One Job Away
I’ve never chased a dangling carrot harder than the idea that as a non-celebrity actor I could be just one job away from fame, glamor, the A-list, Easy Street At Last. The idea itself is not wrong, for many celebrities there is one job they can point to when “everything changed.” But for most of us, career trajectories are not a linear path. The steady climb we watch our hard-working, talented peers ascend in other industries seems to allude most of us in this one. Our winding path, with its switch backs and circuitous routes and dead ends, can leave us feeling isolated or frantically searching for something to DO about it. There must be a key to unlocking that one job! That one magical job that will catapult me from obscurity to fame. From fighting tooth and nail to make above scale to consistent 6 figure offers.
If I ever find that key or catch that carrot, I promise to share it.
This space is for those of us who haven’t caught the carrot. It’s for those who perhaps just haven’t caught it yet. And it’s for those of us who are committed to staying on this path knowing it’s possible we may never catch it.
This space is for you if you’ve ever felt lonely on the journey. It’s a space where you don’t have to perform success in hopes of one day achieving it. It’s a space where the idea of gratitude won’t be weaponized against you. A space where pointing out inequity and abuses of power won’t be tossed away as “negativity.”
If that sounds like a space you could use too, I’d be honored for you to join me…
Subscribe to get full access to the newsletter and publication archives.
About Bethany Anne Lind
Bethany started acting at the age of 5 in a church musical with her father. After the funny voice she chose to use got a huge laugh, she was hooked. She studied theatre at Campbell University in North Carolina where she began to understand that there could be a craft to the funny voices. A quiet kid and young adult, she also found that connecting a part of herself to different roles helped her express things that she didn’t yet have words for.
In 2005 she moved to Atlanta to start her career in hopes of one day moving to NYC or LA. She quickly fell in love with the theatre community in Atlanta and began working on stage all across Georgia and eventually at incredible nationally recognized theatres such as Alliance Theatre, Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, LaJolla Playhouse, Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre, Florida Stage, Georgia Shakespeare and many more.
As her theatre career was bustling, tax incentives were passed in Georgia which brought filming right to her. It became clear that a move would no longer be necessary to sustain a career, she could stay in Atlanta with the artists and community she loved and trusted.
Bethany is now best known for playing Grace Young on Ozark, Clara Steele on Doom Patrol and Molly opposite Abigail Spencer in Hulu’s short lived Reprisal. She’s also been a part of leading several critically praised indie films such as Blood On Her Name, The Wheel, and Through The Glass Darkly. Recently she has guest starred on Magnum P.I., Alert and Kindred and will be playing Patricia Clarkson’s daughter in the upcoming “Lilly.”
Bethany has become an outspoken advocate for working class actors in the last several years. The Hollywood Reporter published her op-ed decrying calls for boycotts of Georgia filming, while Deadline covered her advocacy for equitable pay and treatment of “local hires” despite deplorable words from gatekeepers. She gave speeches and urged unity during the SAG-Aftra strike in 2023 and is determined to champion the non-celebrity working actor in an industry increasingly motivated by profit despite the human cost.
