Introduction
Some say to become a successful actor you really have to have “the passion” and patience for the “big break” but if patience isn’t one of your virtues then it’s time to for you to become more then just an actor in the entertainment industry to make a living as an actor. This means becoming a director,producer and your very own entertainment lawyer and publicist.
Instructions
Tips & Warnings:
- As an actor, don’t be afraid to accept big roles if they come your way.
- Who you know isn’t as important as what you do in the industry LONGTERM in your acting career. Egotistical people are in all types of industries but especially in the entertainment industry. Just keep nodding and agree with them unless it starts hurting your pay.
- Investigate producers, directors and companies for legitimacy and watch out for scams, they happen to struggling actors all the way up to the celebrities you see on the silver screen.
- Avoid deferred pay as much as possible, production companies come and go and if the production company files bankruptcy, they don’t need to pay you a dime even if the project you worked in did make some money but they are claiming it did not.
- The world of Non-Union is a scary one so make sure you seasoned before you decide to work it. Even agents who not franchised somehow can keep your money and do the bankruptcy scam so be careful to not just be with any agent at first and work on your own in the beginning until you can get into a well known agency.
- Don’t sleep or have sexual relations with anyone in the industry even if you saw them with one of your celebrity idols having lunch and want to get with that celebrity. Sleezyness will get you no where in the industry.
- People will try to use you because you as an actor have a recognized face and image so don’t trust anyone based on them knowing who you are and what you do. Develop your relationships based on business first with a Mutual Non-Disclosure contract. It’s like stealing a well known brand name and using it as a reference on a no-name brand. Think of it this way, the brands you see at walmart that say “compare to …” They will use you “your image” for the own profit gain.
- In addition to the “Mutual NDA” make sure you sign contracts that states the persons first and last REAL name doing business as “DBA” whatever production company. This way if the production company tries to screw you, you have the right to sue the person doing business as the production company and not the production company itself.
Develop your different looks. – Actor Joey Fiero The first step is to take a look at yourself and your life experiences and ask yourself what type of characters do I look like or can I fit into? You are at a crossroad in your life or you have to make a decision to get a job or follow your dreams. Working as an actor is compared to becoming a rock star.
Follow the Entertainment! – Actor Joey Fiero Most of the networking you will do that will help your acting career will be by living in a major city near you that has a “Hollywood” town. The best place to be is Hollywood, CA or New York City. Hollywood is known for Film,TV and Commercials, New York is known for Theater. Hollywood loves theater credits and New York loves TV,Commercial and Film credits so you can build your resume up at either city. The places where there is major production is where you want to be. Follow the movie star actors you see already and where they are hanging out at!
Learning to play a instrument will greaty help your career! – Actor Joey Fiero At this point you will be a very green actor and you will probably have nothing on your resume, so you have to build it up. Start by getting a full time job to support yourself and take a class or two at a cheap acting school or at a Jr. College. Develop your extra talents in other entertainment industry related areas. Read everywhere you go and at every free chance you get, never let a minute go by you not reading something about the entertainment industry, learn about casting,producing,directing,TV,Filmmaking. The more you know about how things happen, the better you will be prepared. You have to think,eat and even sleep “entertainment industry”. This will build a lot of stress and this stress is normal. Start writing your resume out and print out copies to send to unionized agents “ATA” or “SAG”. If you can’t get in one of these start our with a new agent that is picking up new actors. These agents are a dime a dozen. If you can’t afford to send to 50 or more agents make little postcards with a picture stating “Looking for new representation”.
Get yourself in front of a camera anytime you can! Including filming yourself! – Actor, Joey Fiero Now for the good stuff, you have your actor headshot and resume BUT you need something more, you need to pick up a camera and record yourself. Out of the money that you have go get yourself a pocket camera with a memory card big enough to hold 40 mins of video. Search around online and look at “Actor Demo Reels”. Find a place to record yourself reading some lines, acting in other words. Also pick up a tri-pod. Film yourself hosting, copy a commercial, copy a film you saw. Don’t make yourself look foolish and shoot yourself several times until you see the perfect scene. Change your clothes for each scene and possibly the background where you shoot yourself. Use the video editing software to add titles and contact information.
Here we were selected as one of the Now you have a resume,headshot, and a demo reel. Submit yourself to actor casting sites (LaCasting.com,Actorsaccess.com,nowcasting.com) for example and all the free cheap wanna-b ones. Don’t pay for the non-brand ones.Upload all your information on the trusted sites. Add yourself and pictures to other networking sites and state that you are an actor such as “myspace” type sites or picture sites.Upload your actor demo reels to multiple video sites with your name as keywords,description and tags. One good site for multiple video uploads is a site named “TubeMogul.com” which is currently still free. Visit these sites every hour of the day. Add any other videos you would like with your name as keywords but make sure if you come up with a idea you copyright it.
Joey Fiero on the Mcdonalds Bags and Cups Worldwide! Seen by billions a day. Acting or being a “actor” is more then just all this. It’s about controlling your career as much as possible and at the same time stimulate your mind to think “outside” the box in the industry because there is no “for sure” ladder as an actor. The goal is to become well known by millions of people in a positive light and help your career take off that much more. This could be to develop your own feature films you star in and distribute them yourself. To pitch a reality show or to submit to a open casting call for a contest that is held on TV.Contests could be a great way to extra exposure. Do not mention you are an actor when you apply to any of these “contests”. They want real people and state that you are an actor once you are on the show. Start saving the money you get from this point on. Google “Casting Call”.
Actor Joey Fiero and Actor Michael Madsen Always accept invitations to Hollywood events or try to find events you might even be able to sneak into. Being around the people who have succeed already will only help you that much more. Don’t be too desperate looking and act like yourself and leave your ego at the door. At this point you should be a working actor and/or getting some type of residuals to live off from and it might be time to quit your job or move into part time work.
Joey Fiero and Sean Graham, stunt driving! As you begin to work you will be invited to join guilds and to work purely “Union” while this is good for the whole, you as an individual actor need to be working all the time. In America, the Screen Actors Guild tells you, you can’t work non-union which is not true. You have the right to work non-union jobs as well and you can under “Financial Core”. This will increase your work as an actor 4 times that much more. You are still a SAG member but all the non-union work you do doesn’t count toward your benefits and you won’t get a card or get to attend the events. Financial Core SAG actors are cleared to work by SAG Jobs no matter what. So if you are thinking twice about joining SAG because of non-union buy outs you see for a couple of thousand, don’t. Just become “Financial Core”. Don’t pay attention to any propaganda you will receive from them against becoming FI-CORE, at the end of the day you will be the one without a Job and on food stamps because you missed 2 non union auditions with a $10,000.00 2 year but out. At this point you should be making somewhat of a income off acting so it might be safe to quit your job.
Once you have worked your first paying actor job and you get a paycheck from a payroll company for the acting job you just did, FILE UNEMPLOYMENT. You can legally file unemployment by the state as an actor until you find your next “acting job”. After all you are trying to make a living as an actor. Understand and show that you are following the laws or you will go to jail if you screw up something. Research unemployment online. After a while you might have to attend school to continue your benefits. Go take a entertainment related class, after all the government wants you to gain more knowledge to get the job! Take this period of helpful income to go hustle your brains out in the industry! So go get them tiger and see you around town! Read my other articles on acting too.
Get a professional headshot
You’d be surprised how many people send Polaroids, Xeroxes, or other photos in place of a professional headshot. Don’t; they go directly into the trash. If an actor doesn’t have the commitment to get a headshot done professionally, how can we expect him or her to act professionally on the set?
Make sure your headshot reflects your spirit.
If you’re nerdy, don’t send a sexy headshot; embrace your best qualities. Casting directors look through thousands of headshots, and the first hurdle is the “look test.” If the actor doesn’t have the right feel, they may not bother to look at your resume. But if your headshot misrepresents what you can play, you will most probably end up wasting everyone’s time.
Respond only to appropriate listings
If the ad says “mature,” and you look 16, or “Latino,” and you are Asian, it is best not to waste the postage. Better to focus on those roles that are best for you than to cast a ridiculously wide net.
Send your headshot in an easy to open envelop
Nothing is worse than trying to tear open 500 glued shut headshot envelopes. The best approach is this: Buy clasp envelops and clasp them. If you are worried about the contents falling out, or Peeping-Tom postal officials, use a small piece of tape over the seal.
Write a note
You’d be surprised how much difference a note makes. It is your chance to get a few additional seconds of the casting director’s time, and to make your case for why he or she should call you in. (Remember, you aren’t asking for the part here, but only for an audition.)
Explain why you should get an audition
If there is a compelling reason why you should get an audition, make it. Is this a Shakespeare play? Well, then, talk about the past verse shows you’ve performed in. Have you seen this company’s work? Talk about that.
Staple everything to the back of your headshot
Imagine how messy some casting directors desks can get. Now imagine your lovely letter (or resume) – which got your past the first round of eliminations – hopelessly lost from its owner. This may mean that both will get thrown out. So staple everything to together (to the back, please – keep that photo clear of debris). And by the way, paper clips are the weak cousins of the mighty staple.
Make your resume meaty
After you pass the “look test,” the next stop is an analysis of your resume (laser printed and stapled to the back of your headshot, of course). Remember that most casting directors will only have a few seconds to determine whether or not to read this page, so the first thing that will turn them off is a short experience list. As a rule of thumb, try to get 15 productions listed. (Of course, this is a major Catch 22 – but there’s no way around it. A future Tips list will describe how to get all those juicy roles.)
]Include an email address
Email is an easy way to contact actors, schedule an audition, and deliver sides. If you’re worried about privacy, create a hotmail account specifically for the purpose.
Write your name on the front of your headshot
Simple and important, but often overlooked.
Modeling Photographer
By: Patrick on June 21, 2008
at 8:54 pm
thank you without you i cant be a holywood star. ;D
By: kyla fay on July 20, 2008
at 3:53 pm