Have you heard of the BAFTA Guru initiative? It's a new venture from the British Academy meant to benefit young actors and filmmakers (target market: 18-30) who are just starting out though surely any creative who hasn't yet "made it" (whatever that means) can learn from the people who have. BAFTA Guru interviews stars on their early years in the business and they'll also have lectures from filmmakers. It seems like it's less about practical advice at this point and more about eliptical impressions... early sense of cinema and acting, or anecdotes about lucky breaks.
Neverthless we love to hear actors talking about their careers. Here's Tilda sharing a moment when she was 11 realizing she was faking emotion (and the mystery that keeps her interested in acting) and Meryl talking about how she got the part in The Deer Hunter.
Meryl Streep's career start suddenly makes so much more sense. Of course DeNiro would go for her admittedly shameless moment ;) He has the ham actor's spirit himself.
Love Tilda's bit on what keeps her interested in cinematic performance:
You can never ever know what someone else is really thinking. What they're going to tell you or what they're going to show you may not be everything, you know? There's always a reason to go looking."
Tilda Swinton is endlessly fascinating... as is the art of acting.