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Why do so few actors realize that acting schools are a waste of time?

posted 17 years ago by LUVitYESiDO
18 replies | jump to latest

Most successful young actors today are former models or got acting jobs because of their looks and took a few acting classes after gaining experience.

"Inside the Actors Studio" has been running for 14 years now and in it's entire history, not one of it's alumni at the New School (Pace University) has appeared on the show.

It's so depressing to see these ugly students ask successful questions at the end of the show--how naively they ignore the actor's looks--and realize that they have no shot of making it in the entertainment industry.

But the New School is just one example (although the most publicized) of the fact that acting schools waste students valuable time and money attaining an education that has little potential for helping them land a job.

Why are so many students oblivious to this fact?

[–] dio52 17 years ago

You're confusing acting jobs with stardom. The show tends to do this as well with guest selection. Being a famous movie star obviously has little or nothing to do with actual talent and more to do with marketability of your image, but for the other 9/10 of the acting industry (character acting, indie films, theater, etc) I'd say drama lessons do very much help.

And what you're saying could be applied to any field. An education and a college degree is no guarantee of success, but it provides a foundation to build a career from.

"The great act of faith is when a man decides he is not God."
-Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] 17 years ago

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[–] iesusmcnasty 16 years ago

Yes you have your ocassional natural actor, high school drop outs (Johnny Depp, Sean Penn), with not much formal education. But, every actor I can remember on the show (including the those mentioned), trained privatly, prescribed to some method (though some maybe vague), habitually study texts or eventually received some form of formal training.
So I don’t get your point.

"I know what I like, AND I liiiike what I KNOW"

[–] Lorenzo_VonMatterhorn 15 years ago

Thats 8 out of what... tens of thousands.

The OP is simply stating what I believe to be true. In today's world.. It's more about looks - than actual acting ability.

[–] Darknessviking 13 years ago

the truth is:
the famous actors have had:
1. luck
2. they are themselves when in movies. just look at robert de niro."playing" the same person in all of his movies. etc etc. i read somewhere about an actor that has been in alot of law and order episodes etc.. he said that..never try to act when on a audition. just be yourself. because if they are looking for a person to be that way you get the part.

[–] andie-redhead 16 years ago

See, this is something that I have massive drama with. I'm in MD and trying to get into acting. I am wondering if going to school is needed. I started going to this community college but was told I couldn't take the acting classes right away because I needed to take a bunch of basic academic classes first as a perquisite. Okay. I canceled that. So now I'm at square one again-are classes necessary? I guess any class will do in the beginning-all acting starts out the same.

[–] mai_vidal 16 years ago

I disagree with you. I'm on my second year of Drama classes, and i feel like i've learnt SO much from this, i got to read so many good plays by great world-known authors that i hadn't ever came across if they hadn't been asigned for the class.
I've learnt to work and get deep into every play that i have to interpret, not just my character, the whole story.
I cannot explain it all here, but i've learnt so much, that i couldn't have learnt it on my own.

[–] critic2009 15 years ago

Nearly all of the guests on the actors studio have been trained in some fashion. Not all of them, mind you...but most of them. Training to be an actor, director or writer is far from easy. I used to perform in high school and community theater as a teenager and decided to move to New York to study acting.

It felt like I was hit in the face with a two-by-four. I was so wet behind the ears it was ridiculous. Learning a technique is key in becoming a believable actor. Talent helps...in regards to improving within your scenes, but nothing can prepare you for the business itself. 95% of the entertainment business is soley based on "who you know" and "what connections you have." Your success then relies on either pure talent, a fantastic agent; marketing, and an interesting image and personality.

I attended the Neighborhood Playhouse and they are graced with many outstanding former students. The Playhouse was formed by Sandy Meisner and you will hear his name mentioned many times by the guests of Inside the Actors Studio. I do not know this for sure, but it seems "The Actors Studio" turns out equal amounts of directors, writers, producers and actors. Other schools like the Neighborhood Playhouse are conservatories; dealing soley with actors.

[–] MitchumsGal 15 years ago

Also, whats a "secret" of sorts is that big name actors almost always work with an acting teacher and a dialect coach if necessary. Susan Batson, Ivana Chubbuck, Elizabeth Himelstein. These kinds of teachers are almost never thanked at the Oscars but they are there doing their job movie after movie. So whether or not actors went and got training before they made it, they probably are getting it during their career.

******************
You're gonna make me lonesome when you go....

[–] dboone1025 15 years ago

I was just watching an interview of Johnny Depp on Inside the Actors Studio. I think the show itself is great (esp the simpsons episode, with all the cast members that do voices).

But I agree with the original poster, I think its very naive of students to ask for a "Success tip" or secret from actors, and think that it means something. Or to think that there's any *certain* path of success in the entertainment business. Even with the best formal training, there are so many other variables to look at:

-A lot of it is timing. Say Julia Roberts in the 90's. The culture changes, the feel good movies of the 90's aren't there anymore.

-Typecasting. Esp child actors.

-Marketability, image. Pamela Anderson. In regular marketing (business marketing), there's this concept of being "1st". The first in the mind sort of owns the category...coke vs pepsi, mcdonalds vs burger king, amazon vs other book sellers. A similar thing happens to (products) in the entertainment industry. The pretty woman, the new blonde bombshell (anderson), the girl next door (mandy moore), etc. The top 1% of actors get all the success. The #10 blonde bombshell or #10 pretty woman no one wants to see.

-The long stretches between careers, even if you're successful (i.e. John Travolta).

Not knocking acting training. But its not like airline training or medical training, or electrical engineering or something. Lots of factors in play that arent discussed when asking johnny depp or harrison ford how to be successful.

[–] hugo_sylvain 15 years ago

Successful doesnt mean talented

[–] njscreenwriter 15 years ago

It depends on what you define as success. Perhaps some of those students dream of being a success on Broadway - how many of us can name successful Broadway theater actors? How about 'Hollywood' actors or movie stars?

I agree with part of your sentiment - I don't like seeing roles in movies given to people because they have the right connections. I see a lot of hip hop stars in movies - granted they are usually lower budget generic action movies but I feel bad because during part of that casting process some unknown, hard working actor got passed over in favor of someone who had a marketable image. I'm not saying all hip hop stars can't act, but thus far I haven't been too impressed.

But that's the nature of the business - it's not what you know it's WHO you know.

[–] Ram_Bowen 15 years ago

Tommmy Lee Jones: No formal training as an actor, longest time out of work is two weeks.

[–] thaiboxer 15 years ago

Yeah it's kinda depressing to see these students in the audience taking things so seriously and taking notes.

[–] thaiboxer 15 years ago

Yeah I quit my acting class, the instructor is great but I learned everything I needed to know in last years acting 1 class. Acting is so easy I mean you just got to pretend and be yourself at the same time easy *beep* but people spend thousands upon thousands of dollars to learn how to be themselves lol. Rappers are better actors then most actors. Acting is based on luck like winning the lottery.

[–] blair-harrington 13 years ago

I certainly don't think a 2 or 3 year program is necessary. You can benefit just as much by taking classes at your leisure. If you want to break into TV and Film then you must move to LA or NYC (if you are American) and take classes from teachers that are well known and respected. The quality of your reel and website are also crucial. Lastly providing the best audition you possibly can is essential.

There are many factors that go into having success as an actor. And I'm speaking strictly to TV and Film. Let's also not forget that a recent 'Studio' episodes featured an alum (Bradley Cooper) and he talked in great detail about his experience there, etc. So calling it a 'waste' is a bit crazy.

As someone who has acted in TV and Film I don't necessarily recommend a 2 or 3 year program unless you truly want to go that route. You will get just as much out of proper training at your own pace. The only potential advantage to doing a long program like 'Studio' is that they offer showcases for agents and managers. But so do a lot of other places too.

[–] lunacyregnant 13 years ago

Let's also not forget that a recent 'Studio' episodes featured an alum (Bradley Cooper) and he talked in great detail about his experience there, etc. So calling it a 'waste' is a bit crazy.

I was just about to point that out. Besides, I've noticed that the people who actually attend an acting school and for numerous years, tend to be the better actors in Hollywood. Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Bradley Cooper, Paul Newman, Robert DiNero... That's just my opinion though.

Oh members of IMDb, yours is a dim-witted and insane lot!