I often get asked, ‘Is it important to have a degree in acting?’.

My answer is ‘definitely not’. In fact, it can be a hindrance.

Acting is not an academic subject. Sure, you need to analyse a script logically, but you don’t need a Ph.D. in acting to be able to do that. More importantly, you have to be able to take impulses and actions.

In my experience, too much thinking is a killer in creating good acting.

Over-analysing and academic approaches don’t sit well in the professional acting environment. Acting is a practical activity. Acting training requires constant ‘doing’. It requires you to take action…to act.

Often students take the degree route so that at the end of it they can say they have a degree. Why? Well, it’s really an ego thing. It sounds good to say you have a degree but, trust me, it won’t count for anything in the audition room.

Casting directors and agents couldn’t care less if you have a first in acting. What they want is to see is the goods in the audition room. If you have spent years with your head in a book instead of in practical acting courses then it will show.

The current situation in the UK is that many drama schools and acting schools are aligning themselves with universities to ensure student intake and funding from the universities. If it’s an academic course then the government will throw grants at people.

Because of this, I predict that the quality of actors emerging over the coming years will reduce. With more focus being put on academic study, the craft will suffer.

The other reason I hear people give for doing a degree in acting is that it is a safety net. If the acting doesn’t work out then you have a degree to fall back on.

This can be a counter-productive thought process. Having the ‘net’ in place can subconsciously give people a reason to fail. In fact, the ‘net’ unconsciously becomes the plan, because the belief that you can actually make it was never deep enough in the first place. Hence the reason for having a plan B from the outset.

At this point I would like to tell you about the Mongolian army in the 14th century. They were a force to be reckoned with and never lost a battle. The reason? They created conditions which, if they lost, would have devastating effects. When they went to battle they took their wives and children to the battlefield. If they lost the battle, they lost everything. The result was they never lost. They didn’t have a net. It was all or nothing.

Now, I cannot say what is right for you, but what I can tell you is that having a plan B can work against you.

My preference is to build your acting ability to an exceptional level and teach you the business of acting so that you succeed first time round.

When you are looking at this choice - between a degree or practical acting - you have to ask yourself what you really want. If you want to be an actor, then nothing beats acting courses that focus on the practical application.