People and Chairs offers a guest post from Kris Siddiqi on why he quit the acting profession.
Interesting. I didn't know skin colour was such a big deal for actors. I want to feel sorry for him, but at the same time I can't help but think "what did he expect?" Everyone knows that the entertainment industry is a cruel, dehumanising and brutally unfair environment. For every success story, there are a thousand shattered dreams. If I was trying to become an actor, I would be careful not to attach too much importance to my career. In general, it's wise to place little value on all those things that are out of our control, like the stoics taught.
Yeah, totally. I also think we've long since entered a day and age where we need to, so to speak, diversify our portfolio. Trying to make it as just an actor is a dim proposition for most these days. Performers need to have more of an entrepreneurial spirit and a more diverse skill-set if they're going to make it as performers.
There's also crowdfunding. Platforms like kickstarter and indiegogo allow artists to pitch their projects (and themselves) directly to the audience and bypass the people who would deny them an opportunity because their skin is not the right shade of white.