I acted as a child and teen. Soaps, dramas etc. Lots of hospitals. UK TV is fond of hospital dramas. One medieval gown and wig. I liked the wig.
It makes you a lot of enemies, at least as a child. Even if you keep it as much of a secret as possible and never talk about it, which you swiftly learn to do, everyone who knows will loathe you for it. I hated school. Others had it worse. I knew a number of actors who quit school because every time they went back after a shoot the bullying was so bad, and for some, even the teachers got involved. "Drama queen" is not a particularly original insult.
Even relatives get in on the act. They assume you are mega-rich (nope. Some of my paychecks were double figures, some triple. I saved up for Uni and a holiday.) and left me quite stunned with some of their remarks. Hello, aunt and uncle I have never seen in all my 14 years of life. They would butter up my parents for all of five minutes, express regret they hadn't been in touch (for, like, 15 years) and then confess they were 'a bit short' and had 'heard about Little Darling's Recent Success!' and... yuck. It was cringeworthy. Makes you very mistrustful of people.
Er, then you have the dodgy years in late teens, where all your auditions are for late-night soft porn and all the scripts involve at least toplessness. You start walking out, saying 'no thanks' in your politest voice, but then your agent sits you down and says you've gotten a 'reputation' as 'difficult' and 'snobbish' because 'you think you're above these parts'.
My friends, back then, took those parts. For most they really were stepping stones to greater things - lengthier parts, dramas, bigger soap roles. They have the dresses and the extensions and those soap magazines following them round taking pictures, some are intrusive but many are the result of choosing when to tip off the press so they leave you alone at other times. Your fake tan disasters are tabloid fodder, your breakups public knowledge.
I quit. Lots of reasons. The topless requests. The realisation I had more of a face for radio.
I dunno, I don't think it seems all that glamorous. Every move over-analysed? And nowadays with the whole social media thing, even your private life, your home, your kids, that expectation you're public property and have to share everything.