Sweet Success

How sweet it is! I had the pleasure of watching a student of mine, Roy M. Davis, do a principle role in last night's episode of Law and Order SVU. It was great to see him doing such fine work in the field to which he has devoted his life! He has reported that he has done a great deal of acting in films and TV this year. I am very happy for him.

Roy is one of those rare individuals for whom acting is everything. For Roy, it is more important that he acts than if he makes a lot of money doing it. He has sacrificed living what most of us would call "a normal life" in order to pursue his first love, acting. This morning I answered a question similar to many asked by begining actors. It was, "Should I have a back up plan as I go into acting?" My answer was, "You should not go into acting if you have any doubts about being a success at it." But being a success for an actor like Roy is having been devoted to acting and having done as much acting as he possibly could. It is not the usual dream of stardom and fame that most beginners has. And that is why most beginners fail. They are not devoted to acting. They really want fame and fortune. For the vast majority of actors, fame and fortune never happens.

Roy is neither famous, nor well known, nor wealthy. But he is a success. He has lived his entire life devoted to acting. Congratulations, Roy. Well done.