Expert: Phil Nemy - 11/21/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
I am really interested in acting. Nearly all actresses are attracticve and beautiful and i was wondering should you be attractive to perform an acting career? it might be a silly question but all the actresses people look up to are usually very pretty! And another thing is i love performing but im usually not that confident. If i start acting classes early at my age(13) do you think i could improve my confidence and try and furfull my dream? or should i just move on and forget it? Do you recieve alot of money and is it alot of hard work? Because i am not really interesested and good at all the other skills in life like designing and sports etc. Do you think it might be a stage that i just want to act? I'm not sure because since i had to perform a song from a musical with a group of people i loved performing and i loved the applause!! Do you think this is right for me!? I'm sorry you had to read all of this it's just im really unsure what to do in life because when my parents come home from work they are usually very stressed out and i dont want to be like that when im older!

Thankyou!

ANSWER: Kristy,

Thanks for writing. Here are the answers to your questions.

1) If you wish to pursue lead roles or what they call ingenue roles, then yes, you need to be physically attractive otherwise you won't be cast in those roles.

2) Can you build confidence and fulfill your dream? I don't see why not.

3) A working actor doesn't receive a lot of money per se, but a working actor can make a living at acting. Unfortunately, most actors are unemployed more than they are employed. Statistically speaking, the average actor in Los Angeles earns about $5000 annually from acting work. Major stars can earn as much as $25 million per film, but the chances of you making it to stardom are one in 50 million.  And yes, it is hard work. But then, any successful career requires hard work to get there.

4) It could be a stage that you just want to act, but since I don't know you, it's hard for me to be a fair judge of this question. Really, only you can answer this one.

5) Again, this is a question only you can answer. Since I don't know you, I have no way of knowing if this is right for you.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Phil

P.S. Your parents come home from work usually stressed out probably because they are working very hard to put a roof over your head, food on your table, and money in an account so you can go to college. They may also be stressed because the kind of career they've chosen may be stressful. It may also be that they really don't like their careers, but the careers pay well, so they keep doing it because it supports the family. In a perfect world, I recommend spending time in thought to determine what you REALLY love to do in life, meaning that if you could get up every day and do this one thing for a living what would that be? What is it that turns you on? Most people cannot answer that, but if you can, then my advice is pursue that as a career. You will truly be happiest and the least stressed if you pursue what you love as a career.

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

QUESTION: Thankyou very much :]

If i could just ask a few moree...

1)If you just average. Not really pretty or not really ugly, could you still cast in those roles or not? Because i want to star in lead roles if i try and work hard but im not really pretty, im just average.

2)-

3)Is receiving money depend on how famous you are or if it is a big hit? or...?

4)Is this common to most teenagers?

5) -

Thanks phil.

Answer
Kristy,

Sorry, I was gone for the Thanksgiving Holiday and just returned.

1) By all means, you can be average looking and still be cast in roles. Not every actor you see in films and TV is gorgeous, right? The actors that are more plain, or quirky, or so-so are the ones who get cast as "character actors."

2) ?

3) When an actor is a member of the Screen Actor's Guild union, then he is paid a minimum for his daily and weekly work. If you are an actor who obtains a certain level of notoriety or stardom, then you're in demand. When you're in demand, you can begin to start asking for more money.

4) Is what common to most teenagers?

5) ?

Hope this helps. Good luck!