The truth is there is not one answer so let’s explore the question in the hopes of answering as authentically as possible. Actors like Bradley Cooper, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep, Daniel Day Lewis, Kate Winslet all spent years studying acting while actors like Jodi Foster, Christian Bale, Tom Cruise, Anya Taylor-Joy and Jennifer Lawrence never took a class. So, on the surface it’s kind of a wash. Maybe it doesn’t make a difference, but if we look a little deeper, we might see a different picture. While Jodi Foster may not have had formal training as a child actor she got to work with and be influenced by the likes of Helen Hayes, Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, Harvey Keitel and many others. Christian Bale grew up working with such artists as Steven Spielberg, John Malkovich, Kenneth Branagh, and Brian Blessed. Early on in Tom Cruise’s career before anyone knew who he was he had the opportunity to work with such notables as Franco Zeffirelli, George C. Scott, Sean Penn, and Francis Ford Coppola. Early in her career Jennifer Lawrence was fortunate to learn from Charlize Theron, Jodi Foster, and Mel Gibson. The point is a person doesn’t need an acting class if you can learn from professionals with more experience, expertise and a willingness to share it. Acting is a communal art form and to become a truly great actor it takes a community. What a good acting class provides (ideally) is ACCESS and OPPORTUNITY. Access to a teacher who is a working professional you can learn from and the opportunity to make mistakes in an environment where there isn’t a job on the line. A good class gives you access to like-minded artists to create with and a community to risk with. A good class gives you the opportunity to work on scenes from great plays and films and the opportunity to grow and flourish. Unfortunately, finding a class like that can be almost as challenging as booking the next Scorsese film.

I’m an acting teacher, so obviously I have seen what a great class can do for an individual and a community of actors, but I would be disingenuous if I said acting class is the only way to develop the tools you need. An excellent theatre company can develop skills that will last a lifetime and serve you on the screen as well as the stage. Unfortunately, a bad theatre company can do more harm than good. Likewise, a good acting class is a tremendous place to discover yourself as an artist, but a bad teacher can destroy your ability and love of the work. Here is what I would recommend you look for in a teacher and a class. You want a teacher who has made a living in the professional world, I teacher who has chosen to teach, not who is doing it because they couldn’t get a job anywhere else. A teacher who is honest with you and wants you to succeed. The class itself should be a community that is working artistically and professionally. You want a community that believes that success is not only possible but is proving the viability of a life in art every week you attend. Above all attend a class where you have a voice. A class where debate is possible. Artists should always question authority and seek the truth. If a teacher thinks they are above being questioned then they are too arrogant to be in touch with the world, so what do they have to teach. Whether you take a class, join a theater company or book a Martin Scorsese film, to be a great actor is a practice like yoga, there is no perfection and no end to the journey. Dig in, there is no pleasure greater than putting everything you have into an art and discover where it takes you.