To find it sad that privately educated actors dominate telly/film?

[chulast]

6% of the population go to private school yet the majority of successful British screen actors have been privately educated.

I just find it quite bleak really and makes it feel like it's nigh on impossible to make it in that industry without a leg up and connections.

I agree @chulast and it annoys me too. It's like you can't get into the industry (acting/TV/film) OR the music industry these days unless you come from a privileged background, or you know someone/are related to someone in the industry already. I get sick of seeing someone in a film or on TV (and in the music charts sometimes) and finding they are related to someone famous (or come from great privilege.)

I'm not saying someone who is related to someone famous, or who is from a wealthy background/private school shouldn't have a chance at 'showbiz' but it just annoys me that people from modest/humble backgrounds who know no-one famous, can't get that back door into the industry. It's almost impossible now! Even Sabrina Carpenter (who I like a lot) is related to someone famous! (Nancy Cartwright who does Simpsons voices, mainly Bart!)

The days of working class actors and singers and musicians making it purely on talent and hard work alone seem to be in the past. I really hate it too, when someone posh and privately educated plays someone working class!

@CurlewKate The independent schools offer sport, music, drama and art scholarships. The talented dc apply. They have rugby coaches, tennis coaches, cricket coaches (gone from most state schools) and all sorts of other specialists are on hand to teach and advise the most talented. Often sports dc go into the 6th form and haven’t spent all their time at the school. State schools are rarely in a position to coach professional sports people. Or coach actors! As a result independent schools scoop them up and parents want this. It’s a lot easier than all the club sport they would need if not at school. Ditto acting.

Ive thought this for years, its horrendously closed shop.

DH went to an expensive school & anyone interested in drama had parents who shelled out for even more expensive places like Hurtwood house. Its much much harder to get into the industry if you come from a more modest/ordinary background. Money gets you connections & that is what gets your foot in the door.

But it isn't for 'no reason' re Jamie Laing... I stumbled on his Good Company podcast recently and it's fab. He's actually a damn good interviewer mainly because he seems genuinely interested in whoever he's talking to. He can't help being a nice guy and, in the TV/entertainment world, nice guys get work.

I hear you op. Rich people dominate every aspect of everyday life, doctors, media, the government. Glad at the ones speaking out.

Damn good interviewer… who is taking jobs from people who actually studied journalism, he was a on a show about rich Toffs. How much more entitled can you get?

But he isn't though (I work in a similar field)... it's his own podcast that he created via an online platform, like lots of people do nowadays.
Anybody else is perfectly entitled to launch one of their own. Lots try... but just aren't as good. All there is to it, really.

But it all started because he was on a show about rich people because he was rich. That’s the origin. If rich people want to lie to themselves that they didn’t get jobs because of connections or who daddy knows that’s on them. Why do you think the majority of people in media are white and rich?

Pure nepotism. The one’s that disagree are nepo babies or rich. We all see it.

@chulast An interesting take on this is that working class actors come into their own when they have something to say. Something that must be said. Like Boys From the Black Stuff. Commentary on society finds a way out. Whilst we are besotted with period drama and don’t have major working class programmes, we get actors who can act as opposed to those who have something to say.

It’s the same root issue over in the U.S. though - as myself and many have pointed out it’s not about what school you went to. It’s more about your wealth.

I Mentioned upthread I lived with a very privileged state school educated girl whose parents were able to support her while she attended several auditions all through her 20s in an attempt to break into the industry.

Hollywood is awash with trust fund kids and nepo babies. It matters not if they went to private or state school. The basic principle is the same. Wealth and /or connections gets them ahead.

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/nepo-babies-hollywood-famous-parents-b2230537.html

I meant to say attending particular elite private school can help of course in terms of the opportunities they offer and the connections they may yield. but I just mean it’s not solely about being private or state educated.

Yes, it's unfortunate, and the thing is, it hasn't always been like that.It's always been an insecure profession, but it used to be there were a lot more wc people in the arts generally.

Quite a few reasons for that I think. Increased cost of living being one. Fewer places for kids without money to get training, or cheap places to hang out and jam.

Having to pay for higher education, not only the direct cost but the time not earning. For people from a wc background apprenticeships are often much preferable.

Programs for the disadvantaged seem to revolve around identity politics groups instead of income. Often though, these programs end up being full of people with the relevant characteristics who are actually pretty well off.

I will also say though, that it seems to me now that kids are much more inclined to spend their free time online rather than taking up hobbies and interests that take dedication to perfect. I am sure that's a factor in the fairly shit music industry there days, and I would not be surprise if it is also true with actors. I suspect many don't have the focus to watch plays.

I think even more than the loss of wc actors, wc writers are a problem. A lot of the crap television writing now, I suspect, is coming from people with a very samey background.

Journalism is an interesting topic though.

In the past it wasn't something that you "studied". My grandfather was very typical in the trade, no university degree, very working class, a military career with a lot of travel, great technical background, extremely literate and a poet.

Journalism was not dominated by university educated people at all, and a large proportion of journalists were wc, it was considered a trade. People learned on the job for the most part, in local papers, the best were picked up by bigger regional and national papers and magazines.

It made for a a lot more diversity of opinion in the media.

Doctors 😂 Medicine hasn’t been a popular choice for upper middle class children for decades. I know someone who invigilates exams at a top university - Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy etc. are the most diverse courses. The ‘poshest’ degrees? History, Classics, English.

How is valorising trades by pointing out they are in demand, steady and lucrative ‘demonising the working class’?

Such a weird thing to say. Very odd if you don't realise people generally Google actors in things they've seen. Nothing to do with "obsession" at all, what a strange comment to make.

Well we’re not talking about the 1930s or whenever he was alive. There’s such a thing as media law and if you don’t know even the basics of that when you’re covering stories you’re making yourself very vulnerable to be sued or even prosecuted. Any good journalist nowadays has at least a NCTJ in journalism, I know many companies won’t touch anyone that doesn’t have one, too much of a liability. Considering this was your grandad’s trade and not yours really shows you have no idea what it’s currently like in journalism. My grandad was a doctor in the navy… doesn’t mean I know what it’s like today to be a doctor in the forces 🤣

”Know someone” of course you do sweetie thanks for your insightful input on this thread, I’m sure if of course what you said is true 🤣 because you “know someone”. How would they know the students taking the exams are posh or working class? You’re not allowed to speak in the exam hall for a start. So they just guessing on how people are dressed I take it? Very accurate. Exam invigilators won’t have access to students personal details due to privacy laws so again I’m wondering how they know this?

I agree, OP. It seems to have got worse in the last 20 years.

Victoria wood said this. Her and Julie name I have forgotten are genuinely from average non show business families her view was they wouldn’t make it now.

Doctors aren’t particularly posh or privileged though? Also why would you scoff that someone knows an exam invigilator?!

It's not just the arts.

It's in many industries if you look close enough. And probably a large factor in the decline of western civilisation.

What annoys me are the number of privileged actors that carefully craft a 'hard' upbringing narrative to increase their authenticity when being interviewed. The background of privileged actors is glossed over in the press and as OP states you need to do a little digging just to see how many actors are from privileged backgrounds and of course nepotism abounds.