to think Julian Fellows is failing to join the dots here.

[HelenaDove]

He has said that there must be more funding for working class actors. Which i agree with.

But coming from him it is a bit contradictory when just months ago he voted against tax credits.

Surely he is able fathom that with less income the young people from working class families are not going to be able to even consider drama school as an option. Young people in this position when first going out to work are going to be contributing even more than usual towards the upkeep of the family home....food, bills etc if any more cuts are imposed.

I dont understand why his train of thought isnt connecting the dots.

www.bigissue.com/the-mix/news/6340/julian-fellowes-interview-we-must-fund-working-class-drama-students

I agree with what Rebecca Front says here.....

www.theguardian.com/media/2016/mar/01/tom-hollander-tv-film-stars-posh

I don't see how tax credits affect going to drama school - working class students can have the same student loans if they want to study drama at uni as for any other subject.

I think the problem comes after they've graduated - actors would be far less likely to find steady employment in their field than someone who's studied something like physics. I think this is why so many actors are better off - they come from families that can afford to support them while they live in London and go to auditions, whereas all the struggling actors that I know have at least three different low-salary, part time jobs and still struggle hugely, which is just about viable for a few years, but not long-term.

As much as I agree that we should have a mix of actors that fully reflect the make-up of the country rather than it being heavily populated by upper class white people, I don't really know what the answer is, tbh. As Julie Waters said in the article linked above she could only afford to act because she got a full grant - but it's not financially feasible or fair to offer anyone who feels like it a grant for studying drama and then three years of no questions asked JSA to give them a chance to practice their art, but students of all other subjects have to pay full fees and get a full-time job in any field straight after graduating.