Backstage - Acting Resources > Acting Advice Columns > Acting and Entertainment Job Advice > Getting Your Career Started > Should I Be an Actor

Entertainment Career Advice
GETTING STARTED  

Should I Be an Actor?

If you have to ask, the answer is no.

Choosing to become an actor is not a rational decision; it's an emotional decision. If you have your heart set on an entertainment career, no amount of logic or reasoning will dissuade you. And that's the way it should be.

Because an acting career will take more commitment, hard work, perseverance, and single-mindedness than anything you will ever choose to do. And even if you're talented and you do everything right, your odds of success are infinitely small. No reasonable person who weighs the pros and cons would ever choose to become an actor.

But every year, thousands decide to do it anyway. Why? Because it's not about reason; it's about passion - blind, irrational, and life-sustaining.

You act not because you want to, not because you've weighed your various career options and decided this is the best job for you. You act because you have no choice. Because you couldn't live without it. Because to not act would leave a gaping hole inside of you that nothing else in the world could fill.

So if you've come to this page asking the question "Should I be an actor?," then go away. Right now. Seriously. Stop reading. Acting is not for you.

But if you're here looking for actors' resources and information, possibly an audition, then you know that the real question at the top of this page should be, "I'm going to be an actor and nothing you can say will stop me - what should I expect?" Now we're getting somewhere.

LINKS

A Primer for Parents
Expert advice on launching your kid's entertainment career.

Pursuing the Dream
As readers share their stories of moving to L.A., they also share optimism.

Coming Out
How to break the news of your career plans to your family, make the move, and find support in L.A.

Welcome to New York
For the seasonal influx of performing artists to New York City, Back Stage provides a smorgasbord of helpful information.

The A to Z of Getting Started as a Performer in the Big Apple
Once you've found a place to live in New York, you'll want to handle your career in a professional and competitive manner.

BACKSTAGE BULLETINS
NY Panel on How to Run a Theater Company
December 02, 2008
Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) and Back Stage will host the networking panel, How to Run That Theater Company That¿s Been Running Your Life, a follow-up to September's panel, on Wednesday, December 17.







Back Stage is an Acting Resource for Everyone Who Acts

Whether you are an award-winning actress or you are trying out for your first audition, each issue of Back Stage offers an abundance of career advice and helpful tips. The acting industry is full of many unforeseen variables and Back Stage is just the resource you need to help you reach your goal of being an in-demand actor or actress. Subscribe now and take your first step along the path to stardom.
RELATED SITES

NIELSEN SITES
Back Stage is proud to provide actors and actresses with the best resources for open casting call listings and a wealth of acting resources daily. We strive to help prepare acting professionals with the information and tools for first time auditions. A subscription to Back Stage East or West can keep you informed about the upcoming casting calls and the latest entertainment news both on the East and West Coast. Use Ross Reports online acting resources to find the best insider acting and casting calls in the theater and film business. Back Stage also provides casting directors with powerful tools to help manage casting calls and browse actor profiles. Acting professionals can access our exclusive expanse of online information listing thousands of jobs in entertainment. Subscribe to Back Stage and start your acting career today!