There are people with psoriasis in every walk of life. But an actor? John F. is a 20-year-old acting student whose psoriasis first appeared, and was diagnosed, during his freshman year at theater school. He's not about to let psoriasis upset his plans. Take a look at how an aspiring young actor deals with the day-to-day demands of psoriasis, works with dermatologists, and shapes his dreams for the future.
What's happening to me?
I thought I had ringworm or something. I take a lot of dance classes where I roll around on the floor, so I assumed I probably got something from that. I just had a spot on my stomach. I went to the doctor and got some creams and she said it was psoriasis. It pretty much went away, and that was in the spring.
Unfortunately, I was being very lazy about the medicine. If I had a spot and it went away, I would stop using the cream, but then it would come back. And you become tolerant to the different ointments they give you, so you can only use them for a few months and you have to switch to something else. I had to kind of keep track of what I'd been using. Also, I originally had only just one lesion, but then it spread.
When I took control
It was just kind of annoying because you have to put on this cream and stuff at night before you go to bed, and you don't feel like doing that at night. I'm a college student. I'm out late sometimes. You come home, and you think, "All right, let me do this." Now I've kind of gotten to where I do it almost every night. It's more of a time hassle than anything else. I've started on medication, changed certain habits, and take it more seriously.
I wanted to wear short-sleeved shirts. And when I went away for spring break and got a tan, that really helped my skin a lot. I found that if I went out and got a tan, within a few days my psoriasis would kind of—not dry out—I guess the opposite, "moisten up."
Questions for my doctor
I think you have to go in to the doctor and tell him about your specific case and ask specific questions. You have to go in there prepared and take the initiative. I didn't do that at first. I had to do research myself, on the Internet, and put it together and see what worked for me. Finally, this summer, I wanted to just deal with this head on. So I went to my dermatologist with my questions. This summer I finally got serious about it.
How does everyone else deal?
I think a lot of the stuff you read about psoriasis is for people who have it really bad, and I think that's pretty rare. I guess I kind of assumed that's how everything was, and I thought, "Is it going to get worse? Is everything like this?" So it was kind of depressing. It would have been nice to hear from someone who has it, but is dealing with it... living with it, and it's not taking over their life.
How I feel about myself
If I have my shirt off at the beach or a pool, I'm much more aware of how my skin is on that day. I feel a bit self-conscious when I am getting close with someone and my skin is noticeable. But usually I trust that the person I am with will understand.
I was in a show during the dead of winter. It was before my spring break, and my skin was dry and pale to begin with. I had to wear a sleeveless shirt and I just said to the costumer, "You know, I'm not really comfortable with this. If you could just give me something with some sleeves or even short sleeves..." and that was cool. She worked with me.
Normally it doesn't just flare up in one day, so if it was getting worse before an audition or something, I would just try to be more regimented about using my medication. And if it didn't work, I'd probably suck it up and go ahead with my plans anyway.
How my career is taking shape
I was always outgoing as a kid, and I just started doing school plays and stuff in town. Then I just decided, "This is what I want to do," and so I decided to go to theater college.
My role models? I like Anthony Hopkins a lot. And then of course, you know, there's De Niro and Al Pacino that everyone likes.
A lot of people—a lot of teachers—have said to try out film instead of stage, because I'm 21, but I look younger. I usually cast younger and so they think that's what could work right now. So I might as well give that a try, but I'm open to anything.
I've worked with a lot of directors. Some are very great technical directors who can do all that sort of stuff great. But as an actor, it's great to work with an actor's director—someone who just knows how to talk to actors and get you to do what they want, but make you think that you've come up with it.
My dream roles
I'm a big fan of The Practice. I like those law shows where it's a serious show but, you know, it's got quirks in it too. I've always been kind of book-smart and most actors, I think, aren't. I like combining acting and artsy stuff with real issues and learning from books.
I like horror movies. I could be an Academy Award®-winning actor and I would totally take a stupid horror movie where I get killed. I like that stuff.
I also like serious stuff. I like comedy. I like when it's a mixture of both.
I'm in school now. So I can do things for free, which I won't be able to do later, because that'll be my job. But now I'll pretty much accept anything and do anything, just to build up my resume.
Looking ahead
I was thinking about going out to Los Angeles after I graduate. I'm a senior now and I'm trying not to think about it until after Christmas. I think a warmer climate where there's sun definitely makes a difference for my psoriasis. This summer, once I went to this new dermatologist and got cleared up, it was pretty much fine. I could wear what I wanted. I could do what I wanted. And what I'm doing—it's not like a desk job. It's something where I'm going to have to go in and look good. So taking care of my skin is definitely a factor.
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