The Acting Blog

10 Reasons Why Smoking will Harm Your Acting Career

Hey Everyone

I’m sure that the title sounds all morally anal, but let’s be honest, there are a LOT of GOOD reasons why actors shouldn’t smoke and it’s all about your career, so if you won’t do it for your health, then do it for the longevity of your career.  Here are 10 reasons why smoking will harm your acting career:

ONE:  Your Voice – You may have a lovely now, but your lung capacity and your range will be drastically cut.  You have fewer casting opportunities because you have a voice that sounds like you chew gravel for fun, and that’s just the women…

TWO:  Money – Let’s face it, smoking costs a fortune, and if you’re happy to burn your money, I suppose that’s okay, but most actors are dirt poor or saving for periods of no-work or resting.  In New York City, where smoking costs $10 a pack, someone smoking a pack a day is burning $3650 dollars per year (think about how many acting classes, cool TVs, new Apple Macs you could own in ten years – after ten years, that’s $36500 – imagine the growth in a guaranteed investment – you could get a Reel professionally done and have change for SAG membership, AFTRA membership, need I go on?). Last but not least, most actors don’t earn that much money through acting, so if you gave up smoking, you’d have to do less shifts in your crappy waiting job… but the choice is yours

In the UK, the average pack is £5.85  (your CCP membership – which you say you can’t afford, the voice coaching – which you say you can’t afford, the Equity membership that you know you need, but you say you can’t afford, the new 10×8s that you know you have to get, but you say you can’t afford can ALL be afforded- ALL with the £2135 you waste on cigarettes each year.

THREE: Physical Endurance – If you’re a smoker, you know that physical exercise is NOT your friend, there are many shows that require serious physical capability.  Just forget those roles, there’s some more roles you can’t get.

FOUR: Prematurely Ages You – The action of smoking creates deep wrinkles in your face, which even with really good  cosmetic dermal fillers can’t be fully removed.  Furthermore, the tar discolours your skin, age spots are increased, yellow fingers, dull eyes from years of smoke damage, brittle nails – women particularly will suffer. But hey, the choice is yours.

FIVE:  Kiss Goodbye to Romantic Scenes – Sooner or later you’ll have to do a romantic scene which involves kissing.  All the gum in the world will not take away the gut wrenching, stomach turningly awful taste of kissing a smoker.  Your co-star or scene partner will dread the moment they have to get close to you.

SIX: You Stink – Let’s face it, I don’t need to write you an essay on this one, your sense of smell has been damaged beyond belief and you can no longer tell just how bad you smell.

SEVEN:  Weight/Nerves - Actors use smoking to control their nerves and maintain their weight.  Actually, you’re just ignoring a problem, problems just get worse when ignored.

EIGHT: Smoking Actors Die Young - Just look at the statistics, actors that were big smokers usually die young.  Patrick Swayze died young – Ah you say, but Pancreatic cancer, but Swayze and his doctors were both reported as saying that smoking contributed to his cancer (and therefore his young death).

NINE: Ill Health Cuts Short Your Career – Many actors can work right up until the day they die because there are parts for actors of all ages.  However, if you start to suffer from terrible ill health related to smoking related sickness, then your career is over, shame – cos you were just getting to play the cool older parts.

TEN: Role Model – Whether you like it or not, you’re a role model to others, and the more successful you are, the more people will look up to you, so if you don’t care about your own health, so you care about those people that admire you?

ELEVEN: This is a bonus one – this is completely for free – if you’re American, think about your dental insurance or the cost of dental work.  It’s going to cost you a fortune to keep that smile and once you’ve lost that smile, you can’t get it back without serious expense or kissing goodbye to your TV and Film acting career.

You may think this is some kind of anti-smoker’s moral campaign, but all I care about is the longevity of your career, don’t you?

So will you give up smoking for your career? No? Then you may have to give up your career for smoking.

Today, I was served tea in a Pyrex measuring jug… now I’ve seen everything )  Much love to our friends in London!

To You, The Best!

Mark Westbrook is a Professional Acting Coach and runs Acting Coach Scotland, a private acting studio offering acting classes in Glasgow, masterclasses, workshops and audition coaching for actors at all levels. His acting studio is based in Glasgow, Scotland, although he teaches all across the United Kingdom. All Blog Posts © Mark Westbrook 2009

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