Hey Bez Starving doesn't refer to actual food

This thread reminded me of a letter I amswered for the Working Actor column a while back:

DEAR WORKING ACTOR:
We read on casting websites that we have to be in the union to even submit for auditions. So how do all these singers with no acting credits or membership in any of the unions get cast in movies?
Jennifer Hudson was amazing in Dreamgirls and deserved the awards she has won. But I would like to know how she can be cast for a union role without being in the union. Chris Brown is another one—cast on a sitcom and in a movie in the same year? He’s 16, maybe 17 years old, been in the entertainment industry for less than three years, and already has movie and TV credits.
What about the starving artist who’s been doing this for 16 or 17 years? How about the young student who still has to go to classes to get résumé credits? How is that fair? The struggling artist goes to auditions week in and week out, and someone with no experience not only gets to audition but ends up getting the role. Good for them, but this seems unfair.
—True
Sacramento, Calif.

DEAR TRUE:
I’m sorry you’re feeling frustrated, but you’ve made a huge mistake in expecting show business to be fair in any way. Such naiveté sets you up for a lifetime’s worth of bitterness and disappointment, because these are the facts: There are too many actors, the best one doesn’t always get the job, and no one owes any actor the opportunity to work. Roles aren’t distributed based on how long you’ve been in the business or whether you’re in the union, and they’re not distributed evenly. There’s no point system, no merit badges, and no show business court where overlooked thespians can sue producers for unfairly hiring someone less talented or less experienced. Directors get to cast whomever they feel is right for the role, regardless of whether the actor has paid his or her dues. Yeah, it’s unfair—always has been. I certainly offer my sympathies if no one communicated this to you before you entered our profession, but it’s time someone let you in on the reality.

Consider whether expecting fairness is in your best interest. If you went to work in a coal mine, you wouldn’t be justified in complaining about getting your coveralls dirty. If you took a job at a sports arena, it would be silly to object to the noise. So here we are in show business, a profession that comes with its own set of givens: This particular line of work isn’t fair or logical or consistent, and that’s all part of the package. Does it make sense to expect or demand otherwise?

When we sign on for this actor’s life, we sign on for all of it. We sign on for sometimes getting roles we don’t deserve and losing ones we seem perfect for; for fighting to be noticed among the other worthy hopefuls; for rejection, as well as, one hopes, acceptance; for one minute being shown adoration and the next being shown the door. And no one, regardless of talent or dues paid, can expect any guarantee of success.

As for Hudson and Brown, it turns out they’re both SAG members (You don’t know unless you check.) And as for how they got noticed despite thin acting résumés: Brown’s popularity as an R&B artist, and his masterful footwork, led to his role in the 2006 dance film, Stomp the Yard. Hudson’s story is, by now, well-known: Her appearance on American Idol provided national exposure, and Dreamgirls’ producers took a chance. Clearly, it was the right choice, as Hudson has won about 25 awards for the role, including the Oscar. But whether it was luck, talent, accident, fate, connections, campaigning, or a televised singing competition, fairness was never part of the equation. Maybe next time it’ll be your turn, and someone else will be sitting at home saying, to quote Effie, Hudson’s character in Dreamgirls, “What about me?”