Expert: Taylor Sheppard - 7/25/2009

Question
Dear Taylor, ok, i am not the country you are expected i am from, Malaysia. Since young, i have dreamed of being an actor. I see those 6 year olds already being big budget movie actor as for me, i am already 16 and actor-less. Since this is malaysia, most actors are Malays, and i am chinese. There are not many Acting school here and directors don't hang out in cafes like in America. I have a creative mind and my friends do comment that i can "act" as in pretend to cover up some lies. Hollywood makes it so easy like one day you are in a restaurant singing and the next day you are a rising star. I know, it is hard but the chances of being discovered in my part of the world is 1% to non.

So, should i just like give up or should i just take the risk of loosing it all and travel to some other countries to start an acting career. My mum don't think so(as with other asian mums) but they only thing i want to do is to involve myself in the film making industry. And no, there are no auditions for any movie since the countries independance in 1957.

An answer will make my day. Thank you and i really do appreciate it.


Answer
Hi Aric,

I think I will begin with explaining some things about Hollywood. There is an old saying in Hollywood: "Even bad press is good press". What that means is, news is news, and people pay attention to it, so make sure you are in the news. Sometimes it will even involve getting arrested! I remember an actor years ago who claimed that he was a serial killer the police were looking for. He wasn't afraid that they would believe him and get locked in jail. I would be! However it did get him seen in the newspapers and on television, and shortly after, he was on a television series. I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS! He was an actor in an older tv show, a western, in America when he was younger. There have been stories about how actors were "discovered" by film makers in ice cream shops and other places since the 1930's or longer. While it MAY have happened once or twice, most stories were just created by "press agents" for studios to create the "Hollywood Dream" -much like the stories in our great-great grandfather's time about how the streets of America were "paved with gold".

While the United States has greater opportunities than many countries for all sorts of success, not just acting, there are many countries that are doing better than we are at this time. Many people who used to come from Mexico to find work are not coming because our country is having money troubles. What I am saying is, it's not very easy to become an actor in America, despite the stories you may hear. You can have success in other countries almost as easily. England, India, France, Italy and Spain all have film business.

As to acting, it's not just about being able to deceive someone with your face. Its also about being able to read the words and be creative enough to "be" another person, someone different and interesting to watch, and to be able to "believe" in a scene that you are really living as that person. Not trying to "put on a show", but to feel what the character is feeling. Can you imagine in your mind about the day that will one day come, when your mum will die? It's hard! You should be very uncomfortable when you try to imagine it. If you can do that to the point that you get upset, you are starting to understand acting. Many people can't do that. Their mind will not let them think about that because it's so terrible. Your mind tries to protect you by stopping you. Also, we are raised to be ashamed (boys) to show emotions, because it isn't "manly". If you rushed to your mother's side and she was dying, would you care about what people think or would you cry? You wouldn't care! That's acting. Being brave enough to think about such things and feel them.

My best advice to you is to try to go to a country where you can study acting. Then once you have learned it, find a place where there is acting work to be had.

Best, Taylor