Should I move to Los Angeles to pursue acting?
I truly understand what you're feeling - sometimes you just have to go with your gut feeling, don't you? My daughter turned down her university place to go to drama school, and is now a professional actor. She works three other 'ordinary' jobs just to survive financially, but gets the occasional acting job, does some unpaid stage plays to add to her CV/resume, and is very happy. One thing I would recommend is that you get at least a year of good classes before you do anything else. School stuff is a great start, but there's a lot more to learn. You should also get as much experience as you can in community theatre or anything else you can get involved in. Agents are hard to find - good ones, anyway. Many are total scams, and all the good ones would expect you to have had some really good training and a lot of experience. They'll never take on beginners. And a coach is an expensive luxury which wouldn't help much anyway. Coaches are really just for established actors to work on one specific are, like an accent or a style. A class is by far the best, because acting is all about interacting and reacting with other performers, and you can't become skilled at that with just a coach to work with. Spend a year working on your resume - several stage plays, a few student films, that sort of thing would impress, and as I said, a year in a really good class. Then, if you head off to LA or NY or wherever, at least you'll stand a chance of competing with the thousands of drama school graduates also out there wanting exactly the same as you do! You have a great attitude and are obviously realistic and intelligent - essential attributes of an actor - and I really hope you make it. I've supported my daughter all the way, and although she's never going to be rich and famous (thank heavens!) she has no regrets, doesn't mind being broke all the time, and neither of us would change a thing. My dad always said that failure isn't when you don't succeed - it's when you don't even try. Good luck!
Is 35 too old for someone to start acting with a goal of going into tv and movies?
Its never too late.I cannot remember anyone from the west at the moment, but a very good example from bollywood is Boman Irani.This guy ran his family bakery untill he was 35, started theatre after that and debuted with Munna Bhai MBBS at 42.Munna Bhai MBBS Mindblowing performance by Boman Irani...What followed was a series of supporting roles in big budget movies and a few leading roles as well. Today, he is one of the most reconizable faces in Bollywood and theatre.What matters in the end is your attitude towards your ambition. Stay positive and stay motivated.
I am 21. Am I too old enough to start an acting career?
When Alan Rickman was 30 years old, he began studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London. He didn’t get famous until he was 46.Naomi Watts was 33 when she first got her breakout role.Harrison Ford used to be a carpenter before he landed the role of Han Solo at 33.Betty White didn’t become a well known actor until she was in her 50’s.Short answer is, no, you’re never to old.You need to want it more than anything else. There has to be no other alternative for you. It has to be the thing thing that haunts your dreams and keeps you up at night. If there is ANYTHING else you want to do, like being a doctor or a teacher, or even an author, an acting teacher once told me, “Do that thing instead.”Acting is a long and hard slog. You’re competing with the world for roles. You have to be dedicated to it.So, start finding an educational institution that teaches acting. Do community theatre, do whatever you can, get headshots done, look up how to do an actor’s resume.Want it more than you’ve wanted anything else in the whole world.
I am an attractive 25-year-old male with no acting experience. I truly believe I have what it takes to make it in Hollywood but don't know where to even begin. Is it too late for me? How do I get started?
Get some professional headshots done -- those aren't even really used all that much but they're essential in making you look like a legitimate actor. Get yourself a profile on Cazt (http://Cazt.com) so you can submit yourself for open calls. There's another similar casting call website but I can't remember the name of it. Open calls are happening literally hundreds of times a day in L.A. so submit yourself early and often and see what happens. Sometimes just having the right look is enough for someone to decide to bring you in, and then it's just up to you to impress once you're in the room.(Don't assume that everyone is automatically biased towards more experienced actors. When I was casting my short film a couple years ago, I had some very well-regarded actors read for the lead role but I ended up going with someone who was far less experienced. Why? He blew me away with his audition. And he did a fantastic job in the film.)Build up your reel as quickly as possible -- doesn't have to be high-level stuff, just you on-camera being great. Get your reel online, in high quality, and easily accessible. (Again, from personal experience: I looked at 300-500 candidates for each of the major roles in my short. If someone didn't have a reel, or their reel was difficult to access, I moved on quickly.)Network like crazy. Make sure everyone around you knows that you're an actor, but don't be obnoxious about it. Don't feel the need to be actor-y in social situations. It's much better to develop a reputation as a hard worker, a good collaborator, and a friendly person. That's what filmmakers are looking for. Ideally, move to LA. Until you come here, you can't fathom the number of productions that are filming here, literally 365 days a year, all day, every day. And this is where all the big stuff happens, so if you meet someone at a party who knows the casting director for the Spielberg movie and can get you first in line at open calls -- that could be your break. (There are plenty of student and indie productions going on in Austin and other cities, and that's not bad for building up your reel, but you really need to be here, or secondarily in NYC, if you want your best chance of success.)
Should I move to Los Angeles?
Only if you like:Great food made with the freshest ingredients in an endless variety of stylesBeing outdoors in warm weather where you can go for a jog or a hike or walk your dog almost every day of the year without getting wetGorgeous beaches and mountains and access to places like Joshua Tree and Big Bear LakeCulture and the arts, including an insane amount of live music, movie, and museum optionsA wide variety of people from every background you can imagine working in jobs you’d never have guessedOver 100 neighborhoods where almost anyone can find great friends and the perfect place to call homeBut don’t if you hate:Driving pretty much everywhere and slowly (depending on which neighborhood you choose)Looking at attractive people (yeah, there are a fair number here)Sunshine (I used to but now I like it)Mexican culture (not sure why you would but it’s part and parcel of the entire region)Being active (there is some subtle unspoken pressure since most people here are pretty active)Meeting fake people (if you choose to go where fake people hang out)To give some perspective on the other answers:The “grade A assholes” and “superficial” people that were referred to are mainly found in the upper echelons of the film, TV, and advertising and related industries and in the copious wannabes who are striving to get there. But those people make up a fraction of the population and a large number of the behind-the-scenes folks in Entertainment are very normal, nice, friendly people.The city of Los Angeles has 4 million people and the entire metro region has over 13 million. Out of those:780,000 work in Trade/Transportation/Utilities586,000 work in Government500,000 work in Manufacturing467,000 work in Education and/or Health services373,000 work in Leisure and Hospitality210,000 work in Information Technologies164,000 work in Entertainment131,000 work in Publishing120,000 work in FashionSo your odds of running into some asshole producer or rude starlet wannabe are fairly slim unless you actively seek out the places they work and play. If you yourself have dreams of climbing to those upper echelons of Entertainment, be prepared to encounter plenty of those types.
Is it too old to become an actor at 25?
The age doesn't matter - but if you leave for LA with no acting qualifications you'll just join the hundreds of thousands of unemployed wannabee actors waiting tables in back-street bars. It's not 1% of people who make it - it's more like 0.01%. Most actors have been going to acting, singing and dance classes since they were much younger than you are - at least 11 years old, and some as young as 6. When you say you'd join classes if you really need to, I wonder why 1) you haven't already, many years ago, and 2) why you only say you'll do so if you really need to. If you love to act, surely you'd be taking part in everything you could and loving every second of it? To stand a chance or getting an agent (and auditions are only found through agents nowadays) you'd have to have a fantastic resume (CV). Coming from the UK, you'd be expected to have graduated from a top drama school. If you can get A Level Drama, get a few years basic training at acting, dancing and singing, and lots of stage experience, that might be possible. But if you don't do that, they'd at the very least expect you to attend a good acting school for a couple of years, and taken leading roles in a wide variety of stage plays at community theatres, and ideally a few student films, short films, etc. You'd also need enough skills to get a good 'ordinary' job as well, which you can work self-employed, as the best that you can expect as an actor, even after all that training, is 2 or 3 weeks paid work a year. That's about average. And don't forget that you'd need US residency, visas, work permits, etc. But you sound like you're being very unrealistic about the whole thing. Have a good think about it, and do some research before taking this idea any further. It's much harder than you imagine.
Is 23 too late to start becoming an actress?
The age at which you start isn't important, but you're still going to need the same training and experience as any little kid does. The advantages you have are that you're obviously intelligent, have the self-discipline to study to a high level, and are already acting, even if it's only a hobby at the moment. Basically, to make a start as an actor, you'd need to - 1) Have loads of natural talent. 2) Get a few years of training at a good, accredited acting school, going from the basic classes to advanced ones. 3) Get experience in a wide range of stage plays and shows. 4) Learn to sing and dance if possible. 5) Train for a good ordinary job as well, one you can work free-lance, as you’ll need it. Almost all actors work at least one other job just to survive. 6) Ideally study Drama at degree-level at drama school or university. 7) After all the above, try to find an agent who will accept you. 8) When you get an agent, which is how you find auditions, try to win a few auditions out of the hundreds you'll have to apply for. Just bear in mind that all that hard work isn't enough - you also need huge talent, dedication, determination, resilience and luck. And sadly, the best that almost all actors will ever get is 2 or 3 weeks paid acting work a year - that's the average - and will never get more than a few minor roles in small productions. You're not going to be a young, 20-year-old leading lady by the time you're a real actor, but if you have talent, that shouldn't matter to you. The best roles go to older actors anyway - so go for it - make sure you have a way to earn a living alongside acting, but if it's what's in your heart, you have to give it 100%. Good luck!
Is 23 too late to start becoming an actress?
The age at which you start isn't important, but you're still going to need the same training and experience as any little kid does. The advantages you have are that you're obviously intelligent, have the self-discipline to study to a high level, and are already acting, even if it's only a hobby at the moment. Basically, to make a start as an actor, you'd need to - 1) Have loads of natural talent. 2) Get a few years of training at a good, accredited acting school, going from the basic classes to advanced ones. 3) Get experience in a wide range of stage plays and shows. 4) Learn to sing and dance if possible. 5) Train for a good ordinary job as well, one you can work free-lance, as you’ll need it. Almost all actors work at least one other job just to survive. 6) Ideally study Drama at degree-level at drama school or university. 7) After all the above, try to find an agent who will accept you. 8) When you get an agent, which is how you find auditions, try to win a few auditions out of the hundreds you'll have to apply for. Just bear in mind that all that hard work isn't enough - you also need huge talent, dedication, determination, resilience and luck. And sadly, the best that almost all actors will ever get is 2 or 3 weeks paid acting work a year - that's the average - and will never get more than a few minor roles in small productions. You're not going to be a young, 20-year-old leading lady by the time you're a real actor, but if you have talent, that shouldn't matter to you. The best roles go to older actors anyway - so go for it - make sure you have a way to earn a living alongside acting, but if it's what's in your heart, you have to give it 100%. Good luck!