by Craige Cronin

Created on: November 13, 2004   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

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, I am assuming you have already done your training at the best school possible and are still committed to being an actor. Ok, first the practical side.

1) 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.

2)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

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