Common misconceptions - Actor Video Transcripts
Video 1 Transcript
Okay, there are two main common misconceptions I can think of. One is that a working actor spends most of their time on set. This is not true. A working actor spends most of their time auditioning and trying to get more acting jobs. So if you want to be an actor, make sure you love auditioning, make sure you're okay with not getting cast in most of the things you auditioned for, and you'll be good to go. The second misconception is that you can't make a living as an actor. It is hard. It's hard to make good money as an actor. You have to put a lot of work in, but you absolutely can, whether that's through booking acting jobs, or you can use your talents to coach others or help further acting productions. There are a lot of ways where you can get involved and you can make this your full-time life.
Video 2 Transcript
Let's talk about misconceptions. Two come to mind immediately. Number one, everyone who is in a movie is rich and famous. This is ridiculous. I don't even know where this comes from. But if that is your driving force to get into this career, you need to choose a different career. Please, no more posers. We need true artists, people that are willing to do the work, the sacrifice, and dedicate themselves to self-discovery and the expression of telling stories. That's who we need. We need passionate people. So posers, please, go choose something else. We don't need you. Number two, that you need to do everything, anything, anything it takes to get the part. Careful with this one. Know who you are, have a foundation, stick to that foundation, stick to the guidelines that you set for yourself. If anything happens in this industry that makes you uncomfortable, you walk away. I don't care how big the part is and how big the check is, you stay true to who you are.
Video 3 Transcript
Okay, misconceptions about acting, about the acting business, actors in general. I think a lot of the other people probably covered money and stuff like that. I don't want to talk about that. I think sometimes you watch a film and you don't like the actor. And some really good actors have, you know, have been, well, he's just, Robert Redford, he just plays himself. That's a huge compliment. And there's a misconception. Robert Redford is a fantastic actor. And the fact that he creates the illusion, the impression that he's just being himself is huge. Same thing with John Wayne. Same thing with a lot of actors. When you see an actor who's working in film and being paid money to be there, chances are they are a really good actor. The particular role might not be great, might not be great for them. The dialogue might not be very good. The film itself might not be very good and might not make them look like bad actors. Chances are they're a great actor, but there's other stuff going on. Misconception, in my opinion.
Video 4 Transcript
Some common misconceptions are that once you get a project you will instantly become an A-list actor or filmmaker or writer with that first project. A lot of times that's not always the case. You want to be realizing that your foot is getting in the door to be able to get into another door, to getting into this project to be able to get into another project, to be able to network and show they can trust you on set. And then it's always glamorous and fun on set. A lot of times we're waiting, you know, we're waiting for our time to go back onto the next scene or maybe crew is switching around the set for the next scene, which could take, depending on the scene, depending on the location, it could take an hour, it could take the next day.
Video 5 Transcript
The first common misconception is, hey that looks easy, anyone can do it. Well, yes, anyone probably could be an actor, but it takes a lot of training, a lot of hard work to become a good actor. When an actor is doing a top-notch job, it doesn't look like they're acting, and that's actually really hard to learn for most people. So most people think it looks easy, anyone could do it. The other popular misconception is you can only be an actor if you have a huge lucky break. Well, to be a hugely successful actor that may be true, but to be an actor you can act in anything and enjoy it as you do it.
Video 6 Transcript
People get into acting because, oh, I'm going to make a lot of money. No, you won't. Later down the road, maybe. But at the beginning, no. You'll make very little. And you will not get an acting role right off the bat. You have to audition, audition, audition, and re-audition. You know, I've put in 50, 60 auditions. And like I said, I've had maybe one or two parts, speaking parts, in a movie. The rest of them have just been like extras or featured extras. So yeah, you won't make a lot of money in this business. And you won't be a star right off the bat. It takes a long time.
Video 7 Transcript
I think a common misconception about actors is that the end goal is to just be super famous, when really it's all about just trying to do what you can to make a career out of being a working actor, which has nothing to do with fame at all, but it has a lot to do with just being able to work and do what you love and get paid to do it.
Video 8 Transcript
I'd say the most common misconception involving acting of anything in the arts, writing, painting, whatever, is that you're going to get rich. You're not. Chances are you're not going to get rich. It's like a little kid who shows an inkling of talent in sports. You're going to be the next, fill in the blank. Ain't going to happen. It could, but the odds are very, very much against you. So get that out of your head. If you're going to get into this to make a bunch of money and to be famous, you're in it for the wrong reason. It has to be in here. You have to really, really want to do it. And that's not a misconception. You really have to need to do this more than anything else. But don't look at it as a moneymaker. I make money. I do this full time. You know, I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination. Monetarily, in the currency of happiness, I'm the richest guy alive because I absolutely love what I do and I'm not going to get rich doing it. That's okay.
Video 9 Transcript
I think some of the common misconceptions about acting is first that you have to move to LA or New York if you want to be a full-time professional actor and that's just not true anymore. There's so many opportunities in lots of states. I'm an actor in Utah, I have been for the last 10 plus years and there's been a lot of opportunities not just on the TV show I'm on, on Studio C, but also with commercial work and the way travel is now, you know, it's so easy you can live kind of wherever you want and take acting gigs in different states. I've filmed in LA and New York but been able to stay, you know, where I feel is best for my family in Utah. So, yeah, I would say don't feel like you have to move to a big city where you don't know anybody. There's acting opportunities all around.
Video 10 Transcript
Misconception number one is that actors are fabulously wealthy, and while a very small percentage of them certainly are, and those are your Hollywood A-listers, the vast majority probably have to do something else to stay alive. That's when you hear the cliches about being a waiter or having just some hourly job that you can easily quit or take time off from so that you can pursue what it is that you are passionate about. And by the way, if you're not passionate about it, or it isn't an itch that you feel like you have to scratch, then don't do it. It's probably not for you. Another misconception is that actors are lacking in self-esteem and crave attention, and the misconception is that all of us are that way. The truth is only 95% of us are that way. The other 5% are probably grounded and normal.
Video 11 Transcript
Being a full-time actor is not actually a full-time job that you can just have by itself. You have to have a side gig, a hustle that gives you the flexibility to get out there and get into auditions and be ready and available for stuff that's available to you. It's not something that you can actually have as your full-time job until you make it big.
Video 12 Transcript
Honestly, I think that the most common misconception with acting is just that you're guaranteed a role. That's not even to say that you aren't good or you aren't like trying your best or whatever it is, just theater itself is so subjective. Just because you don't look a certain part or you have just like a different tone than what a director is looking for, you may not get the part and that is totally okay and like you have to learn to accept that, I guess.
Video 13 Transcript
I would say the biggest misconception with the path of being an actor is that memorizing lines is difficult. It's like anything, it's like a muscle. The more you practice, the better you get at it. But even before then, when you're just getting started and maybe it's not as fluid as easy, something that's always worked for me is the more you can understand the subtext of the dialogue, the lines, basically what you're not saying with the words that you are saying, because a lot more is said than not said. If you understand the subtext, then the words that are written on the page will find themselves naturally. But you need to know what the scene's about. You need to know what you're really trying to communicate as the character.
