Photoplayer Hater

There lots of valid reasons to pursue acting. Every actor has a different agenda when it comes to why they want to act. That being said some actors pursue acting to reach goals they could more easily reach through other pursuits.

I'm usually not one to turn people off of their dreams, but some people are just unrealistic about what can be achieved through acting. Not only is acting limited in what it can get you in life, the pursuit of acting to reach certain goals can adversely affect other actors that you will inevitably interact with.

You Just Want To Meet The Opposite Sex

Many actors would never admit this is the reason they are into acting, but judging by interviews with famous actors it's quite common. Acting does tend to attract a disproportionate amount of good-looking people so it makes sense that people would notice this and see it as a shortcut to meeting these pretty people. The problem comes when you become a nuisance on set, in a class setting or any other acting-related function. It's natural to want to meet people you could have a romantic relationship with but it can get in the way of the acting. Even if you don't care about acting per se have some courtesy for the people that are there for the craft and not to get laid. Plus acting classes are such a waste of time if all you want to do is get some, you could go to a bar and handle business much more quickly.

You Want An Easy Job

In college there are lots of people who shouldn't even be there. People who would be better off at a vocational school, people that aren't good at school but their parents have forced them to go. Some of these people don't do the hard work of finding classes that genuinely interest them, but look for the classes that are easiest to pass. This will inevitably lead some of them down the career path of acting. From the outside looking in acting looks like nothing more than people doing what people do all the time. It doesn't look like a real job. It doesn't appear to require any skill. Which is just the kind of job this type of person was hoping existed. Acting can come natural and without much effort to certain people, yes. The best actors in the world do indeed make it look easy. Even if the doing is easy, getting paid to do it is never.

You Want To Piss Off Your Family

Some people are just rebellious by nature. Whatever life wants them to do, they do the opposite. Although acting isn't as disdained a profession as it once was, it is still not an acceptable pursuit in the eyes of many people. Children of these people see acting as a legitimate way to follow their parents wishes to go to college and simultaneously agitate them to no end. They don't pursue acting because of some internal longing to act, they simply do it to aggravate the ones that love them most. Although I don't think angering your family in itself is a good reason to quit acting, if that's your only goal there are better ways to accomplish it. Think of the people you encounter and how they would rather be associated with people who love the craft rather than people who are using it as a weapon.

You Want To Get Famous

One of the most common reasons people pursue acting is to be famous. At one time it was one of the few ways anyone could become famous. Good actors tend to become famous, but that's no guarantee that you will no matter how skilled you become. There are other much more straightforward ways to gain notoriety. Why put all this effort into learning the craft when you can just commit a heinous crime and get the same exposure. The desire for fame is often a failed attempt at compensating for a lack of love in their life. You may want to work on your interpersonal relationships rather than sense memory technique if you are just seeking the love of others.

You Want To Socialize

The social world is where most things get accomplished. We like to work with friends and people like to hire people they like. So it's not surprising that there is a significant social factor when it comes to acting. Actors don't work in a bubble, they work with other actors. The relationship doesn't simply end when the scene is over. The problem comes when an actor is mostly worried about maximizing social interaction and only mildly interested in acting. It's fine for you but what about your scene partners? You make dates to rehearse, yet nothing ever gets done because you are too busy talking about your life. You meet at a coffee shop to go over this scene, but the whole time you are floating from table to table making conversation with anyone you see. If you just want more friends, don't waste these people's time by pretending you are into acting.

This may not describe you at all or it may describe you partially. The truth is that desires are not always easily defined and often are made up of ingredients from many different categories. So you might want to get famous a little or socialize a little but it isn't the overarching reason you're into acting. It's not a problem when they are sub-desires but only a problem when they are the main reason. So get out of acting if all you want to get out of acting are one of the above. Do it for yourself because these things can be achieved much more easily in other arenas, and do it for the other actors who want to work with serious people and not posers.