Most actors are so eager to just get to work that they just end up throwing everything together haphazardly and that inadvertently makes things more difficult.
Recently, we have been talking about building your career properly. Doing so requires that you slow down and plan things methodically.
Of course, that’s not something anyone wants to hear and that’s exactly why you should pay close attention.
Sure, it’s a lot more fun to just start taking your headshots and try to meet with agents but that’s not very efficient. It will typically slow down your progress in the long run.
Professional actors are very methodical in the way they build their careers. They know that there is a lot more to the industry than just taking a decent headshot and showing up “prepared” for an audition.
Instead of doing that and hoping for the best, they take the time to make a plan for what they want their careers to look like and how they will accomplish the goals they set for themselves.
If you want to build your career as a professional actor, whether you are just getting started or looking to take your career to the next level, this is one of the most important things you can do...
Over the last few weeks we have talked about many of the different career building blocks that actors have to contend with.
We have discussed your headshots, how to dominate auditions, ensuring your self taped auditions stand out, and we have even discussed how to build a group of supporters to help you along the way.
All of that hinges on whether you can master putting yourself into a category of one.
If you have been around Boost My Star for any length of time, you have seen this topic come up time and time again, because it’s so important.
Many actors overthink this, but it simply requires you to design the way in which you want your career to develop and specialize in a particular genre.
Many actors struggle to make any meaningful progress because they are constantly jumping from reading for projects in multiple, different genres.
Doing that also means that your headshots and your reel are too generic. They should be highly targeted to the kinds of projects you want to work on.
A headshot that is submitted to a drama should be completely different from a headshot submitted for a comedy.
Focusing on a single genre allows you to make them highly targeted instead. Here’s how that impacts your career...
It makes it a lot easier to eliminate competition. For example, when CDs come across a headshot that fits the project they are casting for, they are likely to take a closer look.
That makes it much more likely that the actor will be asked to read for the project.
What happens with generic headshots is very different. Casting Directors will first sort the headshots and the ones that fit the genre of the project will be called in first.
If there are any spots leftover, then they will sort through the more generic headshots to find some actors to fill in the open spots.
That’s not a great position to be in and it’s a big reason why most actors have such a hard time getting enough auditions.
Building your career with this kind of focus makes you more memorable to Casting Directors and industry decision makers.
Here’ why building your career this way is such a difference maker...
Building a category of one for yourself differentiates you from the countless actors that are just chasing anything and everything.
It also allows you more opportunities to continuously work with the same people over and over again, and that’s how you build industry relationships.
It’s difficult to do that when you only see a CD once or twice. However, Casting Directors tend to cast for similar projects.
So, even if you don’t book the first time you read for them. There’s a good chance that you will get another opportunity to read for them on their next project or even the one after that.
Building that level of familiarity is invaluable!
As an actor, a powerful thing to do is get Casting Directors and industry decision makers to familiarize themselves with you and your work because if they don’t know you, they can’t hire you.
Putting yourself into a category of your one goes a long way towards making that happen.
It goes beyond just choosing what genre you want to focus on. Building a category of one also entails making yourself synonymous with that genre.
That means that your headshots, your reel, and your training should be completely focused.
See, most actors simply go from one audition to the next hoping they will be “discovered.” Professional actors do everything they can to get in front of CDs and industry decision makers.
When you see CDs over and over again, they will start to build familiarity with you and that also develops an inherit level of trust.
Much of your career is built on what we talked about today. It’s crucial so don’t brush it off. Make a decision about what category you are going to build your career in and start putting the pieces together.
If you’re undecided and need someone to bounce ideas with, feel free to shoot me an email or leave a comment below.
I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott