What does it take to become an actor?

Director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth, The Four Feathers, Elizabeth: The Golden Age) is often asked that question...

Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age.

He has an interesting answer in his blog:

"You must want to be beyond the needs of being accepted as being glamorous and beautiful. Looking for acceptance from other people is to put yourself at the doorstep of unhappiness. Acting is not an indulgence. Do not do it unless the passion is for the art of acting,  even if that is expressed through stage, and  no matter how small the exposure is – even street theatre" 

"The passion to express stories through the process of acting should be paramount rather than aspiring to live and emulate the lives of the people photographed in the Bombay Times. Do not be led by falsehood. I am presenting to you the answer to the question “what does it take to become an actor” – not what does it take to become a star.  For that there are enough people teaching acting in 3 months."

"Acting takes incredible discipline. Your body is the instrument through which you express yourself, like a violin is the violinist’s instrument. It takes years of discipline to create mastery over your body and voice. It takes years of introspection and hard work to learn how to use the inherent emotions in you, to be able transfer them seamlessly to your mind and emotion and from there seamlessly to your body and voice. 

The discipline and ‘riyaz’ of an actor is no less than that of a classical dancer. Moments of absolute truth are the most satisfying moments in any art, and the only way you know them, or recognize them, are because you feel closer to something infinite, some power beyond yourself that seems to be in control of your emotions, you body, your heart, your mind. Those are the moments to aspire to and just a few in your lifetime will make you a true artist."

"You  asked me a a question about the art of acting I assume and not the commerce. The second I know nothing about and do not care to. You go to the Gym, get great pictures taken, discover your best angles, and go to parties to network. Get a six pack or a great body and go to photographers that know how to exploit those assets and then later photo shop them into perfection. Being attractive on the outside may be important, but the ‘art’ of acting is to be attractive on the ‘inside’."  

I will repeat his last line,  "The art of acting is to be attractive in the inside."

Another director, Charles Marowitz, said something like that but in a more pragmatic way, "There is no such this as boring acting, just boring actors."

 Lastly, Mr. Kapur's answer reminds me of Stanislavski's letter to a young actor:

"An actor is a teacher of beauty and truth. For this an actor must rise above the mob by virtue of his talent or cultivation or other capacities.  An actor must be above all a cultured person, be able to pull himself up to the level of the geniuses of literature."