Arnold Schwarzenegger has released a statement–the former California governor is putting his acting career on hold and the statement comes right after the recent news that the actor fathered a child during his marriage to Maria Shriver.

The Terminator star’s office released the statement today, stating the Arnold has already asked his agent at CAA to discontinue his current film negotiations for the time being.

“Governor Schwarzenegger is focusing on personal matters and is not willing to commit to any production schedules or timelines.”

Arnold also recently signed on to appear in the upcoming film “Cry Macho,” which he signed on for a reported $12.5 million.  That appearance is currently on hold as well.

Child actors are basically kids in the acting business. Well, duh, I know.  However, the purpose of the article is to make you aware of the pressures many child actors face when it comes to self-esteem and maintaining success in this business.  If you’re young and hot and an actor in the entertainment industry, guess what? You’re gonna eventually grow up, and guess what again? You’ll be considered a “former child actor.” And a lot of former child actors, unfortunately, do not have a good reputation in Hollywood.

If you’re a parent or a young person reading this, just know that this is a business. The entertainment industry is all about making money. Sure, you’ll have lots of fun on that hit television series, you’ll have lots of fun working on that movie, but sad to say, Hollywood may or may not always hire you. In other words, you may not be “hot” anymore as you start to get older. Yep, only the few survive in this business so you’re gonna have to take certain steps to stay afloat, to remain successful and beat Hollywood at its own game.

In my opinion, the entertainment (acting) business is the most exciting, most lucrative, most enjoyable business you can ever be in. However, it can also be the most cruel and vicious. I’ll talk about this more in other articles.  Meantime, just be aware that you need to avoid the necessary pitfalls of becoming another “former child actor statistic.” Here’s a small list of things you can do to stay successful as an actor while you’re young.

1. Finish school. Getting an education is important. I don’t care how hot you get, work on getting that college degree. You may need it to fall back on.
2. Save your money. This one’s for the parents…don’t steal your child’s money. There is a law called The Jackie Coogan Act. Please respect it and honor it.
3. Have a good support system. The people who loved you before you were success will love you when you’re not working, so never turn your back on them when you DO make it.
4. Respect your peers. Never get conceited and start disrespecting people as you start to get popular. This is a common mistake young actors make. Respect everyone. And this goes for directors, producers, your fellow actors, make-up, wardrobe, hair artists and crew–even extras (background players). Do this and you’ll go far. That way, if you ever get down and out in your career; people will remember your kindness and will pull together to lift you back up.
5. Stay away from drugs. It will ruin your career and your life.  Never forget that.

Anyway, these are just a few pointers…for now.

Wherever you are in the world; ActorGuru.com wants you to be a successful actor.  Remember, you don’t necessarily have to come to Hollywood in order for you to be a consistent, working actor.  Just know that I am in your corner and want the best for you.  My goal is to continually expand our website to give you the tools and knowledge you need to make it as an actor.  You will see that our site is different in that my knowledge about the business is precise and comes from experience.  I’ve been there.

So feel free to ask me questions and leave comments here.  You will see over time that I know what I’m talking about.  I have a wealth of knowledge about the business and have been eager to share it with others.

Take a look around.  Because when you start booking jobs as an actor, things are gonna change.  You’re gonna change and so is your ego, so watch it.  If you have a good support system now and good friends, you’ll want to keep them.  You will need them when you become a big star because by then, most of your friend will not really be your friends.  Even if you never get “famous,” once you start working professionally as an actor, everything changes.  You can become a very successful actor without necessarily becoming famous, so do not be concerned about the “fame.”

When you start working, the most important thing I want you to watch is your ego.  Your ego will make you do crazy things.  Your ego will tell you, you need drugs.  Your ego will cause you to be rude to people.  Your ego will make you think that you are “above” everyone around you.  Your ego will make you forget where you came from.  And all because your acting career is starting to take off.

Never forget where you came from.  You are humble now but it is only because you want to be famous.  If you only want to become an actor because you want to be seen, then your ego has already taken over and it will be difficult for you to become a successful actor.  Why?  Because your energy is focused on self-gratification.  Those types of people do not last in the entertainment business.  They eventually self-destruct in some form other another.

No, you should want to become an actor because you enjoy being creative, you enjoy entertaining people.  Always keep your attention to be focused on making others happy.  You want to be able to walk down the street and have people come up to you and say, “We loved your movie!” or “We love you on that show!”  Then, you can smile and remind yourself of how wonderful it is to be in a business where you can make other people smile.

Never forget where you came from.