Careers In TV and Film

Actor/Actress: The Wicked Stage
If you can do anything else besides this and still be happy, do that instead. All of the cliches about acting careers being next to impossible are TRUE. This doesn't mean I don't love it, it just means it's often hard, demoralizing, challenging.

Actor/Actress: "Lights, camera, action."
"To be or not to be, that is the question." Acting is an exciting career and also a very difficult one. With any job you must think through it and ask one thing, "Will you love it 10 years from now, 20, 30, and so forth?" The best piece of advice that I have been given about acting came from my mentor. Acting is one of the oldest professions alive.

Actor/Actress: You don't do it for the money
1) Save your money before you quit your day job! 2) Never lose your humility.

Broadcaster: "You stay classy, San Diego. I'm Ron Burgundy???"
First off, major in journalism or mass communication. These will give you a solid foundation from which to build. If you find a school that actually has a broadcasting major, then that's obviously better. Taking a public speaking course might also be helpful, since you need to be eloquent as a broadcaster. Secondly, secure an internship at a local news station. The competition is fierce. Everyone wants to be the next Ted Koppel or Barbara Walters, so expect people to try to step on your toes. T...

Actor/Actress: A life of ups and downs
To be an actor you have to truly love what you do. If you are not in love with the craft of acting you are doomed to fail. It is not a career to be entered into for a quick buck or fame. The biggest advice I could give to anyone looking to get into this career is to study. Know your craft. Learn about Stanislavski, Meisner, Uta Hagen. Learn about all the techniques and find what works for you. Also, I believe to be a great actor you have to be an observer of life. Be very aware of what is going ...

Actor/Actress: I Know There's Someone Applauding Out There
Act for what acting does to you, not for you. In other words, act because when you do so, you feel transformed. You are not yourself anymore. Though others might argue, when you act you are more yourself than at any other time. Side note: Actresses are insane and actors are self-absorbed, not all of them of course. The greatest actors, people like Anthony Hopkins don't even use their egos. That's what makes their spirits so flexible to dive into their work. And ask Anthony Hopkins and Ralp...

Actor/Actress: What If They Don't Know Your Name?
There are two types of performances. 1. Performances that you do one time and they are over: film, television. 2. Performances you create fresh but execute repeatedly: stage. Know which one you are interested in most and pursue it to the death. The benefit of stage acting is that you get to experience the complete arc of the show. With film, you really don't know how it's going to play out until you've seen the finished product. I mean, you have a good idea, but more specifically, your focus...

Actor/Actress: From School to Stage
Get the best training possible. Acting, whether it is stage, screen or TV, and whether it is musical theatre or straight acting are all achievable as a career if you have exceptional talent, shameless self-promotion, discipline, and the best training. If I were starting out now as a senior in high school, I would apply to top-tier schools only, places like Juilliard. Jack Lemmon said someone told him that if he wanted to be an actor, he had to go to New York. That's pretty much true. There, ...