How I Got Into Acting 🎬
Recently, a few people have asked me, “How did you get into acting?,” so I was inspired to share my journey with this blog.
Honestly, it was a weird time. I was a sophomore in college, who transferred from a community college to a university that fall semester. I was enrolled in “Pre-Business” and other prerequisite courses, thinking that I would pursue business, yet my major was still “Undecided.” I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in life. It’s a bit funny, and sad, how that is the case for a lot of us when we enrolled in college though.
It wasn’t until there was a week in college when I was contemplating my life, asking myself, “Why am I not happy?” I was working on my homework at my school’s computer lab, and then the next thing I knew, I searched for “Acting Classes Houston.” I saw the Houston Film Commission website and there was a Hollywood acting workshop on the list, so I signed up.
Literally, my life has changed because of that decision.
But I guess it wasn’t all too surprising for me. I was always into acting, but I couldn’t admit it until then.
When I was in high school, I watched a lot of Asian dramas. There weren’t that many Asian Americans in Hollywood or Western media at that time yet, but I was influenced by a lot of Hong Kong (in Vietnamese-dub) and Korean dramas growing up. But I had a dream of becoming an actor. This dream wasn’t realistic at all…and to be fair, for true reasons. There is a lack of opportunities, it’s not a stable job, you become a starving artist, etc. I wasn’t living in California or New York, plus there aren’t that many opportunities for Asian Americans. And of course, my family wasn’t going to support this! Worst of all, I was the most shy and antisocial person you could have EVER met when I was in high school. Would anyone really think a shy person could be an actor?
In my junior year in high school, I told someone that I wanted to be an actor. I don’t know how that conversation started while we were in class, but I remember saying that out loud. So for my senior year, I signed up for Theatre I, hoping that I will get outside of my comfort zone and see if I can do it. Unfortunately, I don’t know what it was but, it wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be. Maybe I was having “senioritis” and I was in a class full of freshmen and sophomores…or perhaps it was because it was the first period of the day and I was not a morning person. Or getting outside of my bubble was too hard. I did have one line in the class play, but in the end, I thought maybe acting wasn’t for me.
However, I was still watching a lot of content, from my Asian dramas to Western movies and TV shows, and I still wanted to be on screen someday. I wanted to be in movies and shows that affect people, just like how they affected me.
I don’t have an answer as to which movies and shows that encouraged me to get into acting. I have always loved storytelling, so it was rather moments and the timing that got me started. I remember I saw a casting call online for the Mulan live-action movie. I hadn’t started acting at that time, so I didn’t sign up. But, I did have some hope. Because, this would mean there could be more Asian American actors in Hollywood media, which is now true!
However, there was a scene where it clicked in my mind that I want to try acting. It was a scene from a historical drama where the lead character was heartbroken because the court lady she cared for was going to be executed by the king. She was on her knees in the rain outside of his palace for hours, hoping that it would convince him to stop. Then, there was a gong sound from afar. Her friend was killed…and she broke down crying. It was a really sad and dramatic scene, and while I was also crying, I thought, “I want to play a character like hers someday.”
When I signed up for my first acting classes, it was hard for me to get started because I didn’t have a job yet. I signed up for a summer part-time job and saved up so that I could consistently take acting classes monthly. And from there, I’ve never looked back.
I still kept my business major and eventually pursued supply chain management, from which I graduated. I hustled in school, going through different part-time jobs and club organizations. And I found acting gigs in Houston to get credits through community theatre, and school, and indie film projects. I also pushed myself to get over my social anxiety and shyness, placing myself in uncomfortable situations and nervous breakdowns. I would get rejections all the time, so that affected me at one point as well. And I had a hard time figuring out who I was and what I wanted to do in life.
Even though I went through those experiences, acting has made me a better person. I’m not as shy as I was anymore. In fact, I like to meet people now. I like to try new things. So, I’m always going through some phase of a new hobby, and I get to learn what I like and don’t like. I learned more about the business of acting from my acting coach, so now rejections from my auditions don’t bother me at all anymore. I do what the character does, and anything else that happens in the room is outside of my control. I’m still nowhere near becoming the person I want to be, but I’ve grown tremendously over these years and I’m still on my personal mission to become the most confident I would ever be.
I am not the same person as I was six months ago, and I definitely was not the same person as I was in high school. But of course, some things haven’t changed at all, and I am learning to accept that is just who I am.
Last month, I visited my old campus to watch their media organization’s film festival and to support my friends who worked on those projects. Before I left, I wanted to stop by my school to see how much it has changed since I graduated.… And I got to stop by the computer lab where it all started. It was pretty sentimental and nostalgic to be on campus. That may be the last time I will visit that lab, but it will forever be a memory for me since it was where I signed up for acting almost six years ago.
At this point in my life, I admit acting is more of a side hustle and hobby these days. Don’t get me wrong - I am still a professional actor. I work a full-time job, but I consistently take acting classes to improve my craft in storytelling and submit auditions to hopefully book a role. Because of acting, I’ve met my acting coach, who is also my life mentor, and I’ve made great and close friends in this industry, too. They all have seen my highs and lows and are proud of all the accomplishments I’ve made. Acting has also inspired me to sing and write blogs, and they’ve both become my creative outlets!
I hope you enjoyed reading about my journey. And of course, it doesn’t end here and I hope to share more stories about this journey as I get older. Until then, thanks for reading!
đź”– A few resources mentioned: