Tale Of Two Actresses

For the sake of privacy I will call them A and B.
I've known A for years now. She was a sweet person full of kind eyes who got the acting bug. We remained friends through the years. She became family. Though we were always at an arms distance. Not sure why other than it was mutual. We spent holidays together and birthdays. Two lonely people...I guess. She surrounded herself with the party crowd, despite the fact that she didn't drink or do drugs. Those days are behind us and what is left is a shell of who I once knew. A woman who rambles incessantly unaware of absorbing any give or take. She isn't just willful, she lives there.
See, if people ever want to know where nutty people who talk to themselves come from, you could ask her. And what a shame.

B is an actress that I have very little history. Other than she is really intelligent. How do I know? She absorbs what you tell her and rolls with it.

Dumb actors never allow you this riff. Most actors believe they are the most interesting thing in the room. The minute you shut people down...they will shut you down. Which is what A does. A has no clue she is all in her own world. But it's dawning on her that the world isn't catering to her. Or needs to get on her time. I never had the balls to come out and really lay it into her that no one will follow her schedule. She isn't that important. No one is. It's that person who shows up late to make an impression. The impression is...no one wants you around.

But there is a caveat...if you are a star, that's when people make these allowances. Though now...named actors even should eat crow. You should be grateful for any opportunity.

I suggested to B to never quit. She had batted the idea of just...moving on. She's talented but been given shitty parts. She loves acting and seems she gets along on every set. A is high maintenance. Combative and stubborn. Defensive and...well...annoying. it must be an early start that turned to entitlement. It's tragic.

I think if you are in this town long enough and want to be an actress, you do become one of these two.

I sincerely hope you find a safe spot for your career and thrive even if you don't find stardom. This cruel business will gut you when you least suspect.