"There are many exceptions, but New York is a great place to start a career"
About this Quote
New York flatters you with possibility, then charges you rent for believing in it. Stephen Collins’ line lands because it carries that double truth: the city is both launchpad and stress test, and anyone who’s tried to “start” there knows the word is doing a lot of work.
The first clause, “There are many exceptions,” is a quiet disclaimer that reads like industry survival instinct. It preemptively deflates the myth of the one right path, admitting that careers do break elsewhere, and that New York can chew people up. But it also functions as a conversational wink: yes, the rules are messy, but the gravitational pull is real.
Calling New York “a great place to start a career” isn’t just about geography. It’s about density: auditions stacked on top of survival jobs, training, improv teams, agents, casting directors, stage managers, and the relentless social circulation where being seen is half the work. For actors especially, New York historically meant theater credibility and craft-first legitimacy - the idea that you earn your chops in cramped rehearsal rooms before anyone lets you near a camera.
The subtext is pragmatic, almost parental: go where the friction is, because friction produces skill, contacts, and a thicker skin. New York won’t promise you success; it will, however, give you more chances to fail in public, learn fast, and build a network that feels less like networking and more like community. That’s why it still sells itself as a beginning, even when the city itself is increasingly priced like an ending.
The first clause, “There are many exceptions,” is a quiet disclaimer that reads like industry survival instinct. It preemptively deflates the myth of the one right path, admitting that careers do break elsewhere, and that New York can chew people up. But it also functions as a conversational wink: yes, the rules are messy, but the gravitational pull is real.
Calling New York “a great place to start a career” isn’t just about geography. It’s about density: auditions stacked on top of survival jobs, training, improv teams, agents, casting directors, stage managers, and the relentless social circulation where being seen is half the work. For actors especially, New York historically meant theater credibility and craft-first legitimacy - the idea that you earn your chops in cramped rehearsal rooms before anyone lets you near a camera.
The subtext is pragmatic, almost parental: go where the friction is, because friction produces skill, contacts, and a thicker skin. New York won’t promise you success; it will, however, give you more chances to fail in public, learn fast, and build a network that feels less like networking and more like community. That’s why it still sells itself as a beginning, even when the city itself is increasingly priced like an ending.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
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