How expensive is it to pursue an acting career?

How expensive is it to pursue an acting career?

How expensive is it to pursue an acting career? So many people ask me how they can become a professional actor without breaking their bank account. Like any other profession you need to make the investment in time and money.

The fact is that acting is not any cheaper than obtaining a student loan to become a doctor. There are costs of acting classes, which $500 for a 4-week cycle is standard minimum cheap. Then there are costs of headshots. Great headshots can run another $500 minimum as a standard in the industry. Then there are costs of subscribing to the many websites such as Actors Access, Phillyfaces, BigApplefaces ,Backstage, Casting About, Showfax, Cast It Talent, and others.

Then there are costs of union memberships and dues which run into the thousands of dollars. There are costs of paying talent agents 10% of your income once booked. There are living costs in places like New York and Los Angeles where 99% of all lead and supporting roles are cast. There are countless costs of promotions, transportation, clothes, hair cuts, makeup, and nice shoes. There are costs of workshops, performing plays at your own expense, sending out invitations and postcards to casting directors and agents for your plays. There are costs of paying for demo reel duplication services, personal trainers, and 15% to a personal manager if you go that route.

As you can see the list is long and the reality is that you will likely spend more money trying to book professional acting jobs, than you will making money on the few jobs that you book. So I ask you, are you ready to spend money to become a professional actor? Are you ready to work "other" jobs to fund your pursuit of a professional acting career?

On the flip side acting can be one of the most rewarding careers a person can do. The interesting people , the exciting shoots, the great actors and directors , the entire creative process is extremely rewarding ! A great movie , a play ,a great modeling shot ,a script ,will be remembered long after you are gone and sometimes can change the =way people look at the world.. Don't believe me ask William Shakespeare dead for hundreds of years , yet each new generations looks to put their stamp on his plays..Yes its true actors can leave a lasting legacy even without donating enough money to name a hospital wing after them.