Expert: Taylor Sheppard - 8/8/2008

Question
Hi, I'm Raymond. I'll be extremely honest to you about my feelings.

I'm 14 years old, and Asian, and I really want to go into the acting industry. First of all, before you yell about my intentions, I'll be honest with you. OF COURSE. I want glamour and attention and the spotlight, isn't that what anybody dreaming to be an actor wants?

My experiences in the "public" are quite straightforward. I am (not intending to boast) pretty excellent at the piano. What I mean by pretty excellent is winning a minor international piano competition and sweeping the local and statewide ones. So I perform in front of a huge crowd quite often, and I love it. I know what actors or singers or etc mean when they say they enjoy the spotlight. I love it. In short, I have no fears in front of a camera.

Other than that, I'll tell you my own opinion of myself. I have a passion for something what I want to do, and there's been nothing so far that I couldn't do when I really wanted to do it. But I have some doubts of my capabilities in acting. First of all, no matter what the business people say, nor how much piano teachers tell you, I know first-hand that you just cannot play the piano without natural talent. It's period, final. I'm not being harsh, nor arrogant. Yes, there is a certain level you can reach without talent in piano. Just practice insanely hard, and you reach it. But if you just don't have that certain TALENT inside you (talent is: musicality, a little bit of natural technique, flare, and the desire to be seen, noticed, etc), you cannot go beyond that level. Once again, I'm not intending to boast. I'm very very anxious right now, so I'm being straightforward.

Why am I involving talent for piano into this essay? It is because... I wonder if that certain talent is also needed for acting. I know that swimming and most sports don't require as much "talent." Just good old hard work makes you reach the goal. But the arts... It cannot be done just simply physically, you have to be born with it. So I was thinking, do you really need born talent to be able to act well? Is this field like piano, where if you practice hard and hard, you will reach a certain level, but you cannot go past that unless you have talent? Or is acting pure practicing and experience? I have passion for getting the spotlight. I would love to be an actor. But do I have what it takes? Financial-wise: no problem. I know my family well, and they are not "wealthy," but his yearly income is three times that of a doctor. So financial problems are not an issue.

But one has to be physically attractice to be an actor right? I have fairly narrow shoulders, and a long neck, and an average height. I look good in a suit. I have a voice that I admit is not a very... "attractive" voice, like most other actors. I wear glasses. Plus, I'm Asian. You know how asians aren't very common int he acting industry. Do you think I can beat the odds of "caucasians only" attitude, and make it?

I'm sorry for... writing all this stuff down, but I think I'm in a phase... I can't stand watching any television these days because I am so envious of all the other actors, from little kids to late teens. I lost my appetite in the last couple days because of my longing to be an actor. I guess it is just something about me, wanting to be on the spotlight, to be KNOWN by many people. I just want an honest opinion from you, wether or not you think i have potential for the acting industry. Thanks so much, I really mean it.


Answer
Hi Raymond,

First, I'm not going to "yell" at you. I would hope that when I try to lay it all out that I am not being perceived as such. It's just that I hate it in life when you ask someone for help and they sugar coat everything and don't tell you the truth. I have had a lot of different jobs to support my career. You wouldn't believe them all!
Thing is, so many times I'd ask how hard a job would be, and they wouldn't tell me the truth.

The reason I recommend against going into acting for fame and money is because that is an extremely long shot. Less than 2% of the Screen Actor's Guild (SAG) make the millions you imagine. Secondly, if you don't LOVE acting, you are missing something that will carry you through the disappointments, rejection and all the unglamorous, uncomfortable, difficult parts of acting. Not to mention, I think it really takes the love of doing it to totally commit when doing a part. That is probably one of the worst things to watch: an actor that is stand-offish about immersing himself in a character. If you can't "be" the character, without reservation, it will look and feel fake...and the audience will hate you.

Does acting take a "natural talent"? Well, I played guitar and played in bands. I practiced every day for four hours a day. I started teaching myself to play at 9 years old. Was I a talent? NO! I worked at it so long I got good. Really good. But copying someone else's songs is quite a bit different from being able to make your own music. Writing your own songs, good ones, is in my mind what separates artists from musicians. In acting, the main thing you need is the ability to tap into that thing you had as a child. That ability to pretend and make believe so well it was like you were in a trance. Once people grow up, it's hard to do that again. Some people can't. They are constantly stepping outside themselves to look and see what people might be saying about them. It takes concentration and being free enough to let go of reality....and the crew, the director, the 100 distractions just off to the side of the set.

Do you have to be handsome? No. But people tend to be either very good looking, striking in some way or odd looking. If you look like a million other people, it won't help you. If you stick out, great. Also, if you have an interesting way of doing things, that tends to help. In the business, they call it choices. An actor's choices in a role can make the performance memorable. Take Heath Ledger in "The Dark Knight". I think he made a lot of interesting choices. He made the film. I only wish he had lived to see what he would have become, because starting with "Brokeback Mountain", he seemed to be starting a new phase in his career.

One thing to remember: No one can imagine exactly where we are headed in the future. Things as they are today are a lot different than what anyone imagined. That being the case, don't worry about how many Asian actors are out there, just do it if it speaks to your heart and see what happens.

Best,

Taylor