The Lifelong Goal of an Actor

While there are many reasons for becoming an actor, perhaps the best reason to continue acting is that it sets you on a path of greater self-knowledge and understanding of the world.

As a student, I was used to getting good grades without really trying. My intro to acting class at UC Santa Cruz was the first class that left me feeling totally clueless. Finally, I found I was genuinely bad at something. I couldn't stand that, so I kept at it. You could say the reason I got into acting was pride.

But pride is a terrible reason to keep doing something. Especially when doing that thing means foresaking financial stability.

So why act? Why keep it up?

Along the way, I discovered that the promise of acting is not that I will someday master it, but the knowlege that I never will. The artistic ideal of an actor is to be able to walk a mile in the shoes of every person who has ever lived on this planet. An impossible goal, but one that promises infinite discovery of self and others.