There’s a common problem that a lot of actors experience at one point or another and hardly anyone is ever prepared to deal with it.
After seeing so many actors fall victim to it over the years, I started digging deeper and I wanted to find out why it was happening.
Most actors think this would be a good thing, and it can be if you approach it correctly.
I’m talking about having “multiple talents.” There are so many actors that are incredibly talented in many areas.
They can act, sing, dance, do their own stunt work, etc. This typically seems like it would be what a casting director is looking for, but an actor that can do it all is usually a big red flag.
However, many of the most successful actors are the ones that can do it all.
Study their careers, and you’ll see that almost all of them followed the same path to success.
If you want to be a professional actor, this is something that you will want to follow closely too...
When you have multiple talents, it’s hard to focus on just one.
Actors are creatives and it’s in their nature to want to share all of their talents with everyone, all the time.
This can sometimes even cause problems on set.
A few years ago, I spoke to an actor who was replaced because he wouldn’t sing out of tune in a scene.
Because he was an incredibly talented singer, he didn’t want to be seen not singing well since he was hoping to also build a musical career.
That’s kind of an extreme example but things like this happen all the time. It’s why successful actors focus one developing a career around one talent at a time.
If you want to be a professional actor, focus on being an actor. If you split your focus between two or more things, none of them will get your entire effort.
You can always work on other things later on and your career will likely lead you down that path.
It kind of ties into the category of one concept we talked about recently. There is a caveat to this. We’ll get to that in just a sec...
Actors that try to do it all don’t have enough exposure to any single category to make any kind of meaningful progress.
While some actors are able to launch successful music careers, or are able to move behind the camera and start directing, they almost never do it while they are focused on developing their acting career.
There have also been musicians that launch successful acting careers but they don't do it while they are focused on their musical career.
Usually, when I see actors try to do some of everything they end up distracting themselves from making progress on anything.
Successful actors don’t do that.
Look at it from the casting director’s perspective...
If they are casting for on screen talent, how much will they really care if you are a phenomenal director? How much will they really care if you are a talented singer, if the role doesn’t call for it?
I’ve seen CDs pass over talented actors who would go on and on about their “experience” behind the camera.
If a CD asks you about that, it’s usually a trick question. The best thing to do is eliminate the possibility of the question even coming up by being all about your acting career and only your acting career.
Let everything else come in due time.
When you focus entirely on your acting career, you get to know people better because you start working with them over and over again.
That’s a very different experience from someone who is trying to network with promoters one day and casting directors the next.
It’s difficult to stay top of mind and in touch that way. Successful actors build their career first and then wait for opportunities to do other things to come their way.
I bring this up now because as we head into the new year, a lot of actors will start to look into making big changes in their career and those changes aren’t always the best ones.
So, take some time over the next few days to sit and think about what you want to accomplish in your career.
If you know that acting is your top priority and you are committed to doing everything possible to succeed then this is the logical next step. I built this so you can focus on what you do best, while we help make you visible to the industry.
It goes hand in hand with what we have been talking about today, because when it comes down to it, focusing on one thing is also about protecting your reputation.
That’s what the industry is built on and having a scattered career effort, will lead to having a reputation that reflects that.
Focusing your efforts isn’t just about your talent. There is a lot more that goes into building an acting career and much of it happens off set.
It’s the more mundane part of the industry, so most actors tend to ignore it altogether. It’s still stuff that has to get done, because it can help to unlock many opportunities to boost your acting career.
So, are you going to give acting your full attention? Have you been splitting your focus and you’re not really sure how to get back on one track?
Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. Even if you just need someone to bounce ideas with. I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott