Photoplayer Hater

Actors mostly like to stick to acting. Acting is what they want to do and all they want to do. They don't feel qualified to otherwise join in the filmmaking process. Plus that's stuff's boring, acting is the fun part. The majority of the Screen Actors Guild are unemployed at any one time and the majority that do get paid don't get a full-time salary. Since most actors don't do much apart from traditional acting stuff, you will have a big advantage with any effort beyond just acting.

We mostly just see actors acting and don't take time to notice that many had more to do with the production than showing up when the camera was rolling. There is a long history of actors taking their destinies in their own hands and making projects for them to be in.

Sylvester Stallone

Stallone had been in other movies by 1976 but never the leading man, not the star of the picture. Unsatisfied with this position, he took drastic steps. He wrote a script and helped get it made. "Rocky" was a big step for Sly as an actor. It's become a cultural touchstone that made him recognizable to most of the world. Instead of waiting for this role to come to him, he made the role.

John Leguizamo

Now a big star, John started out doing theater in New York. Unwilling to just wait for roles to pop up for him, he wrote his own material. He didn't write a traditional story for multiple actors, you need other people to make that happen. He wrote a series of one-man shows where all he was needed was a place and his skills. "Mambo Mouth" was produced for the screen on HBO as well as released in book form. Amongst others, he also wrote and starred in "Spic-O-Rama", "Freak," and "Sexaholic".

Ricky Gervais

It's one thing to try to get on a tv show. You audition and hope what you have matches what they want. If there's nothing this season you wait for something to come along next season. It's another thing entirely to create a series of your own with a friend that you will star in. The original UK-version of "The Office" was co-created, co-written and starred Ricky Gervais. He didn't wait around for things to happen he made it happen.

Tyler Perry

Starting out as a way to express his feelings on various subjects, Perry put himself in the theater productions he came up with out of this literary catharsis. Soon he was writing and directing himself in films as well. "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" is not something Hollywood would ever produce and Perry would have been left with nothing to do. So he did what most don't and just did it himself. He got more headaches than from just being an actor but probably more fulfillment.

Melvin Van Peebles

By the time "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song" came along, Van Peebles had already made a studio picture but not done any acting. He had a vision for what he wanted to do with movies and Hollywood wasn't letting him do it. So he wrote the script, put together the funding and starred in it. He put his entire life into making this movie and it paid off. Since then he's become an indie icon, written books and been in countless other films. Don't be afraid of putting it all on the line for what you want. If it was easy, it wouldn't be much of an accomplishment.

Spalding Gray

He had a bit part in "The Killing Fields" but felt he deserved more. Instead of whining like most people, he did what few would. He wrote monologues for himself to deliver in front of an audience. These engaging stories he tells were not only well-received in the theatres where they originated but also made into feature films. "Swimming To Cambodia" is about the making of "The Killing Fields", "Monster in a Box" is about his mother, and "Gray's Anatomy" is about his eye condition he was trying to repair. Could've been banal stuff but he brought it to life.

Decide who you are. An actor that will wait for things to come your way or the kind that will make it happen. Can you honestly say you gave it your all if you don't put forth every effort to make acting a reality for you? Consider your place and whether you can add to the things you already do to help your acting career. Don't worry about stressing yourself out, this will be the good kind.