I finally learned WHY people act... something I've pondered for years without ever getting close to an answer. But here, Mr Birkenhead gives me one answer:

"I know that may be hard to believe, but when you do it semi-right, acting is actually about getting away from your ego. It's like riding a rocket away from your ego and becoming weightless. And the two things you're incapable of when you're floating up there are thinking and caring what other people think."

ps: EDL - you were right and I was wrong.

I was a working actor for over 30 years until my career went belly-up. The author knows what he's talking about.

Now I teach acting, and I'm going to make this essay required reading. You're a terrific writer, Mr. Birkenhead, and obviously bright enough to know that writing won't bring you any more respect than acting did, but I hope it gets you laid.

Mr. Birkenhead’s article is interesting in that he gives his true experiences as a working actor in LA. As a musician, I generally I am ever careful to not throw water on a young person’s dreams. It is always possible for someone to reach the imagined and life that he has worked for. Experience in the world of artists turns up legions of talented and trained people who can impress and move one with their display. Some will rocket to the top. Some will support the top dogs. Some will make a good living this way. There is a huge variability in the endeavor of pursuing a career in the arts. One must follow the lodestone inside.

It is also possible that one may reach a kind of dead end. Birkenhead shows that the dead end usually contains a door. On one night the door may not exist. The next morning it appears. It was hidden.

And while I am careful not to stifle the dreams of the young, an account like Birkenhead’s give a clear view into a world that is a subject for popular fantasy though universally not seen in any real way. Accounts such as his, which peel away some layers for a look inside are an element most appreciated by me in my visits to Salon.com.

"Or did Peter already try that once and come afoul of Midwestern Chip on Shoulder Syndrome where he was greeted--let me see if I remember the phrase--like the Second Coming of John Starks at a Bulls game?"

Too true.

At last someone told the truth about an actor's life. Yes it's hard. Yes, it's dehumanizing sometimes, but when it's good, it's good, and sometimes even thrilling.

I would love to read anything else write, Peter.

SueAnne Morrisey

This article is Interesting, honest and funny as hell. I think the choice to pursue a writing career is a wise one. I look forward to reading more from Peter Birkenhead.

-Madeline Wall

I am always amazed by letter writers like Tomkin--people who not only write something grossly uninformed, but, by admitting they have not read what they are writing about, *admit* that they are uninformed.

Thankfully, Mr. Birkenhead's piece was not what Tomkin stereotyped it as being. And that is to Mr. Birkenhead's credit. I have lived in L.A. for 8 years, been affiliated with the entertainment industry for over 15 (since high school), and learned things from Mr. Birkenhead's article that I did not know before.

As for Tomkin, why do some people post letters to the editor without at least aspiring to be as intelligent as the publication they are writing to? Could this be a consequence of the digital, information, blogging age? If so, more's the pity.

I couldn't even bring myself to read this story... the headline and subhead told me WAY more than I wanted to know about this guy.

boo hoo boo hoo... I'm not a star... boo hoo

(puke)

Relax. Just because Margaret Atwood said it before you, doesn't mean someone else didn't say it before her. Everybody reacts to really cool witticisms by socking them away in their heads, and it's hardly a crime to tell a joke that might have come from someone else. Not everyone has a card catalog in their heads of just where every little bit of info came from.

That person that so tactlessly pointed out your blunder only made me roll my eyes at the nitpickery. The joke was funny, you weren't plagiarizing, and that person really ought to get a life.

Oh hell, I actually went back trying to see if it was Oscar Wilde...here in Canada we all steal from Margaret...sometimes it seems the rest of the world thinks we only have one author! Good to know I'm also plagiarising SK though...

You know how sometimes you just marinate some things so long the lines get fuzzy? I've heard a hundred variations of it, and of course I think everyone is misquoting me.

Still wanna be a writer, Peter??

Stephen King used that many years ago in the Author's Note for "Night Shift", his first collection of short stories. That was in '78. Did he also steal that from Margaret Atwood? Just curious.

Peter Birkenhead is one of the few actors actually able to make a steady living at his craft for the past 20 years, but doesn't seem to take any joy from it. He never talks about the joy of practicing his craft, the thrill of regularly having the oppurtunity to play different characters. Instead he complains that he hasn't made it big, that TV sets are dull places, and that people don't get that for every big name star, there are a thousand actors like him, just getting by.

I've got news for Mr. Birkenhead. I have known many out of work actors who would be thrilled to death to trade places for him. Who would consider a mark of success to have his resume and who are more interested in the actual work of acting then on hitting it big and becoming a star. Perhaps if Mr. Birkenhead put more effort in to acting and less into hoping to become a star he won't find his character cut so many oppurtunities that have presented themselves over the years.