Expert: Phil Nemy - 7/12/2008

Question
QUESTION: hi phil, my name is jared im 18 years old and im from west virginia, im also an up and coming star haha so keep an eye out for me (jokes aside).. lets be serious for a moment, phil i need some career advice me and my mother have talked about my plans upon my graduation from high school,, im dead set on being an actor i have one of two plans !. to move to new york and attend the lee strasberg institue of theatre for 2 years and also do some modeling..and basically staying there a couple years getting my start before making my move to l.a. 2.go ahead and move to l.a. where all the action is and attend acting classes and school there and try to get my break in acting in the largest movie market in the worl?? my question is phil from your experience which one of these ideas makes the most sense as far as  becoming an actor and being the cheapest ..in your overall opinion which one of these makes the most sense to you..thanks best regards..jared

ANSWER: Jared,

Thanks for writing. The cheapest approach to being an actor is to NOT be an actor. It costs money to study the craft of acting in classes, have photographs taken every year or so, send out mailing notices to try and get an agent, audition, with the chance of you ever being able to make a living as an actor about 1 in 10 million.

The best training for actors is in a reputable college that offers a BFA degree in acting for the stage. Schools like Carnegie Mellon, The Julliard School, Boston University, Brandeis, Southern Methodist, are some of the better schools. Yes, you can go to NYC and study, but I would not recommend the Lee Strasberg Institue, When Lee was alive it was a fine place to study. Since then, it's gone down hill. Other than New York University, I would recommend the HB Studios in NYC.

But you're right in believing that 95% of all film and TV casting is done out of LA, so eventually you need to move to LA.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Phil

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey phil, thank you very much for your comments they did help out alot, one school ive been considering in the university of depaul in chicago, i love the city and the people in it are very kind, they also offer a bachelors of fine arts degree i was considering doing a major in acting and a minor in journalism, just in case i dont make it big, i would have something to fall back on, phil in your honest opinion what do you think it takes to make in the acting business? im a good looking guy, very charming,funny, charismatic, and my father is a salesman so i also have a business side to myself i just feel like with these traits and with the right schooling and training i could make it.. i know the competitiion is very feirce but you have to start somewhere..thanks alot phil

Answer
Jared,

If I knew the answer, don't you think I'd be offering it for big $$? There is no answer really. It doesn't matter how good looking you are, how talented you are, how trained you are. All of these things are important and certainly help you if you have them, but I know actors who I don't believe are that talented, don't have much training, and aren't good looking, and they're  working actors making over $2.0 mil a year! It really has a lot to do with fate, being in the right place at the right time, having people around you believing in you and doing everything they can to help you. Then when the time comes, having the talent, the training, the look and the right attitude will help - but there's no guarantee that you'll find stardom.

Phil