Over the years, I’ve worked with more actors than I can count and I’ve seen many patterns emerge. Without fail, the most passionate actors are always the most successful ones.
What may come as a surprise is the reason why they are more successful.
It’s not because they are more talented or because they have better connections. That’s what most actors think makes the biggest difference, but in reality being passionate about what you do is what really moves the needle.
Of course, I’ve never met an actor who said they weren’t passionate about acting but the difference is that successful actors follow through on everything that’s required to build a career and they do it with the same passion they have on set.
Most actors don’t.
They love the creative side of the industry, but when it comes to everything else they sort of draw a blank and put things off for “another time.”
In fact, many actors think their talent alone is justification for avoiding those things, so they end up not making very much progress since they never really get around to putting the building blocks of their career in place.
On the contrary, that’s where successful actors start and if you want to build a successful acting career that’s where you should start too...
Before even getting to the building blocks, you first have to figure out what it really means to be an actor. Most actors get this wrong and it keeps them from making any meaningful progress
See, being an actor isn’t about playing characters. It’s about bringing characters to life. The most successful actors approach their craft this way and it makes a huge difference.
When done correctly, it allows the audience to completely detach from reality and experience the emotions of the characters they are watching.
It makes them feel as if they are watching something real unfold.
For example, when you watch a Leonardo DiCaprio movie you don’t see him on screen. He is extremely talented and skilled at bringing characters to life so those characters are real in the minds of the audience.
It’s only when the credits roll, that you snap back to reality and think of how great a performance you just witnessed.
Most actors focus on getting really good at playing characters. World class actors focus on becoming them.
That falls into the creative side of the industry, so it’s the part that most actors find themselves working on while ignoring everything else that goes into building a career.
Before we go into what those other things are, let’s bridge the gap with something that is part creative and part “left brain.”
When it comes to working with directors, almost every actor I’ve ever talked to gets this wrong and it makes life on set a lot more difficult.
What’s worse is that most don’t even realize it, but it does show when you look at their list of credits.
Successful actors know that working well with directors can make a huge difference, because directors will always prefer to work with proven talent.
So, they show up to work with a character that is developed, but they are still coachable and deliver performances that need polishing.
Here’s why...
Having a character that is too polished makes directors feel as if they have been left out of the creative process.
Having one that is too rough makes them feel like working with you is just too much hassle.
So, you have to get really good at creating characters that directors can mold with you. Working well with directors and developing relationships with them is one of the most impactful things you can do to build your acting career.
This goes way beyond what happens on set. Most actors don’t realize that booking a job and getting on set is only the beginning. What comes after is even more important, if you want to build a successful acting career.
We talked about this recently...
Following up with CDs, directors, and anyone else you worked with is what can turn a single acting job into, two, three, four or more. This is especially true when it comes to directors.
See, they have the ability to attach particular actors to a project and bypass the audition process.
While it will likely take some time to build that kind of relationship with a director, building some familiarity can tilt the scales in your favor during casting, even early on in your acting career.
It’s how you end up building a career and start making the progress you should be making.
Spending time in acting classes and redoing your headshots feels good in the moment and it feels like you are making progress.
What successful actors do is work on the things that make the biggest difference. If you really want to build a career as a professional actor, you owe it to yourself to give yourself every advantage possible. This is one of them.
What I’ve referred to as the “creative part” is too subjective to rely on as the only way to build your career.
It is important of course, but some CDs will think a group of actors are incredibly talented while others will think those same actors are uncastable.
That’s why you also have to work on things that are universally thought of as being positive by CDs and industry decision makers.
For example, the industry will always weigh your reputation heavily when making casting decisions.
In some cases, an industry reputation can keep actors from even being called to audition.
We went over a lot today, and what we covered are perhaps the biggest and most impactful parts of building a career.
We talked about building relationships with the people you work with, especially directors, so you can stay on their radar and possibly come to mind the next time they need an actor like you.
At the very least, that visibility would build some familiarity with them and that can go a long way towards helping you build your acting career.
What do you think would happen in your career if you were to use everything we talked about today?
Try it out for yourself and see what happens. Shoot me an email or leave me a comment below and let me know how things change for you.
Or if you need to bounce some ideas along the way, get in touch because I’m happy to help however I can and I truly can’t wait to...
See you at the top,
Scott