If You Pass This 8 Question Quiz, You're Ready To Be An Actor

The life of an actor is not an easy one. It looks glamorous from the outside since most people only think about the actual process of acting on a film or TV set. They don't think about the amount of time spent at auditions, the money that goes into acting classes and headshots and the (sometimes) negative feedback from others.

Are you interested in becoming a professional actor? If so, take this quiz to see if acting is the right career choice for you!

Are you okay with not knowing where your next paycheck is coming from or when you will have another paycheck? 
For most actors, consistent work is not something that normally happens. If you are looking for a steady paycheck, this might not be the job for you.


Do you like being rejected on a regular basis?
You don't hear back from a casting director if you don't book a job. You either don't hear anything or you see an announcement online about the actor that landed the part you hoped to book.  If you can't handle the constant rejection when it comes to booking acting roles, you might consider another line of work.


Are you willing to make the choice between paying for headshots and acting classes instead of essential items?
Sometimes actors have to make the choice between paying for items crucial to their chosen profession (such as acting classes and headshots) or buying a new couch or new tires for their car. If you would rather spend any extra money you have on advancing your career, you might be suited for the acting world.

Are you okay with being judged on your physical appearance?
There are many times that the final decision for a role is not based on your acting ability. The casting director is often trying to "mix and match" actors in order to achieve a certain look among the characters. You might be too tall or too small for what the casting folks have in mind. You might have too much hair or not enough hair. You might look more like a brother or sister than the possible love interest of the other actor or actress. Being judged on your looks is a big part of the audition process and you have to accept that fact if you want to make it as an actor.

Can you handle criticism?
It is the job of casting directors as well as producers and the director on set to give you feedback about your work. If you are the type of person who thinks that every choice you make is the right one at all times, you either have to learn to accept criticism or find a line of work where nobody will give you any sort of guidance or direction. I don't know if such a job exists but maybe you can find it.

Are you prepared to disappoint your family and friends?
No matter how much you plan ahead, there will be a time when your manager or agent calls with a last minute audition or booking. Actors often have to miss dinners, birthdays and holiday trips home because of the last minute nature of the industry. There will be many times that your family and friends will be upset with you and discourage your choice of such an unpredictable career. Being an actor means giving up precious time with them as you follow your dreams.

Does the thought of your friends living a normal life make you jealous?
Hopefully, you will be happy seeing your friends get married, have a steady job and buy a house where they will raise a family. Does the thought of having a "normal life" make you jealous or does it not seem appealing at all? If seeing your friends raise a family while having a regular job makes you jealous, you might not be cut out for the life of an actor.

Is acting the only career choice that makes you happy?
If the thought of being an actor makes you smile and brings you happiness, you have made the right choice so get out there and kick some acting butt!

How did you do on the quiz?

If you scored 7 or 8 points, you are ready to live the life of an actor.
If you scored 5 or 6 points, you might want to think twice before moving to Los Angeles.
If you scored 4 (or below) points, stay home because the uncertain life of an actor is not for you.

This actor is still working hard to succeed in Hollywood.

An Overnight Hospital Adventure

We had an interesting weekend as Dana ended up at the emergency room on Saturday night/Sunday morning due to intense pain. It's become a joke in our family that something always happens in March that requires her to have surgery.  It is now March so (of course) we ended up at the hospital.

We arrived around 1AM and I let her out at the front door so she wouldn't have to walk from the parking lot. I parked the car and was approached by the security patrol. They started asking me all about my exciting night. I had no idea what they were talking about but they whooped loudly, gave me a high five and left to bother other people. I saw a security guard as I entered the building and mentioned that my wife had just walked in the door. Before I could ask how to get to the emergency room, he pointed down the hallway and sent me on my way. I went down the hallway where a nurse grabbed me before I could say anything. She told me my wife was upstairs and put me on an elevator. When I exited the elevator, I found myself in a maternity ward. Two nurses approached me so I could see my wife before the baby was born. I explained my situation and they seemed disappointed in me after they realized I wasn't there to be a new father. I reminded them there was a guy somewhere in the building looking for his wife and maybe they should go find him. They ran off to look for the dad and I went off in search of the emergency room.

I finally found Dana as she was being admitted to a room. She put on her patient gown and went to the bathroom to give a urine sample. I waited in the room as a "Code Gray" came over the intercom. "Code Gray" means there is a combative person that needs to be calmed down or restrained. I could hear a woman loudly yelling that "they didn't know what she had been through", "she doesn't like to be tied down" and "she'll kick people in places they didn't know they had on their bodies". Dana missed all of this because the combative person was restrained by the time she got out of the bathroom.

The rooms started filling up as the night continued. The guy next to us had to be a cocaine addict. His nose was bleeding everywhere because "he hurt his nose and had to put some packing in it". When asked which side of his nose he hurt, he replied with the left side. Five minutes later, it was the right side. Wait, maybe it was the left side. At one point, the doctor asked him "Do you have any idea if you actually hurt your nose or can I have the real story?" I do know the guy was the biggest wimp in the world as he yelled for the nurse every 10 minutes because "he was hurting".

While Dana had x-rays and various tests throughout the night, there were more all star patients entering the emergency room arena:

• The guy telling a long winded story about the 3 times he was struck by a car
• The patient who lost a finger or two in a combine accident
• The person who swallowed a goldfish belonging to a neighbor before coughing up blood
• The rocket scientist who fell off the back of a truck while sitting on a washing machine (his brother didn't have ropes so he was sitting on the machine so it wouldn't move)
• One guy who kept saying the words "California Chicken Wrap" in relation to his emergency but was unable to give more details

My favorite person was actually not in the emergency room. I went to the cafeteria around 4AM to get a snack and some caffeine. I walked in to find a guy standing all alone in front of the vending machines. He was yelling at the soda machine for taking his money, the snack machine for talking back to him and the coffee machine for being a "demon filled with the hot liquid that the wicked and unjust will get after death". He turned around and looked at me in silence. I calmly said it looked like he was having a moment with the machines and I would come back after he was done showing them the error of their ways. I calmly turned around and swiftly made my way back to the emergency room.

Dana was discharged at 7AM and we still don't have a definitive answer to her March medical mystery. Any good thoughts you can send her way would be greatly appreciated. Also, let me know if you have any idea how a California Chicken Wrap can result in a trip to the emergency room.

This actor stayed home to keep the dog calm while mom was at the hospital.