Why aren't there many actors that also write?

Personally, I think writing is a completely different skill than acting. I'm a good writer, but I'm not a very good actor. I like words; I hate being in front of a crowd.

There are some actors who are pretty good screenwriters (Matt Damon & Ben Affleck, for example with Good Will Hunting), but for the most part Actors Act and Screenwriters Write.

William Shatner wrote a lot of Star Trek books. I haven't read any of them so I couldn't tell you if they're any good, but hypothetically I think it would make sense for an actor, such as the Shat, to write books based off a franchise he stars in. Obviously, he'd understand it pretty well.

But straight-up fiction from actors? I can't think of any instances right now.

Wavy_Blue said:

But straight-up fiction from actors? I can't think of any instances right now.

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Steve Martin and Ethan Hawke have both published a handful of novels. But I'm uncertain if the OP is talking about novels or screenwriting.

Wavy_Blue said:

William Shatner wrote a lot of Star Trek books. I haven't read any of them so I couldn't tell you if they're any good, but hypothetically I think it would make sense for an actor, such as the Shat, to write books based off a franchise he stars in. .

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Well, no, actually, he didn't. He makes no bones about the Trek novels, or his Tek War novels being written by a professional and well-known SF writer.

I'm not going to out the ghost writer since I don't know how generally known it is.

Wil Wheaton writes non-fic and is a very good technical writer. Patrick Stewart has written some top-notch scholarly esss aays in academic publications. So has Ian McKellan.

There are AW members who published fiction and are professional actors.

Zach Braff does a nice job at both. Garden State was amazing.

It really is amazing how few actors have writing careers as well.

Unless you count John Cleese, Jeff Daniels, Julian Fellowes, Stephen Fry, John Huston, Orlando Jones, Groucho Marx, Roman Polanski, Quentin Tarantino, Peter Ustinov...

ETA: Orson Welles. Writer / director of the greatest film ever made, and - somehow - I forgot to name him as well.

Because writing, like acting, is hard work. But writing, unlike acting, earns you peanuts.

If everyone could be RAWO....

One American actor from seventies (forgot his name, he starred in "Cardinal", I think) wrote some ok horror/mystery stuff...

And of course, there is William Shatner. ;?

Strange Days said:

One American actor from seventies (forgot his name, he starred in "Cardinal", I think) wrote some ok horror/mystery stuff...

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Thomas Tryon.

His stories were much better than OK.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Tryon

I am. Even though I'm not famous I'm still a professional actor who writes. So ta-da! Yay . . . me? (also, so is Maestro)

Carrie Fisher has had a number of best-selling books. I really wouldn't expect proportionally more actors to be decent writers than doctors or lawyers or shoemakers, and famous actors are probably just not motivated to spend their time writing.

I think the reason that more actors aren't writers has more to do with time than with talent--there are only so many hours in the day, and only so many days in a year.

Still, as has been pointed out above, there are many who do manage (somehow) to do both, to the benefit of all.

A lot more actors write or co-write screenplays for films or television shows than we're aware of, I think.

Hugh Laurie's written at least one novel.

I think the hypothesis put forth in the title of this thread is patently false.

First of all, the reason why most actors aren't (insert *any* other job here) is because they're actors, and believe or not, acting isn't just partying in hollywood and scoring hookers at discount rates.

Most actors can expect to be on film site for 3-4 months, working 12 hour days, and then spend another month or more on the road, promoting the movie. Do two of those a year, or any bigger film with a massive production schedule, and you've just committed most of your waking hours to your craft.

Despite this, many actors *do* write, and get published, or sell their screenplays, in a much higher percentage than the general population, too, I'd warrant.

dclary said:

I think the hypothesis put forth in the title of this thread is patently false.

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Agreed. It's a bogus premise.

Sam Shepherd is another actor/writer

Why don't more novelists play electric guitar?

I will answer your question (the title question of thise thread) by asking my own:

Why aren't there many writers who draw their own illustrations?

I think most writers would LOVE to be able to draw well enough to illustrate their own novels, or do the graphics for their own comic books, or story board their own movie scripts.

But if ya' ain't got it, ya' ain't got it.

As a screenwriter, I have had limited contact with what are called "vanity production companies." Those are Hollywood prodcos owned by a big name actor, and the all-day, all-night job of the creative executives who work at "vanity prodcos" is to find scripts best suited for the actor who owns the joint. So the actor in question is shelling out literally millions of dollars a year --from his/her own pocket-- in salary and overhead in the desperate quest to find new scripts geared specifically for him/her. Vanity companies are pretty common. Off the top of my head, the following actors all have one:

George Clooney -- Section 8 Films
Sandra Bullock
Catherine Zeta Jones
Jim Carrey -- JC23
and (I submitted a script to the following company, and even though they passed, I got excellent feedback on why they passed)
Eriq LaSalle -- Humble Journey Films

Separate actors who sell books because they're celebrities from those who sell books because they're writers. Then consider the question again. The former can sell books based upon their celebrity, the latter upon ability.

Acting, like writing, is a skill. Nothing is mutually exclusive.

"As a comedian I always get in these situations where I'm auditioning for movies or sitcoms. As a comedian, they want you do other things besides comedy. 'OK, you're a comedian, can you write? Write us a script. Act. Act in this sitcom.' They want you do shit that's related to comedy, but it's not comedy, it's not fair. It's as though I was a cook, I worked my ass off to become a really good cook, and they say 'OK, you're a good cook. But can you farm?'" --Mitch Hedberg