To Teens who think they want to be actors

There are millions of teens all over the world who think they want to become actors. Every one of them thinks they are somehow unique in their devotion, persistence, or goals related to acting. None of them are. They are all the same. All of them. Everywhere. None of them have any real idea what being a professional actor is all about. They have heard that it is difficult to become a professional actor. They do not know what a professional actor does either on the set or between jobs. They do not know that acting is a business. If they are not US citizens that they may not be able to work as a professional actor here. I assume from what they say that they think an actor just acts all the time and somehow, magically, someone else takes care of anything else that is needed. A great many of these teens have never done any acting, but that does not deter them from assuming they are greatly talented. Well, that's the situation. Here's my message to teens: We really don't need any more teen actors. Most of our teen actors are unemployed. Producers don't really want to work with teens because of the labor laws,so they often hire young looking adults to play teens. In spite of what you see on TV, there are hardly any roles for teens compared to all the roles that are available. Most roles are for adults. Therefore, if you think you want to be an actor plan on trying to be an adult actor. You need to be in all the school and community plays you can. Do this even if you just want to be a film actor. These plays are the only way anyone can tell if you might actually have acting ability. If you can't cut it in your school plays, you aren't going to cut it professionally. Learn about how the profession works. Prepare now for the future. Don't get in a hurry to become a professional actor. That will only make you vulnerable to scams. If you are one of those who, as a high school graduate, still think you want to be an actor, read my book, The Tao of Acting, and learn an approach that has a good chance of really helping you to become a professional actor.