Every actor knows that their ability to book roles depends on more than just what happens during auditions.
While auditions are a crucial part of your career, they are only a single part of a larger industry system.
Actors that do not understand that larger system tend to have a more difficult time building an acting career than actors that do understand the system.
Part of what makes the industry so challenging is that it largely relies on relationships. It is not purely a meritocracy where the “best” actor books the job.
There are many other factors that are taken into consideration and that is where building relationships with casting directors and industry decision makers becomes important.
Those relationships can be what differentiates you from other actors and they can help to open other opportunities that are not available to most actors.
Professional actors know how much of a difference those relationships can make so they continuously work on building and leveraging industry relationships.
Many actors think that you have to already be a well connected and accomplished actor to build meaningful industry relationships but that’s simply not the case.
If you want to build your career as a professional actor, it’s best to start as early as possible. Here’s how...
By establishing a connection with a casting director, you increase your chances of being called in for auditions and that completely changes the dynamics when making casting decisions.
Imagine yourself as a Casting Director. During auditions, who is going to stand out to you more? The actors you personally invited to read for you would almost certainly be top of mind and that’s why professional actors pursue relationships with CDs.
Remember Casting Directors are basically the gatekeepers to auditions. Because of that, actors try to “impress” them or appeal to them in many ways that are simply ineffective.
CDs are people too and building relationships with them can be simple.
Of course, you should conduct yourself in a professional manner but that does not mean you have to approach them in the way most actors would.
Reaching out to them on social media is completely fine and it can be incredibly effective. The key is to approach them as you would anyone else you were trying to connect with.
First, make sure that your social media profiles speak to your professionalism. You don’t have to be one dimensional, but controversial posts and potentially compromising photos will not be helpful.
Before reaching out to casting directors on social media, make sure your profiles are professional and showcase your talent as an actor.
Then, find and follow casting directors on social media: Research casting directors who work on the types of projects you would like to be a part of and follow them.
If they follow you back, great! That is a sign that your feed is interesting and professional. If they don’t, it doesn’t mean they are not interested, they likely just glanced over your follow.
Most people you follow sporadically will not follow you back, so after a few days you can continue building the relationship with them by liking and commenting on their posts.
Do more than comment a fire emoji!
Leave real, meaningful comments on their posts. That will build familiarity over time. At the same time, you should be posting interesting content to your profiles as well.
Mix in professional posts with lifestyle posts.
Professional posts are updates regarding your career and the things you are working on and lifestyle posts are the fun things you are doing outside of your acting career.
Then, you can directly reach out to the people you are trying to connect with.
Don’t do it from the perspective of an actor looking for an audition. Do it from the perspective of one professional connecting with another.
A great way to do that is to compliment them on a particular project they worked on. Everyone loves being complimented for the work they do, and that type of communication is direct but not pushy.
They will either respond or they won’t.
If they respond, then you have a clear opportunity to continue building the relationship from there. If they don’t respond, it does not mean they are not interested in connecting.
Many things could have happened or they could have just missed it. It is ok to try again, after some time has passed.
The most important thing to remember is to be respectful of them. Again, not everyone you reach out to will respond, but building just a single meaningful industry relationship can completely alter the trajectory of your career.
Of course there are some things that can help when you are hoping to build industry connections.
Remember, the people you will be hoping to connect with will be industry professionals.
That means that they want to connect with other industry professionals. That’s why it’s important to make sure your industry reputation is in top shape. Here’s how I can help with that...
Consider how many other actors will be trying to connect with the same people. Differentiating yourself from all of them is much easier when you can show them that you are a true professional and not a hobbyist.
This approach is not solely for connecting with Casting Directors...
You can approach and connect with other industry professionals and decision makers in the same way.
Regardless of who you are reaching out to, Casting Directors and industry decision makers are likely to do some research before deciding to connect. Be sure that what they find about you shows that you are a true professional.
Ultimately, when you build enough meaningful industry connections the dynamics change. At some point, people may start to seek you out to connect with you for a number of reasons.
That only happens when you are highly visible to the industry. If they don’t know you, they can’t connect with you and they can’t hire you.
That’s why I created Boost My Star, to help you increase your visibility where Casting Directors and industry professionals are already looking for talent.
Professional actors are really good at building meaningful industry relationships and being highly visible can help open many doors.
To start with what we talked about today, consider who it makes sense to try to connect with. If you are in a place where you are looking for a new agent, then connecting with agents is likely to be more productive.
If you are already getting enough auditions, but you are looking for some way to stand out from the other actors, then connecting with the Casting Directors you are likely to read for may be a better place to start.
If you are unsure or if you want to bounce ideas feel free to get in touch. Shoot me an email or leave a comment below. I am always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott