. You MUST be humble. If you want to be an actor so that you can be rich and famous, you are deluded. That's a bit like a person wanting to be a Kung Fu master so that they can beat up guys and impress girls. It's an immature assessment of what being a master is all about, and with such a motive it is impossible to achieve anything but a rudimentary understanding. The very nature of acting is to give others permission to experiment in an atmosphere of tolerance and giving. That means you discount your own rank, discount your own talent, and give openly in support of others, even though, and even especially to those you don't feel are talented. Those who progess furtherest and quickest naturally do this. Also, very often as an actor you will be made to look foolish, and you will fail publicly. It's part of learning your craft, and unavoidable. Can you be that humble?
Can you remain focused long-term? Acting is like any other career, and then, it isn't. Dedication will bring any career to a peak eventually, but this is not just a career, it is an artform. And a performing artist is a living, breathing canvas that must be constantly maintained and inspired. Becoming a successful actor is not what you think it is. It's the difference between imagining a different place, and actually being there.
