Ricky Gervais' Netflix co-star emotional admitting he's close to quitting acting after a year with no work

A Brit actor who rose to fame starring in Bad Education and After Life has admitted that he is considering quitting the industry after going through a lengthy dry spell which he doesn't see ending anytime soon.

Ethan Lawrence has worked alongside TV icons such as Ricky Gervais, Mathew Horne, Jack Whitehall and Tony Way, but even with legends like that in his phone book, he still can't seem to get any work.

The 31-year-old, from Essex, shared a poignant video on TikTok explaining that he is seriously considering completely throwing in the towel after going 18 months without any acting gigs.

He said that after his roles as Joe Poulter in the BBC series Bad Education and as James in After Life, he was enjoying a career high - but he then came crashing back down to earth with a big bang.

In the emotional video shared to social media, Ethan explained that he is the 'closest he has ever been to giving up acting' as he doesn't see things picking up anytime soon.

The Netflix star told his followers: "For those who think I'm living the life of Riley and that I'm not owed a career in acting, I'm fully aware of that and I'm very grateful for having done what I've done.

"But, I want to be honest...things haven't been going well. 2024 has been a really bad year."

Ethan revealed that he has been dealing with a lot of 'personal' problems, regarding both his family and his living situation, as his landlord is 'selling the house from underneath him'.

"With that, comes a lot of expenditure," he continued. "And this also comes off the back of nearly a year and a half with no acting work."

The actor reckons he has been missing out on roles because the industry as a whole 'is in a state of collapse', before adding: "It's really tough out there, really hard. There just aren't the jobs there were.

"It baffles me, because the creative industry is one of the biggest in the UK and yet 70% of people who work in it are unemployed," Ethan said.

"It's so wrong. It just feels like it's not going to get any better."

Heartbreakingly, he explained that despite studying Drama and Creative Writing at Royal Holloway, University of London and then dedicating his 20s to forging an acting career, he feels as though he has 'nothing to show for it'.

Ethan continued: "Outside of the actual film evidence of what I've done, I don't own anything. I'm in a constant state of financial precarity. I had one of the best years of my entire life professionally just a couple of years ago, and since then I've not worked. It's crazy.

"I'm not too proud to go out and get a 'real job', he said.

"But in my head I'm just thinking to myself, it just might be time to stop because I can't keep living like this. I'm only getting older and slower and stupider."

Ethan - who acknowledged that his statement was 'pretty sad and hard to hear', especially for aspiring actors - was flooded with words of encouragement from social media users who were big fans of his work.

But let's be honest - things must be pretty bleak in the entertainment industry if a bloke who managed to keep a straight face in the same room as Ricky Gervais while playing a recorder with his nose can't get a job.

However, Ethan has experienced a similar struggle before, as work seemed to dry up in 2018 despite his memorable roles in Flat TV, Avatards and Doc Martin. He ended up getting a job as a pizza delivery driver to make ends meet.

But that all changed when he scored a spot in After Life - so maybe he ought to blow up Gervais' phone and see if his old co-star can pull any strings for him.

However, Ethan told a commenter that the comedian 'doesn't owe him a job', so hitting up his celeb pals from former projects doesn't seem to be the option he wants to go with.