"If you want to act, you have to devote yourself to it. Send out letters and photos every day, work all the hours under the sun, whatever it takes. If you're not determined, you won't get anywhere"
About this Quote
“Send out letters and photos every day” reads slightly old-school in a world of self-tapes and casting platforms, which is part of the point. Whether it’s envelopes or uploads, the job is persistence in public. You keep circulating yourself as a product until the right gate opens, or until you can’t bear the hallway anymore. “Work all the hours under the sun” is hyperbole that signals the industry’s appetite for overextension: acting isn’t just performance, it’s networking, training, survival jobs, commute time, auditions that lead nowhere.
The quote also quietly shifts responsibility onto the individual. Determination becomes a moral filter: if you fail, you didn’t want it badly enough. That’s useful as personal fuel, but it also masks structural realities - nepotism, geography, money, the algorithmic churn of casting, the simple luck of being right for a role. Parker’s line lands because it’s both true and unfair: it names the hustle that’s required while implying the hustle is the whole story.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Parker, Christopher. (2026, January 16). If you want to act, you have to devote yourself to it. Send out letters and photos every day, work all the hours under the sun, whatever it takes. If you're not determined, you won't get anywhere. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-act-you-have-to-devote-yourself-to-135010/
Chicago Style
Parker, Christopher. "If you want to act, you have to devote yourself to it. Send out letters and photos every day, work all the hours under the sun, whatever it takes. If you're not determined, you won't get anywhere." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-act-you-have-to-devote-yourself-to-135010/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"If you want to act, you have to devote yourself to it. Send out letters and photos every day, work all the hours under the sun, whatever it takes. If you're not determined, you won't get anywhere." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/if-you-want-to-act-you-have-to-devote-yourself-to-135010/. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
