The question made me think about what I would have liked to know before studying drama. If I had known the reality, I would have designed the future differently. So, as one of my missions in this life is to help others in every way I can, I have decided to create a blog and write this post.
I’m talking to you, future actor or actress, so that before you jump in the pool, you know what’s inside.
This post may initially seem slightly pessimistic, but I invite you to stay until the end.
How I started
I was thirteen when I decided I wanted to be an actress. At that age, I didn’t know anything about what it took, and I didn’t even know there was any specific training to become one.
I didn’t know there was a university degree with an official qualification. I didn’t know what a person had to do to work in those films that I loved so much. So, I started in a youth theatre company while putting on a show at school.
At thirteen, I directed and starred in my first play, Joan Olive’s Pygmalion. It’s lovely not knowing anything because you dare to do anything. It turned out great; at thirteen, I had already found my calling. It all seemed to make sense.
I was always a confident girl with clear ideas. Adolescence, a complicated period for many people, went smoothly for me. I knew what I wanted, and everything seemed easy and accessible.
At eighteen, while in my second year of high school, I had to decide what to study and which university to attend. So I started to investigate. I had excellent grades, and my teachers encouraged me to pursue a “serious” career.
I considered studying psychology, political science, history, and philosophy (as if those degrees were “more convenient”). Still, it was clear that I wanted to be an actress, so I started to investigate.
That was when I found out that there was an official public drama degree. I opted for the latter after considering the RESAD in Madrid or the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona.
Well! Everything seemed simple. I was going to study an exciting career (if I managed to be one of the lucky few people to pass the complex and endless entrance exams), get a university degree, and work in film, theatre, and television with a more than decent salary. The perfect life was just around the corner.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy.
I’m telling you this so that you can understand my process until I decide to study acting professionally. There was no doubt, no reflection. I want this; I’m going for it without thinking about what it means, without analyzing the pros and cons, and without asking. Go for it.
Just like I am, and I have to say that I don’t regret anything. I would do it again, but with a different plan, I will explain in the next post. I also tell you that what I imagined does not correspond with reality. Therefore, knowing what we are up against from the beginning is essential.
It seems easy to be an actor. We hear from the outside that actors and actresses work in cool projects, appear on TV, are famous, have money, lead a bohemian lifestyle, are liked by everyone, are happy, and have an ideal life. Who wouldn’t want that, right? We always hear the version of those who become famous. As historians say, “the victors write history.”
They don’t tell you that what you see on TV is just the tip of the iceberg. And it’s not even that—it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
According to the 2016 AISGE report (the next one will be released in 2020), only 8.17% of western actors can make a living. In other words, you have a 91.83% chance of not being able to make a living from your acting profession. And that is the actual reality of our profession. Furthermore, of those lucky ones who make a living from their profession, only a tiny part becomes recognized, and only a tiny part becomes famous. So if fame motivates you the most, you should look for another profession.
Nowadays, becoming famous as a YouTuber or Instagram influencer is more accessible than being an actor or actress. Many choose to do something like this, which gives them visibility so they can later have more possibilities as an actor. Strange. Nowadays, being known is more important than being talented or hard-working.
Talent, which seems essential to one, isn’t. Talent is taken for granted. It’s more likely that they’ll choose as the protagonist of a series that hot guy or girl with thousands of likes on Instagram than the best actor in the world who doesn’t have social networks. Sad, but true.
And thinking, “It won’t happen to me,” “I will work,” or “I will be that 8.17%” can work as an exercise in attraction, but reality shows us that it is not the norm. It is vital to be aware of this. To know that we will probably not make a living from our profession. In this way, we will have a good plan B that we like and that allows us not to end up in a job that makes us unhappy and does not leave us time to invest in our acting career.