I think you miss the point of art. Artists don’t create art because they seek extrinsic rewards, if that were the case Picasso would have been a house painter, and Mozart would have written jingles. There are ideas that form within an artist that batter down the doors to get out. There are so many shy actors who do not seek fame, but to gain insight to another personality and capture the physicality and nuances, the turn of phrase in a way that evokes meaning. Art allows one to express oneself creatively. A writer writes fiction to elucidate feelings that less intuitive people wouldn’t understand otherwise.
I have spent weeks creating things that were torn down in a day by people who couldn’t appreciate what I had made. If another artist I admired were to do likewise, then I might be devastated and question my knowledge, skill and talent.

I’m shocked by everything you’ve written, but especially by this.

It is a risk for people in the entertainment industry to feel self-doubt because it is mostly entertaining–a forgettable experience most of the time.

To Cat:
“The arts have been a powerful source of meaning and growth throughout history. Music, theater, film and literature are not superficial but are rich expressions of our deep and varied experiences.”

Yes, this is true but more specifically because there are so many gaps between the artists and the audience, it is an occupational hazard for the artists to feel the lack of a strong connection and feedback leading to their feelings of distance, emptiness, self-doubt etc. In this sense, acting without good audience connection would therefore seem as a superficial job rather than a hands-on get-your-hands-dirty job like teaching that can connect teachers to social people and issues. However, actors can be proactive and get over this occupational hazard by using social networking to make the invaluable connections to the audience instead of being distant. The actors in the article did mention they feel self-doubt and insecurity because they did not have a good sense of how their work is affecting people in order to gauge where they themselves stand. Molly Quinn is a good example of an actress who connects to her audience to receive ‘real’ feedback on Facebook. The other artists who use twitter are also making the connection. I doubt the artists mentioned in this article use Facebook or twitter?

I believe the meaning of life is about experiencing connections(and some disconnections). The lack of it will definitely bring a huge sense of meaninglessness.

When we suffer from insecurity and fear, it’s not because we’re superficial. Acting in particular requires a courage and emotional depth that should be honored and not ridiculed.

Philosophy and other avenues of study are also valuable, and different personality types are drawn to different types of information. It sounds like you are more drawn to academics. That’s great. Just consider that ‘finding the meaning of life’ may take many forms.

Where is the talented ability that can cause improvement in people’s lives? It is not found in acting, poetry, (bad)music but it is found in the areas of philosophy and knowledge such as helping people understand problems and find the meaning of life.