The truth is we do care what other people think about us. Why wouldn’t we? How others view us can make or break us in this industry. It’s how we get jobs, score auditions, get agents, make friends, and create enemies.

What others think of us, like it or not, contributes to our brand, and ultimately, to our success. Think about the brands you interact with on a daily basis – Starbucks, Coke, Dell, Google, Twitter.  What do these brands mean to you? Where would these brands be if they didn’t care what you thought?

When we say, “I don’t care what anyone thinks about me,” we really mean “I don’t care what some people think about me.” Or, “I don’t care what people think of me in this particular situation.”

If you’re Twitter, you probably don’t care what an 80-year-old woman who does not own a computer or have an email address thinks of you. But, what if Twitter didn’t care what anyone thought? Well, they probably wouldn’t be around very long. Of course, there are always going to be Twitter-haters, and maybe Twitter cares about what these people think and maybe they don’t. (We’ll get to haters in a minute.)

We almost always care about thoughts of the people who have a vested interest in our future. For most of us this will include:

Our spouse/partner
Our friends
Our parents/siblings/other family members
Our children
Our Directors/Producers (Bosses)
Our Agents
Our co-workers (the ones you respect, at least)
Our public/Audience
This isn’t to say that these people should approve of our every action. Or, that we should let these groups dictate who we are and what we do. That’s ludicrous. But, we tend to care what these people think about us because we respect them and their opinions of us (or, at the very least, we know they have some level of influence over us).

What about the haters?
It seems like there’s always someone who doesn’t like us, our craft, our ideas, our actions, whatever. This is a tough one because so often these haters can be convincing in their disdain for us. (some of us even have haters in the list above.) Here’s a question to ask to decide if you care: Do their values align with ours? If we stand for integrity and they don’t, then we may have a problem with each other. In some cases, we really shouldn’t care what these people think!

This is the biggest thing in auditioning as far as I’m concerned.  It’s sometimes hard to fathom just how many people the casting folk have to see on a daily basis.  The same is true for the university admissions folk as well. There are literally hundreds of thousands of people that want to be actors and as a general rule, they’re going to be attracted to the same opportunities to act as you are.

So, the things I’ve noticed that just seem to kill off enthusiasm and worse yet, the ENJOYMENT of acting are:

1- Seeing that kind of blank, empty look on the casting peoples faces at the end of your audition.

2- Hearing a plain old “thank you” at the end of your audition.

3- Not KNOWING and second guessing what the casting people may have wanted or not at the end of your audition.

Taken singularly, these things aren’t so bad.  But, pile them up day after day after day and they become very burdensome.  I think people that don’t act have a hard time understanding how tough it can be emotionally.  My ex-wife’s brother in law was a fairly prominent actor in his youth and he once told me something that always stuck with me.  He said “when people go on job interviews, they may go to two or three, sometimes even four or five, but they KNOW that sooner or later they’re going to get a job, It’s just a matter of time.”

But, then he said “but, imagine if after the 5th interview you didn’t get the job.  And then the next and the next and a year later it’s been 200 interviews and you still haven’t gotten a job.  How would you feel?”
And I said something like, “probably pretty low”

To which he replies, “that’s NORMAL for acting work.”

In our opinion you need a balance. Almost a split personality if you wish. You need to be able to not let criticism and rejection affect your decisions, but at the same time you need to be in touch with your feelings and those of others… For the full article… CLICK HERE.

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In order to make an intelligent decision about acting as a way to spend your life, do the research. Its a shame they only write biographies on the successful actors, when in fact it would be much more instructive to talk about all those actors who never made a dime in the business. Because the public is only exposed to star actors’ lives, most people have the idea that that is the lifestyle of any actor.

Acting is a profession. And any profession requires a big commitment. Years of study. Years of struggle. If your family is very wealthy then that might not be much of a sacrifice, but the real challenge is not just doing without money, its doing without validation.

When your life is spent mostly with people saying: “No, Thank you.” all the time, it takes effort to stay positive. Psychologists tell us that we get our picture of ourselves from work. In that case, if you are not working, its hard to get a valid sense of self.

The reality is that every actor spends more time unemployed than employed and that his real job is looking for work. Stardom is, after all, only unemployment at a higher rate of pay. The actor’s life is grueling. For a long time, you may not be able to have a life other than pursuing work and when you finally do get work, you will work and pursue your next job at the same time.

Choice of career is not just the choice of ones nine-to-five endeavor, but the choice of lifestyle. Within the instability of the actors life, it is difficult to plan for children, vacations, illness, and other life necessities, luxuries or surprises.

When you are unemployed, its difficult not to be depressed;when you are working, there’s little time for a mate and family. If however you are able to get out of yourself, you will realise that family and mates will be there for you when management wont. You’ll be able to enjoy what some might call the downside of your lifestyle.

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In many ways, an actor is no different than any other business person. To enter the marketplace in an effective way, the actor needs to analyze his product by coming up with clear, concise answers to a series of essential questions that you need to ask yourself:

Who am I? : Are you emotionally balanced? Excitable? Passive? Are you a self starter? Do you have a lot of drive? How well do you work in groups? How are you at meeting people?
Although your physical appearance is definitely important to your show-biz persona, its much more important for you to think of your personality traits like: your capacity to change direction, be entrepreneurial, and think quickly and clearly are the kind of qualities that will ultimately determine if you will be able to make a living as an artist.

Why do I want to act?: We insist a lot on actors thinking this one through in Breakalegg. Its important (specially in slow periods) to think of this over and over again. It will keep you motivated. Do you want to play all the great parts? Are you excited by the process of acting or are you motivated by fame and fortune and your idea of an actors lifestyle?
Just a small piece of advice: If you can see yourself being happy and fulfilled doing any other endeavor, do it. There is not enough money in the world to compensate for the actors way of life. The majority never make it. So it has to be done for love or you will drop out along the way, bitter and cranky over the many wasted years.

Where do I want to act?: Do you plan to have a career in your hometown or are you interested in competing in major marketplaces like New York or Los Angeles or Chicago? If you are going to assault the larger marketplaces, do you know what that entails? Are you ready to leave home and start a totally new life or do you want to gain experience locally first?

What do I have that no one else has? : What makes you so special? Why should someone hire you? If you cant find a reason, other than your deep need, then you probably wont work until you find yourself. You have to find a way to separate yourself from the pack. What is it about you that a director should hire you over thousands of others? Are you prettier? Uglier? Fatter? Thinner? Funnier?

Think also that these are questions you will be asked constantly throughout your career, so you need to reevaluate them often. Interviews, directors, agents, managers, casting directors, producers, even fellow actors are always going to ask all or some of these questions. Know you answer, but most of all know yourself.

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