Because I work with so many actors on a daily basis, I have a unique perspective on the industry. I get to see what works and I also get to see what is giving actors a hard time.
What we’re talking about today happens a lot more often than you would think, and it’s something that most actors never give a thought to.
That’s a huge problem!
See, professional actors know how to leverage every opportunity they get and turn it into something that can really have an impact on their career.
If you want to make big career progress, then you have to be able to do this too.
So, what happens when you get an opportunity that looks really great but it turns out to be on a project that is not so great?
Here’s what Jack Nicholson would do...
Sometimes you will go out for a project that you know is going to end up...let’s call it “less than ideal.”
That puts actors in kind of a tough spot, because no one wants to be part of a bad project.
Let me be clear, nothing that I say here is intended to demean anyone’s work. The industry is all about art, and art is subjective.
That actually makes things simple....if it’s offered to you, take the job, regardless of how the project may turn out!
Jack Nicholson said “you can be in a bad movie, but you don’t have to be bad in it.”
So, when you get on set, do your best and understand that you may not have much to work with.
The script may be less than stellar, and your castmates may not be able to perform at the top of their game either.
Leave the details about how the project will turn out to production. Focus only on your performance and let the other chips fall where they will.
Doing projects that underperform is just part of being in the industry.
Everyone knows that, and decision makers won’t hold it against you. As your career develops, if you carry projects that consistently underperform, that could turn into a problem but that’s a topic for another time...
What we’re talking about now is building your career and how to handle something that just about every actor encounters.
So, let’s first talk about what it actually means to be in a “bad” project, because most actors don’t always get what that actually means.
A project that underperforms at the box office or in the ratings isn’t necessarily a “bad one.” The industry is very complex and not everything is written exactly in black and white.
Many, many projects are green lit for all kinds of reasons that most actors never even think of. In some cases the box office or the ratings aren’t even the measure for success or failure.
They could be put into production for tax reasons, because of support from financial backers who have an interest in a certain subject, awards and critical acclaim, or even branding.
Some studios and production houses want to become the go to place for a certain genre, so they will green light projects that most others wouldn’t. They do it to create a sort of omnipresence in that category, and they fully expect the project to underperform.
You will have to go through a few extra steps as an actor, when you are involved in a project like this.
As you start to build your character, ask yourself why the project was greenlit.
If it was a branding play by the studio, then you can build your character with that in mind. You need to run your character choices through that filter and decide whether they are in line with the brand the studio is trying to build.
If the project is about winning awards and getting critical acclaim, then your characters have to be really dynamic and well layered so that you stand out on screen.
The reason I even bring up this kind of project is that it is the most common project to be mishandled.
Going for awards and critical acclaim either ends with a terrific project that will go down in the history books and shape industry trends for years to come, or it will end up as a cautionary tale.
There’s not a lot in between the two extremes.
All things considered, when it comes down to it, your performance is what really matters. That should go without saying, but I’ve spoken with countless actors who think the opposite.
They think that having an adequate performance in a blockbuster film will elevate their career more than a stellar performance in an indie with a limited release.
However, if you can stand out on set, you can elevate your career, regardless of the project. Of course that all depends on having projects to work on.
The industry has a lot of moving pieces and most actors never consider how they all fit together.
Delivering a stellar performance on set is really only half the battle. The other half is simply about getting there. That requires doing more than what actors are typically trained to do. That’s why I built this to help.
Building an acting career can usually go one of two ways: follow the pack and try to build an acting career the same way everyone else does or look for ways to shorten your time to success, by doing what is working right now.
If you have been around Boost My Star for any length of time, you know that reputation can make or break acting careers and put them into overdrive. That’s where this comes in.
We’ll talk more about it over the next few weeks because even though it’s something that will never go away, the way you build your industry reputation does change over time.
In the meantime, remember I’m always only a comment or an email away if you want to go over anything we discussed today, or even if you just want to bounce ideas.
I’ll help however I can because I truly want to...
See you at the top,
Scott