1. Don’t be afraid to start

Acting is one of the most wonderful vocations that you can choose to pursue. Once you start to act, you rarely lose the taste for it, and yet many people find that ‘real life’ has taken over and they feel the time to pursue their dreams has passed them by. But remember – it is never too late to start. “Do you know how old I’ll be by the time I’ve finished learning to act?” Yes, the same age you’ll be if you don’t learn.

2. Don’t give up the day job

If you’re starting out as an actor later in life you probably have one big advantage over younger people just leaving drama school – a job that pays money. Acting is a wonderful vocation, but a terrible way to pay the bills. Young actors nowadays are advised to have a second career and to consider what other things they can do when they are ‘resting’ between acting jobs. If you already have a job, this will take the pressure off financially while you train. And it can help your art, too – where else will you meet a variety of people living under the pressures of real life?

3. Make your own work

Acting is a tough market, and it can feel even tougher when you are up against people the same age as you but with years more experience. In order to give yourself the best chance and to keep morale up through the tough times, it is important to be proactive. The best thing you can do is to make your own work, whether that’s getting together some actors to mount a fringe show, shooting a short film or sharing your stories in a one-person show. “Work breeds work” – by putting together your own production you will meet contacts, friends and co-creators and maintain that chipper attitude that is so attractive to casting directors.

Zoe Cunningham, author of An Actor’s Life For Me? (Urbane Publications), was talking to John Byrne