Oliver Jackson-Cohen Quotes

My mother always said I should have a back-up profession if the acting doesn't work out.

I was at the mercy of somebody else to just give me a job in the years after 'Boy Meets World' ended, whereas if I had gone to college and had when a Plan B, and it was something else that I loved, I could've walked away at any point.

A lot of parents tell their children that if they want to be an actor, that's fine, but they should do something else first, so they've got something to fall back on. It doesn't work like that, as far as I'm concerned.

My advice is to make acting your second career choice.

I need something to fall back on if fame doesn't work. I'll have to become an economist or something.

Hollywood is fickle; your career can end pretty fast. If the acting jobs dry up, you have to have something to fall back on. In fact, that would be my advice to kids interested in acting - make sure you get an education too.

So, in a way I was hedging and saying that if the Olympic stuff doesn't work out at least I can be a lawyer.

A lot of people think, 'I'll give acting or poetry or filmmaking a try. And if it doesn't work out I'll go get a law degree, do something else that's more practical.' For me I went the reverse way. I lived the back-up plan.

I used to joke that if acting didn't work out, poetry was my commonsense fallback.

If this acting thing doesn't work out, maybe I could be a blogger.

I never had a Plan B.

I left everything I had to become an actor. So, I better be excited, or otherwise, there is no point in doing all this. Else I would end up being disappointed with whatever I achieve.

The odds are stacked against you becoming a footballer, so my family made sure I always had a backup plan.

I finally decided to give music my all. If it didn't work out and I had to move home, fine. I had to give it 100% first.

I did not become an actor to earn money - that I could have done it in my village by becoming a farmer. I wanted to show my craft, which I am so passionate about.

I have a backup plan. Everybody should have a backup plan. I am a banker. The day you all get bored of me and don't want to watch my films, I will go back to banking.

There's no unemployment insurance if you don't have a job in wrestling. You really have to be committed, to have a love and a passion for the sport, a belief in yourself that you can do it.

Acting is something that I always wanted, but I never paid attention to the notion that it might actually work out. You have all sorts of ideas about what you want to do - at one stage, I wanted to be a jockey - but this is the one that's a big deal.

When you start so young working, you build a hunger for acting, working, and a busy life.

You can only dance for so long, but you can act until you're dead, so... I fell in love with it and I want to keep doing it and pushing myself.

I always tell young actors to have a back-up. You don't want to find yourself at the age of 30 still struggling to make a living out of acting.

I feel like I have a lot of dedication to the acting profession.

Before 'Homeland,' I had £80 in the bank and no idea what I was going to do. I seriously considered giving it all up and getting a job as a lorry driver.

What I sacrificed as I pursued my dreams was my comfort, not the lives of other people who looked to me to stay afloat. That alone freed me to take more risks, which did pay off in dividends. Having a safety net is an asset that most people do not have.

When I first started out acting, I didn't have anything to lose. I had another career. If I fell on my face, I could say, 'I'll see ya,' and go back to working.