So what makes for a successful actor? Face value? Amassing wealth? Peer recognition? Select job prospects? Acclaim? Longevity?? It’s not really a science. At risk of sounding like a self-help guru, I’ll simply say that success, like a suit, is not the same size for all.
Not every performer can be the lead. So many elements factor into being a ‘star’. Oftentimes, it just takes one or two overwhelming qualities. Yet there are thousands of actors out there who get to do what they love for a living without being the lead. In supporting roles or walk-ons. As character actors and because they possess a specific ‘look’ or skill. As stand-ins or stunt-doubles or coaching or producing their own shows. Does this make them any less successful? Not by a long shot. They have added their contributions to a story that needed them to be and do for that scene or production exactly what they did. That’s success.
Acting professionally has to be treated like a business. Because, while the craft is done of love (ideally), by its very nature, it’s a tool for entertainment. The actor seeks creation, reflection of humanity and to learn about themselves among other things. The professional must take the craft they revel in and apply it to a format that will allow others to experience their work: a stage or screen. Actors who manages to do this despite the staggering odds (the sheer volume of competition is daunting enough) for any period of time has already accomplished something significant. Heck, overcoming that audition room is nothing to scoff at. Yet countless actors do this day after day in the name of landing ‘the role’. Here’s to your success.
Sometimes the realities of the business<!>force performers to change their objectives. Age is probably the most common circumstances that can dramatically affect the actor’s options. But there are several others.A rising star yesterday can easily be forgotten in one underwhelming performance or a poorly received production. Yet so many in this very situation (and we all get there eventually… sometimes more than once!) have adapted to their new climate, taken on the challenge of the non-starring roles and excelled in them. Congratulations! Success!!
I recently saw a great documentary about this, That Guy… Who Was In That Thing. It features conversations with a group of actors whose faces we know only too well from various films and shows about their roads to becoming the performer they are today. It’s an awesome look at an actor’s life, in Hollywood particularly. And while I don’t know the names of these performers, they audition, work with the likes of Ed Norton and Halle Berry, manage to make a fair living and love what they do. Objective achieved? Check. Sounds like a success.
Whatever an actor’s motivation for wanting to do it for a living, their personal perspective of what is considered relevant in the debate is ultimately their driving force. Be it the chance to be on screen or stage, walking the red carpet amidst the pops of flashbulbs, landing the part, booking the lead or just nailing the scene the definition of a successful actor is always up to the actor.