Acting Business Quotes

I'm in the acting business. That's the ego business.

Acting is a tough business, and the percentage of people who make it is very low - it's about 1 percent.

As much as I'd only like to concentrate on the creative side of acting, the whole business in general is just that - a business - and you have to do your homework if you want to be successful.

When it's all said and done, I'm very, very glad to work in this business, but that's exactly what it is. It's a business, and I get to do the fun half of it. I get paid to pretend. I get to play really great characters. And, we have such a wonderful writer. She just knows people so intricately, and it's so fun to be able to act out her words.

I think it's really important, as an actor in this business, to have another creative outlet.

I'm no relation to Lillian or Dorothy Gish. Not even way back. But when I first became interested in acting, I wrote a letter to Lillian Gish. She wrote back, discouraging me from entering the business.

I got into the acting business very young.

The percentage of people that go to drama college in the U.K. is probably just like anywhere in the world. It's a very hard business to work in. They say that, at any one time, there's only 5% of actors in the world that are actually working and getting paid, which is a shocking percentage, really.

I'll keep on acting 'til they wipe the drool. I like the business. I like to do different parts and diverse characters. I haven't lost my enthusiasm yet!

Regrets are something you can't really have as an actor, because ultimately you'll end up destroying yourself... there's a lot of disappointment in this business.

You have to be a little unreal to be in this business.

The life of an actor is not filled with limousines and talk-show interviews. I've moved crates of beer; I've been a bartender, personal assistant, butler. But all those skills have helped me in the business aspect of what I do.

The longer you are in acting business, the more you cherish the times when you're working with people that do great work, and can figure out how to enjoy themselves while they're doing the great work.

I often think you need a lot of courage to be in the acting business. The job itself can be incredibly challenging for various reasons. Sometimes it's impossible and requires sheer guts.

Acting is one of the most risky businesses you could ever be in. You literally do not know where your next paycheck will come from.

It's a fun show, BoJack Horseman to do, and that gets around. It's easy, especially for a lot of actors who don't do a lot of voiceover. No makeup, no wardrobe, they really just come in, the lines are right there, we goof around for a half hour, and I think it feels like, "Oh, yeah, this is why I got into this business: to play around and have some fun." There's no paparazzi, most of them don't do any promotion for the show. it's the fun part of acting, without the other stuff.

Usually people in the acting business end up both in front of and behind the camera. Working for so long in the business, I know how it works. It's not too much of a challenge; the challenge is making it all come together, being in charge of a huge team of people that you trust.

I'm in the business to push it. I'm not likely to be attracted to characters I've already done.

I think most actors go into the business thinking, 'I can play everything. Why can't I play a black woman? Just give me a chance.' Then you grow up and realize it's probably better that they cast an actual black woman.

Acting can be a very cruel mistress. It's not a meritocracy. In other walks of life, by being good at what you do, you can achieve success. That isn't always the case in this business. Every actor knows that.

If you hang around long enough to show these people what you can do, you have a chance in this acting business.

I still enjoy acting. I love the moment in front of the camera, but it's all the other moments that I don't enjoy. The 'business' aspect of it, the gossip. I really dislike about 99% of what I do, but I like that 1% when I'm on camera.

If you count my childhood appearances in a few TV shows and being the son of two well-known actor parents in the U.K., plus three years of drama school, you could say that I've been pretty much surrounded by the business of acting and performing my entire life.

Such a big part of this business is rejection. Each time that you get rejected, a big part of it is just staying positive - even if you don't get the role, it's still giving you practice. I love being able to take direction and talk with the casting directors in the room.

You have to be pretty tough to be an actor, and you have to be pretty certain what you want. You can't waffle through this business.