There are actors out there who have had no training at all (like Christian Slater) that have done very well for themselves with no training at all. But, let's not forget that Christian Slater's mom was a casting director, too. At a very early age he had an "in". The answer would be that it would be unfair for me to say that you have to take classes to be successful, but I'm a big believer in education and training. I, personally, would recommend and opt for classes. If you were going to step into a boxing ring you are going to go to the gym and work out before you get into the ring. If you are an actor and you want to go out on auditions, acting class would be a place to work out and exercise so that when you get in front of these people and audition you have acted on a regular basis already. Then you can go back to class and talk about it and work through it and it gets easier and easier. For me, acting class has always been the answer and I haven't taken an acting class in a very long time, but I need to go back to class even as a professional. Even Jack Nicholson goes back to class. A lot of amazing actors go back to class just to stay on top of their game so that they are constantly working on their craft.
