Have you ever stopped to think of just how many people are involved in a production? Even a relatively small production will involve dozens of people throughout the process of taking something from idea to the screen.
What this means is that, as an actor, you have to depend on people for many things.
You have to depend on writers to come up with great characters and write them well. You depend on producers to find projects, get them funded, and put together all the moving pieces that go into a production.
You also depend on the crew to come through, your fellow co stars to deliver standout performances, and you even depend on distributors to get the finished product out to the world, otherwise no one would ever see it.
You depend on your agent and your management team so that you actually have opportunities to showcase your talent and participate in the industry.
But what if you could declare your independence from everyone, forget about the way everyone says the industry is “supposed to work” and write your own ticket?
What if you could take your career back into your own hands, and control your destiny?
It’s actually a simple process that you can get started on right now...
If you want to make real, meaningful progress you have to create a situation wherein you sort of create an industry within the industry.
Here’s what I mean...
Someone like Meryl Streep or Robert Downey Jr., has the ability to take a project from idea to red carpet premiere without having to depend on anyone else.
That doesn’t mean other people won’t be involved. The point is that they don’t have to depend on an agent to get them an audition, a writer to have a brilliant idea for a script, etc.
They can simply pick up the phone, call any studio or network on the planet and say “Whatcha got for me?”
They can call Aaron Sorkin and say “I have this great idea and I would like you to put together a script for me.”
This is true career independence and it’s one of the reasons why you will see your agent’s commission levels drop, the more successful you become
At that point you become the driver of your career, rather than the other way around.
What most actors get wrong about this, is thinking that you have to be a superstar to make it happen. While it may take some time to get Aaron Sorkin to write something for you on spec, you don’t need it from the start.
All you have to do is, create a category of one that makes you the only logical choice to be cast. I know it may sound cliche, but you have to define who you want to be.
If you want to stand out among the countless other “actors for hire” you have to specialize in a specific niche and category.
Most actors are so desperate that they will go out for anything and everything and they would take anything and everything, but that is a career killer over the long term.
First, identify what career stage you are in.
In the beginning, when you are just getting started, you do want to cast a wide net and take most opportunities that come your way.
As you progress to the next stage, however, you have to start being more selective about the projects you choose. That’s when your category of one really starts to take shape.
At times, passing on a project that is against your category will be the best move for you.
This doesn’t mean that you will be typecast and painted in a corner, where you can only play to that category for the rest of your career.
Not at all!
When you develop your career correctly, you start by hyperfocusing on your category, then expand your horizons and open new categories as you go.
That achieves a couple things. Not only do you sharpen your skills in a particular category, you also get to become synonymous with that category, to the point that no one can imagine a project in that space without you being a part of it.
Building your career with a clear purpose and a plan is crucial to your success. You would never get behind the wheel of your car, close your eyes, and step on the gas, would you?
Of course not, but actors do this everyday when it comes to their career, and they expect to get the results they hoped for.
Next week we’ll be doing a deep dive on how to create a category of one for yourself, step by step. Before we get to that, we have to lay the groundwork because otherwise it will be a much tougher, uphill battle for you.
It would be like building a house on a shaky foundation. You might make some progress, but before long the walls will start to come down.
We have to start with getting a few things right, mainly your industry reputation.
It’s everything in the industry and you have to make sure that your reputation matches your goals.
This is an area that most actors never give the proper attention to, even though the foundation on which your career will be built.
It’s not the most exciting thing to do but it is important. If you have been hustling and trying to make progress in the industry but are struggling to get to the next level, this could be holding you back.
Why?
Whenever you are up for a role, casting will always look into you and part of the decision making process will be to evaluate whether you are up to the task, by looking at your body of work and developing what’s called a castability index.
That’s something we’ll get into another time. For now, let’s get started on developing your industry reputation and making you highly visible to the decision makers who use this as a tool to evaluate actors.
What we are getting into now will be about building your acting career, on a solid foundation from the start, and with a definite goal in mind of where you want to go.
Get started on this now in preparation for what could be a career changing time ahead. Here’s how I can help.
See you at the top,
Scott