Tomorrow Is Today; It's Now.

by Mario A. Campanaro

Tomorrow Is Today; It's Now.

by Mario A. Campanaro

In over two and a half decades of teaching acting to artists from all over the world—at every level of their careers—I’ve heard countless actors say, “Yes, I want to do this,” often with passion in their voices. But I never take anyone at their word—this is acting, after all. It’s not about the words. It’s about the action. I take action as truth. I look for proof in the pursuit.

I always ask, “How much do you really want this?” Because it’s one thing to say you want it, and another entirely to make excuses about why you can’t follow through—especially when it comes to studying and training to be the best you can be at the very thing you “say” you want to do. And yet, I’ve seen actors with every obstacle in their path—money, time, personal hardships, this and that—and still, they find a way. Why? Because they really want it. So they find a way. They don’t use their obstacles as a reason they can’t. They use them as fuel to find a way they can.

What holds most people back? Excuses. The excuses they keep making. The excuses they keep telling themselves. The excuses they give to others. And ultimately, the accumulation of those excuses—that maybe, deep down, they never really wanted it enough.

Most people wait. But wait for what, exactly? If we are what we do, then wouldn’t that technically make someone a “waiter”—not an actor? And no, I don’t mean the noble, hardworking (and often exhausting) job of serving tables to support your dream. I mean the kind of “waiting” that lives in a constant state of hesitation. A professional “waiter.” Not a professional “doer.”

Waiting for a sign? Waiting for more clarity? Waiting for someone else to say “yes”? Let me tell you: their yes means nothing. This is your life. Your yes is the only one that turns the switch on.

Waiting for more money? “I don’t have the finances to…” — Listen, I get it. I’ve been in this business since I was eight. I know the ups and downs. I say this with empathy—truly. But I also see those same people spending $6 on a black coffee at a café—money that could go toward their dream, not just their craving. Or $12 on a vodka soda. $9 on a Stella Artois. Where is that money really going? What’s it building—your future, or your habits? I have no right to tell anyone how to spend their money. No one does. But the point is—if this is truly important to you, your focus will reflect that.

Are you too busy at your “safety job”—pouring hours into making your boss’s dream come true—while you just try to get by? When you’re working that job, you’re investing your energy into someone else’s vision. It may be safe for your finances—and for that, be grateful. But it can also be dangerous for your dreams if it starts to trump them. At that point, it’s no longer your safety job—it’s your trap.

Let me ask you: How many hours are you putting into their business—and how many are you putting into your own? Are you dedicating even half as much effort to your dream—your acting—as you are to theirs? Let that sink in. Whose dream are you really building? And what, exactly, are you waiting for?

Waiting for that job to magically give you time off? Waiting for life to “slow down”? Waiting for a manager or agent—even though you’re not ready to deliver yet? Waiting for auditions to appear—or disappear? You better be ready. Because when opportunity knocks, it doesn’t wait.

Still waiting for more time? For life to get a little easier?

Let me remind you of this: As Lao Tzu said, “Time is created. To say ‘I don’t have time’ is to say ‘I don’t want to.’”

And as Bill Nighy wisely put it, “Everyone wants to put off the moment they have to act.”

Well, guess what? That moment you keep imagining may never come—at least not in the way you expect. Life doesn’t slow down. You have to learn how to navigate and move through it—not wait for it to pause.

Waiting for an audition to validate your desire to act? That’s backwards. An audition is just a means to a part. And if you do get the part—are you truly ready? Do you have the process? The craft? The technique to deliver?

Overwhelmed by auditions? Good. That means you’re in motion. But don’t confuse auditioning with acting. Auditioning is a skill. It is not the craft. It doesn’t fully engage deep listening, environment work, emotional intimacy, or truthful connection with a partner. It’s technical, and it matters—but it’s not a replacement for the real work.

Whether you’re booking or not, you should be working on your craft. Always. Sharpen your tools. Deepen your instrument. Push yourself to grow.

Recently, Vincent D’Onofrio said in a SAG-AFTRA Foundation interview: “If you’re an actor… I hope you’re studying. I hope you’re not lazy. And I hope you’re reaching every time to do the best work you can.”

I hear actors hesitating all the time. I hear every excuse in the book. And I always ask them: “When? When is the right time? What are you really waiting for?”

If you truly want this—find a way. Have the honest conversation with yourself: “Do I really want this? And if I do, how far am I willing to go to nurture my innate talent—so I can consistently do work I’m proud of—instead of depending on hope or luck?”

More and more these days, I see actors afraid to walk into class—but willing to walk into an audition. Here’s the truth: You can fail in class. You can’t afford to fail in the room. Your reputation follows you like a spotlight or a shadow.

Class isn’t there to call you out as a beginner—it’s there so you’re never a beginner again. It’s a safe space. A training ground. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know, of what you haven’t discovered yet, or of the areas in you that still need growth. Get paid in growth. Why would any serious actor not want to grow? Not want to get better? Class is where you strengthen your instrument, where you challenge yourself to evolve—not just as an artist, but as a human being. It builds community. It builds support. It’s where your craft is cultivated in an art form that is never finite, never complete, and always unfolding. It’s where you learn how to deliver—again and again—with greater depth, truth, authenticity, and freedom.

Excuses like “I can’t because…” are self-imposed cages. They block the path to fulfillment. But willful persistence—that is the key. It unlocks the cage. It dismantles limitation. And it transforms your dream from a distant idea into an active, lived reality.

If you want to do this—do it. Train. Study. Exercise. Grow. Expand. Give yourself the gift of self-discipline, commitment, and investment in your dream. Because no one is going to want this for you more than you. And no one is going to do it for you. You’re it. And if you don’t do it—someone else already is.

Remember this: Every action is a pebble dropped into the quantum field of creation. And you get back what you put into that field.

So...how do you live your life versus how do you want to live your life? That’s an honest question. I want you to take a moment and really ponder it introspectively.

There are things we must do to survive in this world. First and foremost, we must take care of our health—without it, we have nothing. Then comes the obvious: we work to earn money, to keep a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, clean water to drink, and the ever-difficult pursuit of health insurance. All while maintaining our humanity—through love: family, partners, friends, and even our stranger neighbors. All while nurturing a clean, healthy planet and striving for peace among all humanity.

But within all that, have you sacrificed your passion—your art—just to live a comfortable life? Did you let go of the dream to make money? Do you go to sleep at night wondering "What if?" or "I wish I had...?" Do you feel like there’s something missing? Almost as if a piece of your heart remains unused. Or that there’s a hole—a quiet void within you—that nothing else seems to fill?

Despite all the responsibilities that come with being human, the artist must still find the time, energy, and courage to stoke the fire of their passion—to pursue what their soul was born to express.

It’s easy to say, "I can’t because...". It’s easy to give up because it’s hard—because there’s sweat, rejection, disappointment.

But when your passion outweighs your obstacles, you know you’re on the right path.

Listen—your next breath is not guaranteed. Waiting until later is an illusion, because later doesn’t exist. There is only now.

As Sheryl Lee Ralph recently said in her interview on The View, "Tomorrow is today."

The now is all you have. And no one is coming to do it for you. No magician. No one to make it happen. No one to fix what you feel is missing.

If you’ve ever wondered what it means to live a 'proper' life versus a true one, reflect on these lines from The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy:

"What do you want?" the voice said.

"What do I want? To live—to live."

"To live? How?" asked the voice.

"Why, to live as I lived before—well, pleasantly."

"As you lived before—well, pleasantly?" the voice said.

Then Ivan thought...

"Maybe I did not live as I ought to have lived," it suddenly occurred to him.

"But how could that be, when I did everything properly?"

It occurred to him that what had seemed impossible before—that he had not lived as he ought—might be true.

"But if that’s true," he said to himself, "if I’m leaving life with the awareness that I’ve lost it, that it’s impossible to fix it—what then?"

And suddenly something struck him in the chest and side, and he fell through the black hole. He drew in a breath, stopped in the middle of it, stretched out, and died.

Like Ivan Ilyich, too many realize too late that a 'proper' life is not the same as a living one. We confuse comfort with purpose. Routine with meaning. Approval with truth.

But for the actor-artist—the living—it doesn’t have to be this way. We can awaken now, do all that we must to survive in this world, and still pursue our passion. It is the inevitable path of the artist—not an exception, but the norm along this journey—and it requires compartmentalizing, multitasking, and conserving our energy for what truly matters to us.

But you have to start now by taking inspired action.

When fear kicks in, recognize it for what it is—a collection of old thought patterns trying to hold you hostage. Look that fear in the eye and claim authority over it. Declare that you are more powerful than it.

If you want this, then do it. I'll say it again so you can really hear it:

"Take inspired action now. Commit now. Invest now. Start today. Start here. Start now."

Excuses are just cinder blocks chaining you to stagnation. Give yourself the gift of pursuing your passion.

Don’t let go of your love for your art in exchange for well-crafted excuses. Take control of your life. Honor your talent. Use the gifts you’ve been given. Stop waiting for inspiration to always find you. Be the spark that ignites it within yourself. Create from within. Be your own inspiration.

You owe it to yourself.

Remember—tomorrow is not promised.

Tomorrow is today.