Welcome to An Actor’s Journey, my blog about being a working actor in film, television, theater and more. I started this blog after I wrote my book, An Actor’s Journey: Lessons Learned and Tips for Success. That book was an attempt to share all the things I’ve learned over the years about how to be successful as an actor. There is no one way to do it, but there are many things you can do to increase your chances of success.
I hope you will enjoy reading about my experiences, as well as learning about what I hope can be of help to you on your own journey.
We are actors. We work in the medium of film, television, theater, and more. If you’re reading this blog, then you likely already know that. But what does it actually mean to be an actor?
For starters it means we are artists. As artists we create characters that tell stories that can challenge the status quo. For example, we can create a character who is gay in a way that has never been portrayed on screen before, or one who stands up for what is right even though it gets her fired from her job—and in the process inspires others to do the same. It also means we are entertainers—we provide laughter and tears and inspiration to those who watch our work.
As entertainers and storytellers, we are also entrepreneurs: we run a business. In this blog I share tips I have learned from years of experience as a working actor in film, television, theater, and beyond. My goal is to help other actors navigate the sometimes crazy world of being an actor so that they can avoid pitfalls as well as make smart choices about how to manage their careers.
The Actor’s Journey: Lessons Learned & Tips for Success is here to help you on your own artistic pilgrimage.
“An Actor’s Journey” is a blog about being a working actor in film, television, theater and more. The blog is written by me, David M. Barber, and I started it as a way to share my experiences with other actors and people who are interested in the performing arts.
I’ve been acting professionally since the late 1980s. I have acted on Broadway (most recently in “Fiddler on the Roof” with Alfred Molina), Off-Broadway, in national tours and at regional theatres across the country.
I’ve also had a successful television and film career, appearing on numerous TV shows (“Law & Order,” “Third Watch,” “The Guardian,” “One Life to Live”) and in films (“World Trade Center” with Nicolas Cage).
I believe that being an actor is a journey. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns, lessons to be learned, and mistakes to make. That’s why I always say that it’s “An Actor’s Journey.”
I started this blog to share my experiences, both good and bad, in hopes that it might help other actors along their own journey. Whether it’s a tip or trick I’ve learned along the way, a piece of advice I think would be helpful, or just something funny or relatable to share with other actors, this is where I do it.
You’ve made it. You’re a working actor. You finally have an agent, manager, and you’re booking those auditions left and right. Life is good. Now what?
Now’s the time to invest in your career and take it to the next level. The great thing about acting is that there are always ways to improve and new techniques to learn, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro.
I want to share with you some of my lessons learned through over 20 years as an actor in LA, as well as tips that I still use today to continuously improve my craft and help me stand out from the crowd.
Hi! I’m Idris Elba, a British actor and DJ. You may know me from projects such as The Wire, Beasts of No Nation, Luther and American Gangster. This is my website and blog.
I was born in London to African parents (my father was from Sierra Leone and my mother was born in Ghana). Growing up I always knew I wanted to be an actor. My first break came when I landed the part of Russell “Stringer” Bell on The Wire. Since then I have appeared in numerous films and worked with some of the best directors in the industry, including Ridley Scott, Guillermo del Toro and Neil Marshall. I have also directed several films myself.
The role that has brought me the most attention is probably when I played Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. For this performance I won a Golden Globe Award as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
In addition to acting, music is a lifelong passion of mine. I started DJing at local clubs around London when I was 14 years old and began producing my own songs at age 17. After more than two decades performing as a musician under various stage names,
Elba may have been referring to the time he was in New York City, where he got a job as a doorman after failing to make it as a DJ. “I was like, ‘Man, I gotta get a job’ … I was literally burning through all my money and my mom is like, ‘Please get a job!’
The actor said he took the role because “it wasn’t really about the money. It was about the fact that I never had that kind of respect in New York.”
Elba said he felt good about the job until one day when he saw a girl walk past him and turn her nose up at him. She didn’t recognize him as an actor, Elba said, and assumed he was just some doorman.
He said that moment inspired him to work even harder on his acting career so that no one would ever look down on him again.
