"Have no illusions: being an actor is hard. The pay is poor, the hours are anti-social, the competition is fierce, and the work can be painful and degrading. That is, of course, if you can find work: the famous statistic is that 75% of actors are out of work at any given time. If none of this has put you off, then you will want to start thinking about how you're going to break into the industry.

You can enter the profession by any number of ways. It's not unheard of for a complete unknown to be spotted in the street by a casting director and launched into a film-acting career, but don't wait around for this to happen to you, because it won't. The best route into the industry is through a full-time course at an accredited drama school. Acting is a trade, and as with any trade, a solid training is the safest way to ensure you have the ability to do the job you're paid to do. A list of accredited drama schools can be found on the Conference of Drama Schools website.

For many people (myself included) a full-time daytime course is not a viable option. Perhaps you have already trained in a different field and can't afford another student loan, or maybe you have family commitments. Fortunately, there are a number of alternative types of training available. Several drama schools have been set up to provide a solid education in acting for people who can't afford to give up their day job. I train at the Academy Drama School, which is centred on a two-year full-time evening course. I work a regular 37-hour week and go to school for an additional 25 hours a week, in the evenings and weekends. Needless to say, this is extremely hard work and doesn't leave much room for a social life. However, in that respect, it's a pretty good preparation for the lifestyle of an actor.

If you don't feel ready for that level of commitment, there are thousands of part-time courses, workshops and masterclasses happening on any given week. You can try your hand, see if you enjoy it, and meet other actors at the same time. Remember, some very big names in film and theatre never went to drama school at all, notably Ian McKellen and Ben Kingsley. If you can turn up at an audition and knock the director's socks off, they won't care whether you trained at RADA or at the local youth club. The most important quality you can have is determination. And if you can put up with the poor pay and the anti-social hours, then the rewards can be tremendous."