Okay, to be fair, I think actor superstition is more like 'it's bad luck to get caught boffing your co-star's understudy'.

That's meant to be BAD luck? I always found that pretty freakin' lucky! (although I guess not the getting caught part)

But I have a similar story, in some ways. Not raised by actors, but raised by people who appreciated theatre, and fell in love with it from an early age. Did everything and anything I could from about the age of 4, including writing/directing/starring in my own plays at primary school. I too cannot understand how people cannot understand Shakespeare. Even went as far as setting up a theatre company when I was at uni.

But I also came to the same realisation as you - that I'm actually not a very good actor. I'm sure I could have gotten by, getting small roles here and there, because there are plenty of people who aren't very good actors who make it based on passion. But I made my decision to step away, and haven't really regretted it for a moment since. I miss the atmosphere, the cameraderie, the excitement, to be sure... but I never felt bad about coming to that decision, and moving on.

(I still dream about going back and directing - Richard III is always calling to me from the back of my mind)

Have just discovered this blog, and given that the last one I read actually name-dropped Jane Espenson, and didn't feel the need to actually qualify that by explaining who she is, I feel I may have found my spiritual home.

I seem to have been the only one who found the Samantha Bee sketch on The Daily Show just not as funny as some of Jon's other work. I don't know what it was, I often find SB to be trying just a little too hard, whereas John Oliver, Aasif Mandvi and Larry Wilmore just hit the spot for mine... (Does anyone else have serious Family-Guy-Ollie-Williams-"It-gonna-rain" flashbacks every time Larry is introduced?)