The Role Talent Plays in your Acting Career

In any artistic pursuit the question of talent always comes up.  What is talent?  How important is it?  Do I have talent?  How much?  Is it enough? Does it matter what other people think?  What I think?  Is believing in my talent enough?  And ultimately, does it matter at all?

Watching American Idol (or pick your favorite talent competition on TV) makes it clear that believing you have talent it not the same thing as having it.  But not every person who is paid step in front of a camera or on a stage is particularly talented.  Since talent is something you’re born with, what do you do about it as an aspiring actor?  I have been thinking about this a lot as the topic of talent comes up over and over again in everything I do related to acting.  I believe I have talent.  And I have come to the conclusion that this belief is good and important.  It is not, however, enough.

I was delighted to find this quote early in my readings:

The thing that leads you here, at this moment, is that you have talent.  Take my word for it.  The thing that makes you say, “I want to do something” — that is the beginning of talent. — Stella Adler

It’s wonderful quote in that it is affirming.  Those of us who are drawn to acting have a talent for it.  Thankfully, it doesn’t stop there.  Stella Adler reminds us that wanting to do something is the beginning of talent.  Meaning that simply wanting to act doesn’t make you good at it.  Wanting is the beginning of talent.  That begs the question, what makes talent bloom?  In a word, dedication.

No matter how talented you are, the only way to see your acting career flourish (long term) is to be dedicated to strengthening your talent.  Building your craft.  The best are not always the most talented, but they are always the most dedicated.  This is true in every arena known to man.  The only way to the top is to be dedicated to becoming the very best you can be.  Be committed to doing everything you can to build on what you have and it will show.  What talent you have will shine and people will notice.

Just yesterday I found this video made of clips of Will Smith talking about talent and dedication:

Clearly his dedication has paid off.  I know that mine will too.  It is impossible to say when, but I know that so long as I continue dedicate myself to this craft every day I will make it.