Do you have to be an extrovert to be a successful entertainer?

No, it isn’t a requirement. Look at Freddie Mercury. But he did have problems in other areas.

Actually, a lot of the interviews that I see with performers (comedians and actors, mostly) talk about being extremely shy as a child (and many of them seem to be from broken or unhappy homes as children). While “shy” and “introvert” are not exactly the same thing, I think there’s a pretty strong correlation.

(I went through a Inside the Actor’s Studio phase.)

No, there are a couple of things that would overcome introversion as an impediment. One is that some types of performance lend themselves well to a willingness to expose oneself to vulnerability. In that case, an introverted perspective provides greater sincerity.

The other is that an introverted performed can focus and concentrate in a sometimes more self focused manner.

Absolutely not, but you have to have a lot of talent. Most entertainers need to network and that part is hard for an introvert. If you are so good that people seek you out rather than hustling the next gig then an introvert can be a great entertainer. I don’t see Barbara Strisand as a big extrovert or Jack Nicholson.

Great question!

Introverts often become pretty adept at role playing just in the natural course of trying to function in a world that values extroversion. Extroverts rarely need to act like introverts, but introverts constantly feel the need to play the extrovert.

And wearing a contrived character can actually make an introvert comfortable at the center of attention in ways that he wouldn’t otherwise be. Introverts hate exposing themselves to critical evaluation, but when they can step out into the spotlight of attention not as themselves, but as some other persona, then that makes the attention tolerable.

Also, I think introverts tend to be especially astute observers of the world and of their own minds. Bombastic performance may not be their forte, but they’re uniquely equipped to channel life’s nuances.

No, I don’t think so. In fact, it is often and outlet for the introverted.

As to alcohol and drug abuse, I don’t think extrovert or introvert has anything to do with that. Underlying physiology and predisposition along with how someone handles stress are more important factors.

Nope

Absolutely not. In the years I wrote and directed TV commercials, I auditioned and worked with many actors and comedians whose shyness came as a total surprise to me. One who comes to mind immediately is Johnathan Winters. In his dressing room he was quiet, unassuming, a bit nervous and, it seemed to me, almost afraid to talk. But on set he turned into the wild man we all know, and then, as soon as he finished the gig, turned quiet again.

Here’s another example. One of my closest friends, a director, worked years ago with Henry Fonda on a commercial. When my friend first met him, he shook Fonda’s hand and told him how much he revered his work. Fonda, my friend said, muttered something, turned on his heels and walked away. My friend was upset and asked Fonda’s manager, who was on the set, if he had done anything to offend the great actor. The man said no, that Fonda was the shyest man on earth and had been embarrassed by my friend’s gushing.

I’m an introvert; @thorninmud described me accurately. For 15 years I was a social dance teacher and mobile DJ. On stage, I was funny, dynamic, energetic, and engaging. I knew I was good at it, but at the same time, I was very aware that I was playing a role, and sometimes wondered if I would be called out as a fraud.

The difficult part of the job was talking to students one-on-one and selling my services to an individual. I would have benefited from having a shelf full of dance competition trophies, but I couldn’t conquer my nerves during dance competitions, where I was exposing myself (the ‘real’ me) for all to see and judge. At the same time, I didn’t think twice about standing up on a meeting table in order to teach a couple hundred people how to wiggle their butts.

I put a lot of mental preparation into what I was doing; there was no time for drugs or alcohol.

I am extremely anxious before teaching a class, to the point where I question at the start of each session why I put myself through such misery. Once I start talking, however, the words come easily and the students would imagine me to be naturally outgoing and bubbly.

@thorninmud One of my sons was extremely shy as a child and when he was around 8, he played a woman in a Hebrew school play. He was very good and we asked him how he had managed it. He said, “That’s not me up there.”

No. I think many performers are introverts. I think being an actor (or similar) gives them the freedom to ‘pretend’ to be someone they aren’t. Look at Heath Ledger. He was painfully shy. I remember watching him being interviewed and thinking how rude and closed off he was but it was because he was an extreme introvert. Great actor but he found doing interviews, and the publicity aspect of his job, very hard.

No, but…I think it helps.
Extroverts usually don’t give much thought to their presentation, we just launch with little self consciousness.
I am quite extroverted and love to play the comedienne, but…more so than my extroversion it is my fast uptake, improv. abilities that are fueled more by the fact I have a brain that naturally fires like a machine gun. lol
I rarely have cause to pause and think before the next zinger just manifests out of nowhere.

My brain can process and respond in a fraction of a second, just pulling stuff out of left field with virtually no forethought.
I think being a successful entertainer in comedy/acting especially, has more to do with quick mindedness than the extrovert/introvert dichotomy.

I work with a lot of entertainers & have met a few celebrities, and most are extroverts, but some are not. Some can ‘turn it on’ when it’s time, others are ‘always on’ like Jim Carrey.

Think of Jim Morrison of The Doors, he was shy, wouldn’t face the audience while performing.
Michael Jackson was shy, a great performer though. Johnny Dep is more of an introvert as is Brad Pitt, both are successful actors. Jim Cavaziel actor, not outgoing, shy.

All of us have the potentential to abuse drugs and alcohol, I couldn’t speculate as to that.

I don’t think so. In my own case, I’m an introvert, but when I’m on a stage I do very well mostly.

I don’t know about drugs. I guess you could say that maybe introverts would use drugs to loose the social boundary.

John Lennon and Woody Allen both struggled with performing to a live audience.
Both would go off stage and vomit from fear.

Not really, no. I always thought it was just the opposite. Some of my favorite celebrities, living or dead, are introverts, or suffer from some type of social anxiety.