To get to the top levels of the entertainment industry you have to be an avid reader, because reading scripts becomes a way of life.
But what about books?
Just about anyone who ever got to the top levels of whatever industry they were in, was a big reader too.
That lets you know that there’s something special when it comes to reading. You may not have ever been the type of person who found joy in curling up with a good book, and that’s ok!
What I’m talking about is reading with a purpose: to enhance and empower your acting career.
You know that Boost My Star is all about bringing you the information on what is working right now, to make it in the industry.
After working with so many actors through the years, I’ve noticed that the ones who make big career moves, quickly, are almost always big readers.
In general, most people don’t really grasp just how much information can be packed into the pages of a book.
Actors aren’t any different, and the subject of what books you should be reading never really comes up in your training.
But if you want to build a career as a professional actor, a few carefully selected books can make all the difference.
Don’t take my word for it! Even if you were to just skim the pages of the ones I mention here, you are going to find something that will atleast give you a different perspective on building your acting career...
Jenna Fischer’s The Actor’s Life should be mandatory for anyone who is considering becoming an actor.
She does a really good job of describing what it’s really like during a day in the life of an aspiring actor, during multiple career stages.
It’s also details the complete journey from her first drama class, all the way to experiencing superstardom.
One of the most helpful sections is about the day jobs she hated but worked, so that she could financially support her acting career.
Like most actors, she arrived in LA with very little money and quickly discovered that getting her acting career started wasn’t going to be cheap.
There were acting classes to pay for, headshots to take (and retake), reels to cut and a lot more than what she anticipated.
Like most actors she devoted a good amount of time to networking with others, but what she did differently than most was that she actively sought to network with actors that were further along in their acting career.
It was also eye opening to read about how she was able to forge a strong relationship with a casting director that opened many doors for her.
The CD would point her to auditions and always kept Jenna Fischer top of mind. That’s the kind of relationship you want to build with industry decision makers too.
To build that kind of relationship you have to make an effort to get in front of industry decision makers. We’ll talk more about that in just a bit...
First, I want to cover every actor’s favorite topic: how to deliver unforgettable, world class performances on set.
I know, it seems like this is something you have to learn in “real life.” It’s not something you can really learn from a book.
Or is it...
So much of what actors do on set is nonverbal and not enough attention goes into what I call the “soft skills.”
Those are your vocal tonality, body language, and facial expressions.
Even though this is something you do have to polish through real world practice, it’s immensely helpful to understand why people do what they do.
Captivate, written by Vanessa Van Edwards, is a thorough breakdown of this and it’s laid out in a way that is simple to understand.
You can immediately use what you learn to layer your character choices and when done correctly, it makes your characters seem incredibly genuine and real.
For example, she talks quite a bit about micro expressions because they are what the human brain “reads” to decode the way someone truly feels.
It’s not just theory. This was actually validated through research conducted on a tribe of pacific islanders.
If you only read that chapter and used it to prepare for your next audition, you would be on a totally different level than anyone else reading for the role.
You know the awkwardness and hesitation that comes across when you watch someone audition? This can completely eliminate that.
Let’s switch gears for a sec and talk about something that is largely ignored by the industry: the mentality that successful actors have, when they encounter obstacles.
See, it’s not enough to simply be told “you need to have thick skin and be able to handle rejection well.” That’s true of course, but it doesn’t give you something concrete that you can use to actively move your career forward.
For that, there’s Matthew McConaughey’s book Green Lights.
I do want to be clear that I didn’t pick this book just because it’s written by an actor. I chose it because actors almost always see things through rose colored lenses, until it’s too late.
The book is about properly reading the events unfolding in your life. He devised a pretty simple but effective system for categorizing things as being a green, yellow, or a red light.
A red light would be something difficult to overcome, a green light would be a signal to move forward and a yellow light is somewhere in between.
Here’s how you can use that traffic light system, as an actor....
When you come up against an obstacle that seems insurmountable (a red light) you can really only do one of the three things.
You can keep going as if nothing happened, you can take a step back and think about what happened and what needs to change (so you can have a better outcome next time), or you can quit.
Throughout the book, you will find examples of how he read certain events throughout his life and how he determined what to do next.
It’s especially helpful to read about those events and what they ultimately meant for his acting career.
As an actor, let’s say that you were up for a terrific role in an amazing project. You knock the audition out of the park and can’t wait for the callback...
All of a sudden you are contacted by your agency. You have been dropped instead and casting doesn’t want to see you again.
How would you read this event?
It’s not a green light, but it could be a yellow light, or it could even be a red light?
If it is a red light, how do you respond to it?
At the very least, you should get to the bottom of why you were dropped by your agency. Then, you can move forward, after fixing whatever the issue was.
But seeing it as a red light could also indicate that maybe the industry just isn’t the right fit anymore.
The way I see it, red lights are an indication that a severe change of course is needed. You keep pushing forward in your acting career, until there are nothing but red lights in your path anymore and you’ve exhausted every avenue.
So those are 3 books that every actor should read. In fact, everyone in your circle should read them since you are all in it together.
Jenna Fischer was able to land her life changing role on The Office, largely because of the industry relationships she built. Creating those relationships is crucial to building a successful acting career, and it’s important that you are all on the same page.
You can have all the talent in the world and be able to deliver incredibly moving performances but it won’t matter if you don’t have enough opportunities to get on set. You have to make yourself visible to the industry in the place where they are already looking, so you can unlock opportunities.
However you go about building your career, one thing is for sure...
You will inevitably encounter some obstacles along the way. Always look beneath the surface to determine what’s actually going on and what it means to your career.
If you’re not getting enough auditions, think of what that’s telling you. If you are getting a ton of auditions but you’re not booking enough of them, what’s the problem.
One of those is a yellow light and the other is a red one. Either way, your industry reputation will play a factor in your castability so make sure that your reputation is always in top shape.
So which of those are you going to be putting on your reading list first? If you can’t decide, start with McConaugheuy’s since it's more of a “big picture” read.
Remember, I’m always here if you want to bounce ideas or talk through what’s going on in your career. Shoot me an email or leave a comment below and I’ll be in touch.
I’m happy to help clear things up because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott