How would your career change if you knew you could book a project with a great character, practically anytime you wanted to?

I know, that sounds far fetched right now and most actors think this is something they can only accomplish, once they have become an A lister.

The truth is that there are many actors doing this, most of whom you might recognize just because of the amount of work they take on, but you probably don’t even know them by name.

They’re actors that have built a career that allows them to work consistently and on projects that most actors would love to be a part of, even though they’re not A listers yet.

Everyone wants to jump from where they are now, to playing a lead in a blockbuster feature.

While being able to do that is absolutely possible, it’s not the way you should plan on building your acting career.

Professional actors build their careers one step at a time, because it allows them to build a career where they’re never really worried about where their next acting job will come from or when it will come.

If you want to build an acting career like this, here’s where to start...

The first thing you should know is that your ideal next step isn’t always what you might want it to be.

Like I said a moment ago, most actors daydream of being plucked from obscurity and thrust into the spotlight as a leading actor in a big feature.

They go about trying to build an acting career that accomplishes that and in doing so, they step over a ton of what would otherwise be great opportunities.

Professional actors are able to do both because they focus on the long game while also taking advantage of immediate opportunities to advance their career.

So, even if a project might not be the right fit for your long term goals, consider whether it might be a good fit for now.

That’s not to say that you take anything and everything that comes your way, because you also don’t want to get stuck in a career that has no forward momentum.

Consider your next steps with that in mind.

Building your acting career in this way allows you to work continuously, while also building relationships that can help your career over the long term.

Look at it this way...

Most actors believe that if they could just audition for the “right” person, or sign with the “right” agent that can get them in the “right” room, then their career will automatically go to the next level.

That’s not exactly the case.

Even if you discovered James Cameron was your long lost uncle and you had the opportunity to read for him, what would change, if you didn’t have the building blocks of your career in place?

That’s why you have to build your career on a solid foundation, and then focus on going from one level to the next.

This gives you a lot more control over your career since you're not beholden to luck, nor are you depending on it to be cast.

So, take an honest look at your career and determine where you’re at.

If you’re in a place where the only projects you can reliably book are regional commercials, then the next level for you might be getting to where you can reliably book national commercials.

That becomes your short term, immediate goal to focus on. It doesn't replace your long term goal, whatever it may be.

If you’re in a place where you can reliably book one or two liners in a feature that gets wide distribution, your short term, immediate goal would be to move your career to where you can reliably book supporting roles.

If you ultimately want to book starring roles, that still remains as your long term goal and you would still work on it simultaneously.

However, the difference is that you would build relationships that can lead to something down the road instead of trying to read for something right now. That’s what working towards your long term goal is.

Building the career that most actors have in mind when they decide to join the industry is highly dependent on things most of them never focus on.

They’re mostly just coasting from one job to the next, hoping to get their big break someday.

However, building their ideal career depends on cultivating trusting relationships with casting directors and decision makers and that’s a long term game.

I know it’s counterintuitive to think of your career this way and that’s one of the reasons it works.

If you do what everyone else does, you’re likely to end up where everyone else does. If you do something different, then you’re likely going to get different results.

Whichever way you plan on building your acting career, there are a few things you need to have in place to start getting some momentum.

Everything else builds from that foundation.

Everytime you are looking to go from one career stage to the next, you need to make sure your building blocks for your current stage are in place.

Your industry reputation is one of the career building blocks, so make sure it’s always in top shape.

It’s something that you will need to have in place, regardless of what career stage you are currently in or which one you are working towards.

Your reputation, along with your level of visibility to the industry is something that needs constant attention as you are building your acting career.

If the industry doesn’t know you, they can’t hire you so use this to increase your visibility to casting directors and industry decision makers.

These two are probably the most impactful building blocks.

If you’re ever struggling to take your career to the next level, it’s likely that at least one of them isn’t where it should be.

That’s why I created Boost My Star, to help you make sure your industry reputation is always in top shape, and help you be visible where the industry is already looking for talent.

Like everything else we talked about today, I urge you to not take my word for it. Try it out for yourself and see the difference it makes in your career.

I know that what we went over is highly dependent on where you are in your career at the moment and the goals you have set for yourself, so if you have any questions remember I’m always only a comment or an email away.

Get in touch, even if you just want to bounce ideas. I’m happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott