An Acting Career

see also

Acting Classes | Talent Agents | Casting Calls | Auditions & Casting Director Info

I get a lot of email from students asking me about the career of being an actor. Here are some of the answers--anything not covered here can be asked via email, but this should cover most of the areas that seem to be required for these kind of assignments.

1. What made you choose this field of work?

Please see http://www.caryn.com/thoughts/caryn-thoughts-actress.htm

2. What positions of responsibility or authority did you hold inside or outside of school that led to this career?
Not really applicable--an actor's life is a very individual journey, and is more about learning how to have control over yourself while interacting with others than about having control over others as you would when managing a staff. Even though I did well in school and think education is very important, school, and my subsequent part-time jobs and internships really taught me what I didn't want to be. However, I was involved in plays at school from an early age, so that was something I knew to be something I enjoyed.

Which of these presented the greatest challenge to you and why?
Learning how to live with a career that most people won't understand and getting over my need to have others treat me seriously in order to feel good about what I was doing. Artists often get treated as if it's a phase they are going through that will end someday, and as an Ivy League graduate, most expectations other people had for me were for high paying corporate jobs that held no interest for me. That aside, the real challenge so that I could do the best job as an actress I could was and is learning about life, and myself as a person, because as an actor, your job is to interpret life through the windows of your own experiences. I think the intense challenge of coming to terms with that should be obvious. The challenge continues even now...and will forever; since we constantly grow and change who we are to some extent, constant reevaluation of who you think you are and what you think you've learned is inevitable.

3. Describe any part-time employment or work experience you had before this career and what did you gain from it?
Waited tables in college and realized that there had to be better ways to make money...I also interned at a top PR firm and at some production companies and realized that even though these companies were related to film, they weren't really in my passion zone.

4. What were your expectations of this career with this company?
That I'd be working more often than I am, and that I'd be able to have more influence over whether or not I am working. I didn't realize how much true luck really factors into getting work. It's not just about your ability at all. A smart manager I knew once said that all he could do was make his clients available for as much luck as possible. And as an actor, all you can do is be prepared and ready to shine when the opportunities show up. But you can't control whether or not you get hired, or even if you'll be considered for a part. Few careers have as part of them that even if you have all the skills needed for the job, you might not get the job because you don't look a certain way. And with the stereotypes that Hollywood perpetuates, having a look that is familiar to the industry is often key to getting agent representation and ultimately being considered for the jobs available. Hollywood gives the most leeway to Caucasian men, but if you are a woman, or ethnic, then Hollywood has a very narrow window it wants to put you in. If you don't fit a common mold, it takes longer to break in; regardless of how good you are, people don't necessarily know what to do with you...

5. Where do you see yourself in 3 years? 10 years?
Still passionate about life (I hope!)--whatever that means at the time...

6. What school(s) did you attended? Why?
Columbia University. Because I think it is beneficial to your growth as a person to have a college degree regardless of whether or not your career requires one. Besides, most actors need to work at a job besides acting to survive, and as someone with a college degree, I was able to get a second job (SAT tutoring) that paid more money than your average actor makes waiting tables! And please don't kid yourself--most professional actors are not working as actors most of the time and many have full-time second jobs to support themselves and their families while they go on auditions and take whatever acting work they can when they can get it. According to Screen Actors Guild (Union for Professional TV/Film Actors) statistics, in 1996 more than 85 percent of SAG's 90,000 members earned less than $5,000. Star salaries create a false impression that all actors are highly paid, but the reality is far less glamorous. Even when an actor gets the job, it's still not as glamorous a life as you might think. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says, "Acting demands patience and total commitment, because there are often long periods of unemployment between jobs. While under contract, actors are frequently required to work long hours and travel. For stage actors, flawless performances require tedious memorizing of lines and repetitive rehearsals, and in television, actors must deliver a good performances with very little preparation. Actors need stamina to withstand hours under hot lights, heavy costumes and make-up, physically demanding tasks, long, irregular schedules, and the adverse weather and living conditions that may exist on location shoots. And actors face the constant anxiety of intermittent employment and regular rejections when auditioning for work." Many actors who don't find the success that they want as actors go on to do other things, some in the entertainment business, some in other fields. How long to give yourself to "make it" varies on the circumstances of each individual. Some people are willing to give it as long as it takes. Some people want to be able to afford vacations and to send kids to private schools, and choose a different life. And the fact is, not everyone is as talented as they think they are, not as prepared as they should be, and most people who want to be successful actors won't be. Just as some children actors work a lot then have trouble working steadily as adults, I know some people who had to grow into their type to work as actors, meaning people who didn't work much in their 20's started getting gigs in their 30's because they suddenly fit a niche that didn't work for them before. I also know a woman, who you may know as "Mrs. Landingham" from West Wing or "God" from Joan of Arcadia, who didn't even start her career as an actress until she was past 60 years old! I do believe that if you are talented, work at your craft, have patience, and are truly passionate and doing what you love, eventually it will pay off for you.

7. What amount of education is necessary?
None in the traditional sense, although I have always said that's it's difficult to effectively play a role of someone living during the French Revolution if you don't know what that was. But for those who like to learn and grow, acting classes help. A good acting class will do several things. Teach you how to analyze a script. Teach you how to study and learn about other people and yourself, while honing your ability to reproduce what you see and learn about people. It will also give you a network of other actors whose experiences you can also learn and grow from, who will provide support for you (and you for them) while you are all on your way. I think that all really great actors (which is not the same as famous) have taken classes at some point in their lives, and at a certain point, when you are working all the time and have great material to work with, your learning occurs on the job. School is never a bad thing; although I know it's not the perfect choice for everyone, it is a good idea for all but the few exceptions who have never quite been able to make school work for them and they know who they are. And even they can learn--it's just about finding the right venue and environment that stimulates the learning that works for them. But education makes it more likely you will have a lucrative (and legal!) side job/profession--even if it's only part time like my jobs were--makes it a lot more doable to pay for the classes, headshots, resumes, postcards, athletic club memberships etc etc. that are needed to jump-start an acting career.

8. How well did the education you received and/or paid for prepare you for the changing world of work?
Not at all, because the nature of an acting career is never knowing where the next job is coming from, and so much luck is involved, that no amount of education can prepare you for that. And none of my friends who went to drama schools felt prepared either--the business of acting is not taught in schools, even if the art of acting is. But it helped me know I could do the job once I got it.

9. What world-wide problem or positive action affected your career? How?
No problem has directly affected my career. I just do my best to use the skills that I have to make a difference in other people's lives. And doggie lives too--which is why besides acting I run a dog rescue website online and feature things on my website that support causes I believe in such as environmental preservation and ecological, sustainable development, third World poverty, and women's health issues.

10. What has been the most rewarding moment of this career?
Being fully present in a moment and doing a good job with good material.

11. What has been the most agonizing moment of the career?
Realizing that nepotism really does open doors (though it does not keep you working) and that I wasn't going to have that advantage. Nor would I have the advantage of being an easily sellable "type" which also makes doors open more quickly. Coming to grips with that hurt in one sense, because it made me realize my path was harder than I had thought at first, but since then I have learned to celebrate what makes me different and trust that ultimately that will be what matters in the end. Still, it's difficult on a daily basis to have to wonder when the next job is going to turn up, and confront and grow past all of the painful truths in my own life as I become aware of them-- that's a constant battle. But that's about being a growing person, not about being an actor.

12. What are the perks? (vacation, health/life insurance, salary, retirement hours, extra training, etc.)
Check the SAG website for this info, but recognize that many actors struggle to even get into the union to get all these benefits, and even then, there is a minimum you have to make to be covered for health insurance, etc.

13. How does your family feel about your career? What drawbacks have there been?
Please see http://www.caryn.com/thoughts/caryn-thoughts-actress.html

14. Will you change this career in the future? Why?
When you are doing what you love, there is nothing to warrant change. Please see http://www.caryn.com/thoughts/caryn-thoughts-actress.html

15. What changes have occurred in this career since you have entered the field?
The Internet . There has never been a time with so much content being generated what with network TV, cable, movies and now the Internet. But SAG does not have the same jurisdiction over Internet production that it has in older media, so now it is a big issue to determine the rules for actors' participation in the new media, and there may even be a strike over that issue sometime soon.

16. Is there any thought or idea that you would like to share with that I have not covered or asked about?
Only just to say that I get asked a lot about what tips I would give to young actors just starting out, some who are even still in high school. Overall, the best advice I can give to anyone--in any career, really--is to make sure that you fully appreciate every moment of your life, because it is the sum total of that experience that you have to bring with you in anything you do. Always listen to your inner voice--the real one that connects with your gut AND your heart--not the ones that stem from insecurities in your head or fantastical hopes from your heart--for that voice will guide you in all kinds of choices throughout your career and personal relationships And above all-- never stop
looking for opportunities to learn-- be it in class, theater, or the
really funky theater called life. After all, it's the only way you can grow.

Good luck!

P.S. I also have books available for sale throughout my web site that deal withall levels of the entertainment business, that I personally recommend
either because I have read the book myself or heard enough good things
about it that I feel I want to pass it along to others who might benefit
from reading it. These are especially valuable for actors who are just starting out who want to learn about the BUSINESS of being an actor, because it's not just what happens onstage, but also what you do offstage that creates an acting career. You can find them listed in sections relating to particular topics, or you can go to the Acting Books index.