In high school, we all met people who wanted to be different things when they graduate. We all know future doctors, future lawyers, even future talk show hosts. There will even be some of those people that we know that will end up being movie stars, or star on Broadway. I was a part of the theatre world in high school so most of the people I know, including myself, hope to act as a career someday. While we won't all end up going down that track, the fact is that we all know people who are really good actors and actresses. Sometimes, that's awesome. Other times, you wish they weren't so good at acting. As an actor myself, I decided to think about the pros and cons of having actors as friends.
Pro: They're good at keeping secrets.
Your birthday is coming up and it seems like your actor friend is barely acknowledging it? They probably bought you an awesome gift, or have an awesome surprise party prepared for you. You have a major secret that you don't know how to tell anyone? Tell them, they'll help you keep your secret until you know how to handle it.
Con: They're really good at keeping secrets.
Sometimes, there are secrets that shouldn't be kept secret, but your actor friend doesn't want to deal with any sort of repercussions from telling the truth. This can be a bad thing, and very rare, but it can still happen. Sometimes your actor friend just doesn't want to tell people something about their past, so they act as though it's not even a part of their history, and that's okay. Everyone has secrets. Your actor friend might be better at hiding them, that's all.
Pro: They'll be a great alibi.
You wanted to be left alone, but people keep bothering you? Just ask your actor friend to tell people you're with them and they'll give you some peace and quiet for a little bit.
Con: They can lie through their teeth.
They know something about someone? You won't be able to get it out of them. They can keep more than just your secrets, and that might get frustrating sometimes.
Pro: They can be very entertaining.
They're wanting to go into the entertainment business. Whether they're comedic or great at causing a scene in public, they know how to get people's attention and make memories when you're with them.
Con: They can be very dramatic.
Like I said, actors know how to cause scenes. Anywhere. So, if you're in a mood to just hide in crowds and not be noticed, that's probably a day to let your actor friend know you don't feel like hanging out with them at the moment. Scenes can be fun in public sometimes, but even us actors get sick of each other so I promise we will not take it personally.
Pro: They can come up with awesome stories.
Want them to tell you a bedtime story? They're on top of it in seconds. Give them a person, place, and idea, and they'll be able to come up with hundreds of different stories.
Cons: Sometimes their lies might sound like stories.
Sometimes, you can in fact catch an actor friend in the act of lying, because in some moments they think too big. If their story sounds way too crazy to be true, you may have found the hidden lie. Do you say something? Well, I guess that depends on what the lie could be and what you personally want to do about it.
As you can see, there are ups and downs to having actors and friends. But there are also ups and downs to having doctors as friends, or lawyers as friends, or anyone as friends. Nobody can get along perfectly every second of the day, and if you think they do then they're definitely actors. No matter who your friends are, things are gonna be crazy, fun, and even annoying sometimes. But don't forget that they are your friend, not the profession they're going into. There are tons more pros and cons for individual people in your life, but one pro tends to overpower all cons: no matter what, they're there for you, even if it's inconvenient for them. Don't ever forget that.
