The Actor’s Life: A Survival Guide

Lots of books talk about being an actor or about finding work as an actor or else chronicle someone’s journey as an actor. But honestly, none of those books have felt as honest, as realistic, and yet as encouraging and optimistic as The Actor’s Life by Jenna Fischer.

First off, this book is hilarious. The pages absolutely flew by as Jenna shared heartfelt insights about both the acting world itself and her personal experiences in it. She is unrelenting in her honesty about the hard times, thoughts about quitting, moments of disillusionment, delusions of self-importance and immediate success, and more. Even when the book is sad — and there are plenty of moments like that — the book is so funny that the sad parts resonate as moments to be accepted, not moments to fear.

But she also provides valuable advice about money, interviews, headshots, and how to conduct yourself on-set, all while remaining very entertaining. She effortlessly threads the needle between memoir, guidebook, and social commentary on the industry.

The Actor’s Life is a book every actor should read. And every non-actor. Just read it.