David Chiu

In the current LA Magazine I stumbled across an article that talked about acting being more of a lifestyle choice than a career. That article was like a cold dose of reality which I think all aspiring actors should read. It contains the cold hard facts: 95% of all actors require an alternate “day job” in order to survive and pay the bills. When they are not working, actors are spending their hard earned money on acting classes, headshots, agency/casting mailings, online casting services, union dues, demo reels, trade magazines, play books, and whatever other service they think will help promote themselves. And it’s not just money. It’s also the time spent on self promotion, finding an agent, or finding the next gig. Acting as a lifestyle is all about living on the hope that you could be lucky enough to become part of the 5% that make a living as a working actor. But the trap of the acting lifestyle is to put your life on hold waiting for that “big break” that may never come.

I chose the acting lifestyle in 1996 when I moved to LA. I was ready to sacrifice everything and put my life on hold for the chance to become a “famous” actor. Lucky for me I unintentionally fell into the dot-com industry where I’ve thrived ever since - and not even from trying. And I’ve still not given up my Hollywood dreams. It’s still a constant struggle to balance my life with my job and with the acting lifestyle. But somehow I manage.

What I find ironic is how similar the dot-com industry is to Hollywood. I feel like every time I land a new job/gig it’s like booking a film or TV show. Every dot-com company is filled with very interesting and unique characters, and there is plenty of twists, turns and drama in the storyline of every company. Over the years many companies never make it, which is like being part of a TV series that gets canceled. And the salary rollercoaster in dot-coms is similar to TV shows. It’s possible to make a lot of money in the dot-com industry, but you never know how long a gig will last. So it’s better not to buy that brand new BMW or Benz until your show is picked up for syndication or your companies goes public with an IPO.