LOS ANGELES -- Giving up the L.A. dream was immortalized by Gladys Knight & the Pips in the song "Midnight Train to Georgia." That was back in 1973. Today, almost 50 years later, Jesse Bainbridge is hoping that it’s not too late for him. 

“What has made me want to quit is the lack of opportunities,” said Bainbridge. 

It’s been nearly 10 years since he traded his steady career as a teacher for a shot at becoming an actor.

But until his big break comes along, he works full-time driving a shuttle service on the streets of Venice and Marina.

Bainbridge still remembers how his love for acting was ignited. 

“I would watch telenovelas with my mom,” he recalled.

He did make it onto a telenovela once, as a bad guy. He’s also been in a handful of short films, which he wrote, produced and starred in. Scenes of those films come back to him as he carries on with his work.

But Hollywood hasn’t been kind to him. Casting directors wanted him for commercials, not movies and then in 2016, his agent dropped him.

Nevertheless, he won’t quit, at least not today. 

“Whether it’s wishful thinking or I feel a good premonition that my big break is on the horizon, hope is what is keeping me going, so we’ll see how long that lasts,” said Bainbridge.

Hope that some day the oblivious tourists and residents will look up to see his acting card and information plastered on the inside of the shuttle. So, they may discover that they have been riding with someone who some day, could be, a star.