As an actor, it can be difficult to keep your personal life private while also dealing with the demands of the media and your fans. (You’ve heard enough stories of successful actors having their privacy compromised to know this is true.) As a result, it’s easy to make decisions in the moment that can negatively impact both your acting career and personal relationships.
To avoid these types of decisions, let me offer seven tips on successfully managing your private life and relationship to the media and your fans.
1. Monitor your fame and adjust accordingly
The first step an actor can take is to monitor his or her fame. If you become a household name, get ready for a serious upswing in media exposure and plan accordingly.
2. Develop a plan for managing your private life
This directly follows the first step. As soon as you feel your career rising, decide what you’re comfortable with making public and what needs to stay private. Don’t wait until the last minute to decide that you need your privacy. Plan ahead of time to avoid any future problems. It may not be fair, but that is often the price you pay for fame and recognition.
3. Be consistent
Typically, if a celebrity is consistent in the way they do things and deal with the media, they’re not as exciting to the media and therefore won’t get as much attention. The media much prefer people who cause attention to be paid in their direction.
4. Stay out of the spotlight
Why is it that some actors are always in the spotlight while others seem to stay under the radar? It all comes down to choices. If you want to have a private life that’s separate from your career, make the decisions that will keep you out of the spotlight.
How to Handle Fame 5. Watch your public actions
An actor should be consistent in their behaviors when they’re out in public. The media and fans are eager to jump on anything that raises questions or flags. If you want privacy, don’t give the media something to talk about.
6. Learn from others
There are many people in this industry who have struggled to deal with the pressure of fame, popularity, and money. Some of worked through the pressures and landed in a good, healthy place while others have succumbed. Learn from the past.
7. Remember that fame and popularity don’t last forever
If you’re an actor who gets a lot of attention, remember that your fame won’t last forever. There will always be another, younger, newer actor to fill the spotlight. Ride your wave if you want to, but remember that eventually, it will end, for better or worse.
The bottom line is that the media is only interested in you if they know there’s money to be made off your image and name. Use that to your advantage when it comes to maintaining a private life, and don’t give them anything that could make them money.
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The views expressed in this article are solely that of the individual(s) providing them,
and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Backstage or its staff.
