will majoring in actting help me as an actor?

Joehascol
Thu, 09 Dec 2010 03:30:29 +0000

Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Val Kilmer, Kevin Spacey, Cate Blanchett, Marlon Brando, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Denzel Washington, Alec Baldwin, John Cusack, John C. Reilly, Marisa Tomei, and Woody Allen.

All respected actors, and they all have undergone some sort of acting training at a conservatory or University.

To answer your question, yes. Though you can make it in the business without formal training, rarely do those actors go on have respectable and critically acclaimed film careers (Two notable exceptions are Leonardo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp). It is possible to make it without training, but it is a hell of a lot harder. And those who haven’t gone to a conservatory or University still typically take classes and workshops on the side.

As far as film acting is concerned, stage is relatively close to film and talented stage actors usually can make the bridge to film with minor adjustments. Student films being created at places like NYU, UCLA, and USC will certainly afford you the opportunity to work on film acting.

Ultimately, you determine whether a BFA is worth your time or not. Acting is not as easy as it looks. Decide your level of commitment to the profession and the actual artistic expression of it, then go from there. If you believe you are talented enough to make it without one, than go ahead. And as stated in the article you posted, you can always leave a BFA whenever you feel you are making enough headway in your career.