The more I learn about acting, the more it seems like a profession I'll never advice anyone to go into professionally. Which is very ironic, since as a producer I can't get anything done without actors!

"A well-known Hollywood Writer":
I cannot stress seriously enough: acting is a horrible, awful profession. It is a miserable way of life. Acting itself can be creatively enriching, but unlike writing, you can't act all by yourself, so practically speaking actors spend 99% of their time trying to find somewhere they can act. A tiny few extremely lucky people, some of them talented, some of them crafted, actually make a living at it. A surprising number of them have an "in" to the business.

I had a dear friend who was extremely talented and beautiful. She worked hard and became an extraordinarily crafted actress. If you had one tenth as much craft and talent as she did, you'd be lucky. After fifteen years of trying to make it, she had been in one tv commercial, an "Unsolved Mysteries" segment, and a lot of free theater. She finally gave up.

He goes on to explain how almost every movie star has strong connections (i.e. parents in the business).

My beef with acting as a profession:
- The hot movie lights, sunlight and though conditions under which actors have to labor.
- Your success depends on things you can't control: luck, your looks, and more luck.
- You never know when or where your next job is going to come from. It's all random.
- You don't own the words you're required to speak. You just memorize and perform.

What do you guys think? Is acting a vocation that's best pursued as a hobby, and not as a profession?

in my own opinion i think what makes the profession horrible are the scandals and horrible news we hear about the actors(male and female) and sadly that most of them don't practice the good characters they ACT some times. And lastly the fact that you must have some kind of strong connections to be successful in the business, i think that's horrible; everybody should be given equal chances.

Acting can be a hobby but it should be more of a profession that's why you can study it at the university.