8 Actors Describe Their Biggest Career Risks

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Sir Ben Kingsley once said, “As an actor, there’s no autonomy unless you’re prepared to risk the possibility of starving.” Performers put their careers on the line with each character they portray, but some of their gutsiest moves are pivotal decisions in who they become.

As an actor, you are undertaking a personal risk as a small business owner (believe it or not, your acting career is a business venture) and combatting the risk of failure for the opportunity of long-term success. And although there is no guarantee of success, your ability to make informed decisions can help you navigate the ocean of the film industry.

Here are eight thespians discussing the greatest risks of their career. Some took monumental risks and leaps of faith to achieve commercial success, while others took the risk of stepping away from the film industry for a time to focus on personal development.

Katey Sagal

Katey Sagal, best known for playing Peg Bundy on Married … with Children, told New York Mag, “There have been a lot of projects I have been involved in that didn’t look like they were going to go, and then they go. ‘Married … With Children‘ was one. Nobody believed in a new network, nobody believed in a raunchy television show.” The Sons of Anarchy star continued, “At that point I just needed a job, so I was happy they liked me. But I never thought it would be successful, it just seemed too out of the box for what was going on at the time. So, I think all of us at that time felt a little bit victorious, a little bit of a chuckle of, ‘See? We showed you.’”

Matthew Morrison

Glee and Hairspray star Matthew Morrison reflected on his biggest risk, responding, “I think just moving to New York City right out of high school. I grew up in Southern California, and sometimes I look back and I’m in awe of my 18-year-old self to have the courage to come out here and try to make it [in theater]. I think that was the riskiest thing I’ve ever done.”

Andie MacDowell

Groundhog Day star Andie MacDowell’s biggest career risk was moving from her home of Gaffney, South Carolina, to the Big Apple to pursue modeling, and eventually acting. “[My major risk was] Probably moving to New York when I was 20. I didn’t know anyone and I moved to New York, and nobody in my family had done anything like that. It was pretty crazy, and it panned out okay.”

Dean Winters

“Becoming an actor. My parents were freaked out,” Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Dean Winters says. “I started acting when I was 28. At that point in your life, you are supposed to know what you are doing. And at 28, I was like, ‘I’m going to become an actor,’ and it took a while to prove to them that I was right. My mom was like, ‘You don’t have insurance!’ And when I finally got my SAG insurance, I think my parents were cool with it. And then they see you on TV and everything is fine.”

Jenna Rubaii

Broadway actress Jenna Rubaii describes her biggest risk as “staying in New York and not taking certain jobs that would take me out of New York. That means giving up job opportunities elsewhere. There’s so many other jobs like Vegas or even sometimes in California, even cruise ship gigs … giving up guaranteed long-term work for the opportunity of staying in New York and waiting, waiting, waiting.”

Bryan Cranston

Bryan Cranston told Financial Post, “The riskiest career decision is to go into this career. You have to be a risk-taker of some degree to be able to say, ‘Alright, I’m throwing it all out there. Whatever happens, happens. I want to be an actor. If that means sleeping on someone’s couch for the rest of my life, then that’s what that is.” After starring in huge hits like Breaking Bad and Malcolm in the Middle, it’s safe to say Cranston’s initial boldness certainly paid off.

Candace Cameron Bure

Candace Cameron Bure became famous playing D.J. Tanner on Full House, a role she reprised as D.J. Tanner-Fuller on Fuller House. She told Forbes, “My biggest risk was stepping away from the entertainment industry at such a young age. Following ‘Full House,’ I got married at 20 and moved to Canada with my husband to support him. I took 10 years off from the entertainment industry to raise my family.”

Sylvester Stallone

In 1975, Sylvester Stallone was a struggling actor whose wife was pregnant and he could barely pay the rent on his Hollywood apartment. Stallone wrote the screenplay for Rocky during this period, and began pitching it around town. He received generous offers from producers, but they required the film’s star to be an established actor instead of Stallone.

Stallone was determined to play the film’s lead, so he rejected the tempting deal. Finally, the production company agreed to allow Stallone to star in the film, but they withdrew the original financial offer. Stallone’s monumental risk paid off as Rocky went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture, propelling the actor’s career and earnings for decades to come.

In the end, smart risks and calculated risks can help take the pressure off, but there is no wrong choice. When deciding your next move, consider your options and determine the size of your appetite for risk before committing to your decision.

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