Pros and Cons of Professional Acting

Cons

• Most actors don't make it onto the red carpet in designer clothing.  Even some of those Hollywood celebrities will have another source of income, from producing, to working as a musician, to working in restaurants. If you enjoy Starbucks, the chances of an actor serving you is excellent, as they are a very actor-friendly business.

• The average acting income is only $10 000 annually (including people who only book one gig per year). Plus it's unlikely you'll have benefits of any kind. 

• This isn't necessarily a con, but actors must learn to leave their ego behind during auditions, and to take rejection with a grain of salt. Acting is a business, and your body and mind is the product being sold. Actors need to market and brand themselves, in order to make connections and stand out from the competition. Since there are so many actors and so little acting parts, often most people are just not right for the part. 

• There are many false people in the acting industry who will stab actors in the back by talking about them behind their back, and taking jabs at flaws, especially the physical appearances of actors.

• It's difficult to date or be married while being a dedicated actor. Actors will often have two-three weeks where they're working to the bone every day, and then will have 2-3 weeks with no jobs. In film, usually callbacks will be the day after an audition, a wardrobe fitting will be the following day, and the scene will be shot on the fourth day. Often casting calls are given at most 24 hours before an audition, so actors are often required to cancel plans, even funerals and family events at the last minute in order to make it to the audition.

Now you're probably confused as to why anyone would want to act after discovering those cons. Fortunately, acting can be extremely enriching and rewarding for those who are absolutely passionate.

Pros

• Fortunately, according to Kenny Bania, a film actor, out of the multitudes of aspiring actors, 60% of them aren't good, 35% don't show up to their audition, are under-prepared, or are rude. That leaves a good actor in the top 5%, while there is work for the top 3%.

• You can start at any point in your life to become an actor. Ken Jeong from Community was a full-time physician who eventually morphed into a stand-up comedian and then a full-time actor. He still updates his skills and medical education in case he wants to return to that practice later. Lisa Kudrow from Friends started out as a biology major. An acting degree is not necessary. Scarlett Johansson for example, didn't get accepted into the New York University film program, and look where she is now.

• Actors have lots of opportunity to pursue other interests, which helps make them more well-rounded actors. The more experience and education an actor has, the more they're able to contribute to their role and character development.

• You're getting paid to dress up and play pretend, while most people are sitting in boring, stuffy offices all day spending most of their time unproductively on Farmville, or interacting with customers that don't say thank you.

Think about it.