Steve Harvey Visits Villanova for Parent’s Weekend

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Austin Neri & Kristian Stefanides

The Villanovan: If you could give any advice to college students who are interested in getting involved in the entertainment industry, what would you tell them?

Steve Harvey: A lot of people, they see the glam and the glitz of entertainment, and they want to make that their pursuit. But I tell people, be careful. Your pursuit should always be directly tied to your gift. If you’re not gifted, this pursuit will just be a pursuit of a passion. You got to be gifted at it. This is not an easy business. What people see ifsthe limelight portion: the walking down the red carpet.They see the moments of headlines and awards. You don’t see the grind, the preparation behind the scenes, the pressure that comes with it. If you’re gifted at it, you’ll find a way to manage it all. If you’re not, it’ll swallow you up. So, it’s a wonderful life to have, but it’s only wonderful if you’re gifted at it. Nothing worse than uprooting yourself and going out to L.A. to pursue this big passion you have or this dream of becoming an actor or an actress to only find out that you’re really just a waitress with a press packet with head shots and you’re never working. So please, if you get into entertainment which is a wonderful life, but it’s a wonderful life only if you’re gifted. If you’re pursuing a passion and you’re not pursuing your gift it’s a rough life and you wind up frustrated, you won’t ever get the big part or the big role. Being the extra doesn’t make you an actor or actress. The goal is you’re going to be an actor, actress, get a role, a speaking role. Walk by the camera, that’s not really a role.