Contrary to what you’ve been told. It’s not possible to be successful as an actor in 2020.
Ask anybody “in the know” and they will tell you that it hasn’t been possible to be a truly successful actor in a very long time.
Right about now, you are probably thinking of the dozens of actors you look up to, all of whom would be considered successful by anyone’s standards.
Stick with me for a sec...
Successful “actors” all have something in common and if you haven’t been making the kind of progress you should be making in the industry, it’s probably because no one has shared this with you yet...
If you’re not succeeding it’s because you haven’t figured out what business you’re actually in. Here’s what I mean...
Even though you have been told that your career will thrive or die based on your talent, it is not the most important thing anymore.
It hasn’t been since the age of silent pictures.
In most situations, it’s a secondary factor in casting decisions and it often ranks even lower than that.
However, most actors still operate as if it should be their priority. They focus on getting “good enough” thinking that Casting Directors and industry decision makers will line up at their doorstep.
That’s just not the case, so you have to get beyond the idea of simply being an actor.
You're in the entertainment business and there's a big difference between being an actor and being an entertainer.
Actors are a thing of the past, because in reality being an actor is only one of the many hats you must wear if you want to be successful in the industry.
The age of the actor ended long ago. Arguably, it ended with the age of the silent picture. Being a talented actor is not enough to be successful in the industry anymore.
Think of the actors in your circle of friends. How many of them would you consider to be good enough to make it?
The majority of them are, and finding a talented actor isn’t very difficult.
That’s why a Casting Director’s job goes way beyond finding the most talented person to fill a role.
More on that in a sec...
If you’ve been around Boost My Star for any length of time, you probably already know that I’m a big fan of Jerry Maguire.
If you haven’t seen it, you should. It’s a pretty accurate representation of the relationship between management and talent, even though it’s a sports film.
Jerry (a sports mega agent) represents Rod Tidwell, a talented football player, who is somewhat of an outcast.
While he was a very good player, there were others that were just as talented. During contract negotiations, the coach told Jerry that he was going to pass on Rod because he could have another player that was just as talented but had a better attitude.
Rod is then faced with making a shift to becoming an entertainer who also plays football, or risk being dropped by the team.
It wasn’t until Rod played to the crowd and became a fan favorite, that he became an asset to the team, rather than just another player.
In the end, the team ended up giving him a bigger contract than what he was hoping for. This happens all the time, across the entire spectrum of the entertainment industry.
Just look at all the Instagrammers and YouTubers that are crossing over to the mainstream industry as “actors.”
I can think of less than a handful who would have successfully made the crossover based on talent alone. For the rest of them, it has been because they realize that they are in the entertainment business and operate with that mindset, even if their talent is lacking in certain areas.
Their industry success has been entirely about their ability to attract attention to whatever project they were involved in.
That’s their competitive edge and you can’t succeed in anything without an edge.
Whether it’s being stronger, faster, or smarter than your competition the edge is what propels you to success.
In the industry, operating as an entertainer rather than just thinking of yourself as an actor is what gives you an edge over everyone else who is still operating under a system that has been dead for almost a century.
There was a brief period of time when much of the industry seemed to finally get it.
It was when social media started going mainstream. Nobody would have ever known just how talented a vocalist Lady Gaga was, if she didn’t first see herself as an entertainer. Subsequently, she was able to cross over in the acting world.
Justin Timberlake and Mandy Moore, wouldn’t have much of a chance if they started as actors either, rather than having ended up there after winding through other parts of the industry.
In other words they were entertainers who found their way to acting.
Have you ever watched a movie or a show and wondered how and why a particular actor was cast?
It probably happens all the time. Pay attention next time it happens and ask yourself what could have led to that actor being cast.
Did they find their way to screen through other sectors of the industry like Justin Timberlake or The Rock?
Were they online creators with a large following they were able to leverage into industry opportunities.
What if instead of trying to stand out in a room full of actors you could differentiate yourself from the start?
What if you could bypass the normal audition cycle that most actors fall into and never escape from?
What if you could have Casting Directors and industry decision makers eager to work with you because you can actually bring something to their projects that few other actors can?
That’s what will make a difference and determine whether you will succeed and build an enviable acting career or whether you will pack it in after falling way short of your aspirations like almost every actor.
If you learn from their mistakes you can make it easier on yourself and stack the odds in your favor.
Figure out where others go wrong, and then do the opposite.
If they use social media for vanity and post content only to get more likes than their circle of friends, do the opposite.
Use it to build your career and put a solid plan in place to build a platform that you can later leverage to legitimize your career as an actor. Here’s how I can help you get the ball rolling on that.
If their form of “networking” with industry people consists of going to happy hour after acting class, think of how you can be more effective.
Consider how you can be targeted in your approach to meeting people and getting in front of industry decision makers.
This is an area where most actors don’t have a clue on where to even start. The goal is to make yourself highly visible to the industry. It will legitimize your career and open many doors. This is one of the most effective ways to do that.
Winston Churchill said that success was “moving from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
Everyone who decides to get into the industry knows that it can be a long, tough road. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t take the road less traveled by and shortcut your way to success.
You don’t have to go it alone either!
Remember, I’m always only an email or a comment away and happy to help on your journey however I can, because it would truly make me happy to...
See you at the top,
Scott