Acting school has a bad reputation. You have probably heard stories of students graduating from a theater college only to become a full-time waiter or cashier.
Yet drama universities, particularly ones with qualified faculty and strong reputations, do set up their students for success. Many well-known actors have credited college programs for helping them start their careers. Even if you have to take out student loans to afford acting classes, the payoff could be worth it in the end. Here are some celebrities who became famous after attending drama school.
Samira Wiley
The Orange Is the New Black Star was rejected by numerous theater schools before being accepted to Julliard. She has praised what the school did for her confidence. Teachers reassured her and her fellow students that they were admitted to the university for a reason. This affirmation surely helped her as she began her Hollywood career.
Laura Linney
Linney is another graduate of the famed Julliard. She maintains that her time at the school prepared her for everything Hollywood threw at her.
Julliard arguably has the best track record when it comes to producing movie, theater and television stars. Besides Wiley and Linney, other famous alumni include Community actress Gillian Jacobs, comedians Robin Williams and Kelsey Grammar, Marvel actor Anthony Mackie, Tony winners Kevin Kline and Patti LuPone, Academy Award winner Viola Davis, and Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain.
Billy Magnussen and Acting School
Like Wiley, the Into the Woods and Game Night star credits drama school for giving him the confidence boost he needed. Magnussen states that his professors at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts invested in him and supported him. He specifically credits one of his professors, Bob Francesconi. Magnussen says that Francesconi, who taught at UNCSA for four decades, both demonstrated important acting techniques and encouraged his students to dream.
Laura Donnelly
Donnelly, a theater star who most recently appeared in the television drama series The Nevers, is a proud graduate of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. The conservatory, which is now called The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, also boasts actors Alan Cumming, Richard Madden and Katie Leung as alumni.
Donnelly says that she uses the technical movement and voice training she learned at Royal Scottish Academy during all of her acting jobs. She thinks her education particularly helps her tell a story on stage.
Hugh Jackman and Acting School
Jackman is another stage star who got his start in an overseas acting school. The Aussie studied drama at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. He actually turned down a role on a soap opera so he could continue his drama education.
Al Pacino
Even a seemingly natural talent such as Pacino benefited from acting classes. He states that drama school helped him practice his craft in front of an audience.
John Lithgow
The Oscar nominee and Hollywood Walk of Fame member is just one of multiple big names who graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Other notable LAMDA alumni include Donald Sutherland and Brian Cox. In fact, graduates of the school have won at least four Oscars, 16 Golden Globes and 12 Tonys.
Alec Baldwin
The Match Game host is one of several stars who benefited from a degree. Baldwin attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. NYU often gives students the inside track to Broadway auditions. So, alumni are known in the industry for their intellect and physical comedy abilities. It is no wonder that a plethora of actors got their start at this school. This includes Jeremy Piven and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman.
Whether you want to perform in front of a camera or on a big stage, you should consider drama school. The above examples demonstrate that studying acting in college can give you the tools you need to succeed. If you are worried about the cost of higher education, student loans can help cover your tuition.
