I am going to become an actor.

[jittus rye]

I am confident that I am able to do this. Even If I never get any really good jobs. I wonder how common this choice of profession is for INTPs.

I wonder what you all will think about this if anything, Hmm..

[MasterMerk]

It does sound like an interesting job. I was always rather good at drama, but I never clicked with anyone else who was into it, so I gave up.

There's too much talentless people out there, and they're all competing with eachother. Not my kind of scene.

Good luck with it. :)

[jittus rye]

I like it because it is fun, I don't care about the other people doing it.

[waxwing]

I've been contemplating getting back into theater myself. Acting is a great art form, in my opinion.

Theater or big-screen?

[jittus rye]

Both if possible.

[waxwing]

Exciting. I admire you for that.

Don't mean to play 20 questions with you, but a couple more:

Are you into musical theater?
What actors do you most admire?
How do you see yourself as an actor?

[jittus rye]

I enjoy musical theater.
I don't really have any actors or actresses that I admire, I don't really know many of their names either. *edit* I kind of like Robert Dineero (sp?)
I see myself as an actor because I can understand other people very well, as well as portray behaviors. I think the real reason I would like it is to understand people more, and their thoughts and ideas.

[waxwing]

I also enjoy musical theater, and have been working on becoming a scrappy playwright for quite some time now. Ha.

Your third point is interesting. You may have hit on one of the main reasons I value the actor's role in society.

I'm wondering if you're a strong introvert (not that I don't think introverts can act)? Just curious. I know that being an introvert (though it's my weakest function) never kept me off the stage.

I admire William H. Macy and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Brilliant.

[jittus rye]

I can appear as the most extroverted social marvel you've ever seen, but I really am only a lowly introvert inside.

[waxwing]

I think I know what you mean.

I kind of think, though, that my periods of extraversion fuel my introversion. My periods of introspection help understand the world, especially people. A delicate balance.

[MasterMerk]

For me, introversion never helped but it never seemed to get in the way either. Acting was only ever fun for me when I was playing a far off part - pulling different manerisms, accents and such. ESTP type characters are fun, because I'm not like that at all in reality.

It never seemed that hard, either. Not everyone can act, but I think us intuitives may pick it up easily.

Phillip Seymour Hoffman is a great character actor. I also happen to like Steve Buscemi, Edward Norton, Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. A lot more but I can't think right now. And DeNiro is pretty good too. :)

[jittus rye]

Yeah, I enjoy playing far off parts, but playing something close to home isn't unenjoyable for me.

[MasterMerk]

Yeah, it is a shame they don't write too many INTP-esq parts.

[Miss Anthropic]

Actually acting was listed on an INTP list of professions....not listed by what an INTP would be good at by attributes but a list of what INTPs do for a living. I think there are quite a high number of INTP actors relative to number of INTPs in the whole population (not hard to do considering we are 1%). I used to do plays in school and a little bit of community theatre and acting as someone else is quite different from being an extraverted version of yourself in a social situation. Playing a character is easier somehow. Go for it!

[Miss Anthropic]

Yeah, it is a shame they don't write too many INTP-esq parts.
Then it wouldn't be acting, would it!

[jimkopelli]

I want to get into professional stage crew.

[subtext]

I am friends with an actor/director (local theatre) and I've been trying to guess his type without really bringing the subject up with him. I don't think he's intp though. He seems, by turns, either I or E, but I think for the rest, he's probably NFP. He drives a cab on the side to support his acting habit.

[athman]

i heard that intp's are good at role playing, so acting makes sense.

[Bugeater]

I've always wanted to try out acting. I would have taken Theatre in school, but I absolutely hated the egotistical jerks that were in the classes, so I never persued it. I've been thinking more about it recently though, as I hate my current job and can't think of any alternatives that I'd enjoy. I mean, I think I'd be absolutely terrified to get up in front of a lot of people and make a fool of myself, but at the same time, it's something I feel desperately drawn to do. Maybe one day I'll quit thinking about being afraid and actually do it, instead.

As for introverts being actors...just take a look at one of the greatest actors ever, Harrison Ford. I just watched him being interviewed on Inside the Actor's Studio the other night and it was bizarre. He seems very INTPish, if you ask me. He always seems to play all these tough, yet vulnerable, guys on-screen...but in real life he appears very introverted and almost scared of being in the spotlight. In fact, he said he got into acting by accident. He took an acting class without reading that he'd be required to perform on-stage, which scared the crap out of him, but he ended up loving the profession nonetheless. He also said that it took him a very long time to come to terms with the loss of privacy, which came practically overnight...and that seems like something that any really introverted person would struggle with. Also, he's switched professions kind of radically. He quit acting for a while and became a carpenter, once again...quite by accident...then returned to acting. And he took up flying in his 50's.

[waxwing]

I've always wanted to try out acting. I would have taken Theatre in school, but I absolutely hated the egotistical jerks that were in the classes, so I never persued it. I've been thinking more about it recently though, as I hate my current job and can't think of any alternatives that I'd enjoy. I mean, I think I'd be absolutely terrified to get up in front of a lot of people and make a fool of myself, but at the same time, it's something I feel desperately drawn to do. Maybe one day I'll quit thinking about being afraid and actually do it, instead.

As for introverts being actors...just take a look at one of the greatest actors ever, Harrison Ford. I just watched him being interviewed on Inside the Actor's Studio the other night and it was bizarre. He seems very INTPish, if you ask me. He always seems to play all these tough, yet vulnerable, guys on-screen...but in real life he appears very introverted and almost scared of being in the spotlight. In fact, he said he got into acting by accident. He took an acting class without reading that he'd be required to perform on-stage, which scared the crap out of him, but he ended up loving the profession nonetheless. He also said that it took him a very long time to come to terms with the loss of privacy, which came practically overnight...and that seems like something that any really introverted person would struggle with. Also, he's switched professions kind of radically. He quit acting for a while and became a carpenter, once again...quite by accident...then returned to acting. And he took up flying in his 50's.
I think it's great that you want to get into acting. Good for you.

On Harrison Ford... I love his demeanor. I've seen him interviewed a few times and thought something similar. If I'm not mistaken, he lives on a ranch out west. I've also heard his sarcasm during interviews. Goes right over the heads of Letterman and others. Interesting character, it seems.

On the topic of introverted actors, I recently heard Leonardo DiCaprio interviewed (who I'm not crazy about as an actor) and he seemed INXP-ish. I hear that he's got a reputation for being one of the most stand-offish actors in Hollywood.

Sorry for getting off-topic there. It's kind of interesting, though.