Only you can answer that, and nobody else should make the decision for you. What helps is asking the right questions: why you started, whether you enjoy the day-to-day life of a working actor, and whether this is a painful chapter or a real change of heart. Here is what casting directors, working actors and mindset experts told us.
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Start with why. If you act mainly for money or fame, Kym points out there are steadier ways to earn and easier ways to be seen. If you love the work and believe you are good at it, but opportunities aren't coming, she suggests the gap may be on the business side, which can be learnt.
Tanny Jiraprapasuke asks: why did I become an actor, and how does what it takes affect me? Ben Whitehair separates acting from the life of an actor, with its networking, marketing and chasing paid work. Anthony Brandon Wong asks: would you be happier if you gave it up?
Kym leans toward giving it one more real go, with a business strategy and outside help, before deciding. Anthony Brandon Wong said walking away can be a valid decision too. All four agreed the answer has to come from you.
Anthony Brandon Wong asks: do you really want to quit, or is it just painful right now? He told us he went to about 50 auditions without booking before his first US job, and part of him wanted to quit then. The larger part didn't.
Tanny suggests picturing your life with no acting in it, then asking whether you can accept that. Quitting over something external, like a run without auditions, may not sit well long term. Kevin E. West's test for lost passion: have you stopped enjoying acting, or being hired? Revisit the first script or film that made you lean forward and see if it still excites you.
Casting director David Newman told us it is okay not to be okay, and to reach out. If you feel burnt out, low for a long stretch or depressed, please talk to your doctor or a qualified mental health professional.
Not over one comment, our experts said. Anthony Brandon Wong first asks who said it: a relative with no industry knowledge is different from a teacher you respect. Even then, it is something to work on, not a verdict. He told us he is 54 and still goes to class.
Ben Whitehair said honest feedback is good news: everyone started with no experience, so practise, get in class and put in the hours. Tanny Jiraprapasuke added that what someone says about your work doesn't define you.
Expect long gaps, even in a good career. Ben Whitehair pointed out that even a thriving career books relatively few days a year, sometimes with years between jobs. Kevin E. West, who has a pension from a long career, still has audition lulls, and told us he has had 46 representatives so far.
Take some weight off auditions. Anthony Brandon Wong shared advice his friend Judith Light gave him during years without roles: find something meaningful outside acting, like a charity or a hobby. Ajarae Coleman reminded us you can tell stories without waiting for permission.
Kym has had two pilots she shot not get picked up. Her tool for a thought that keeps looping: could you have done anything differently? If yes, turn it into an action. If not, let it go.
It is less all-or-nothing than it feels. Ben Whitehair said that if you don't like the business side, you can simply act: make your own content or do community theatre. You never stop being a storyteller. Tanny suggested reshaping your passion to fit the life you want. Kevin E. West's way back in is to do something purely for the love of it.
Money pressure drives many of these decisions. Ajarae Coleman's guidance is to keep a day job until acting covers your life and lets you save.
Forbes Riley told us about leaving a Hollywood party because everyone seemed richer and more famous, then realising she had walked away from people who could have changed her life. Success is a comparison you choose. Ben Whitehair suggested measuring progress by what you control, like writing or theatre, not bookings alone.
Some careers change shape and stay in the industry. Casting director Kahleen Crawford told us a colleague was a busy actor who stopped enjoying it and moved into casting, where that experience helps every day. Casting director Kerry Barden acted in soaps, TV movies and plays before a casting internship he loved, and has cast for 30 years since. Pete Malicki suggests building your own path alongside the agent route, through teaching or your own business.
Jealousy is normal, said Kevin E. West and Ajarae Coleman. It is only a problem when it stops you moving. Ajarae suggests asking what the jealousy shows you that you want.
Ben Whitehair named persistence, kindness, a commitment to growth and grit. Anthony Brandon Wong has noticed gratitude and risk-taking. Chris Roe called acting a long-term commitment full of rejection, and said your big break may simply be the next job.
Ask why you started, whether you enjoy the day-to-day life of a working actor, and whether you would be happier without it. Only you can answer.
Yes. Kym says it is a question most actors face several times in a career, and several of our experts described wanting to quit during long runs without bookings.
Our experts said gaps of months or even years happen, including in successful careers.
Our experts said not over one comment. Consider who said it, then treat it as something to work on in class.
Please talk to your doctor or a qualified mental health professional. Your wellbeing comes before any career decision.
Yes. You can keep acting through your own content or community theatre, and you never stop being a storyteller.
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