If this is your first rodeo, so to speak you may not have noticed this yet, but you will soon.

Every seasoned actor knows that part of being in the industry is encountering the same people over and over again.

These other actors become your colleagues and coworkers, and sometimes you build long lasting friendships with them.

However, almost nobody stops to think of why we audition against the same people over and over again, let alone what this could mean for your acting career.

See, Casting Directors have a framework for casting. They don’t just arbitrarily try to judge who was “the best actor” for the part. There is a specific set of criteria they are looking to fulfill.

More on that in a sec...

When the same things happen over and over, people tend to get comfortable with how things go, and they stop thinking anything of it.

It just turns into “the way things are.”

When it comes to your acting career, if you are seeing the same people over and over again, chances are your career is stuck.

What’s worse is that you may not even realize it yet.

Click below to find out why, and I’ll also share with you how to get your acting career “unstuck” and finally start making the progress you deserve...

Most actors tend to think of the industry as being a highly compartmentalized organization that is unlike anything else on the planet.

In many respects that’s true, but it’s not entirely how it works. There are two sides to the industry.

There’s the creative side which is made up of actors, directors, screenwriters, and everyone else involved in bringing a production to life.

The other side is what most actors ignore.

That’s the business side of the industry. I’ve talked about this at length many times, so we won’t go into the specifics of that now.

What I wanted to bring up about this is the workplace. Think of it like this...

If you are seeing the same pool of actors over and over again, then you are not progressing (being promoted) in your “workplace.”

This makes sense in the 9-5 world, but most of us don’t think of it this way when it comes to the industry.

If you were an accountant and after some time, you were promoted to senior accountant, you would then be interacting with management day to day.

So, you would basically have a new pool of coworkers. The industry works the same way.

As you progress in your career, you should be getting “promoted” to bigger roles with more screen time and more responsibility as well.

So, if the group of actors you are auditioning against isn’t changing, that’s a surefire way to know that your career is stuck.

Of course, actors do leave the industry in droves every single day so you will naturally see some familiar faces leave and you will also see some fresh faces enter the scene too.

But, if the caliber of roles you are auditioning for isn’t changing, that’s another warning sign of a career that has hit a wall.

You have to break free of the circle you are currently running in and move up to bigger and better projects. That mostly goes without saying but we tend to mistake an opportunity for progress.

Almost everyone gets an opportunity to read for something bigger than they normally would, but that doesn’t equate to career progress.

You know you have made real progress when you are consistently reading for higher caliber roles. To “get promoted” to the next level, Casting Directors must have faith in you.

Stick with me for a sec.

So, when a CD has you move forward in the auditioning process, they are essentially giving you their stamp of approval. In other words, they are vouching for you and they are sticking their neck out for you.

Because of this, they have a certain set of criteria they look for, and they are not simply searching for the “best actor.”

One of the most important factors is their level of confidence in you. That’s why I built this. It quickly improves your industry credibility, so you no longer have to worry about it.

They must believe that you will show up on set everyday and deliver a stellar performance without causing too many headaches or delaying production schedules.

When you are on the audition circuit, you are not only reading for the part at hand. You are also, in effect, reading for everything else that CD will ever cast.

This is why standing out among the crowd of actors who are very similar to you is so important.

An easy way to do that is to build rapport with the Casting Director. Being polite and leaving a good impression is a starting point.

Quickly building a rapport with the CD makes you memorable. When you do this successfully, CDs will even invite you to read for projects your agent is unable to get you an audition to.

Actors tend to see CDs as gatekeepers and treat them as superiors (in the workplace). When was the last time, you had a really great rapport with your boss? It does not happen very often.

Instead, treat the CD the same as you would a colleague. It’s a refreshing change of pace for them to be treated like that and you will immediately stand out from everyone else.

That doesn’t mean you should treat them like your best friend and overshare. Treat them with respect and as a warm acquaintance, then gradually develop the relationship over time.

Longevity in the industry comes from having people in your corner with whom you have a working relationship with. No Casting Director wants to start from scratch and they are always looking to meet actors they can call on in the future.

You don’t have to meet everyone in town. Just a handful of sold industry contacts is plenty to get your career going in the right direction quickly.

So, keep this in mind during your next audition. If you don’t have an audition coming up soon, then you have to check this out.

It helps you make yourself highly visible to the industry, while you are free to focus on what you do best.

So, when is your next audition? Do you feel prepared to switch gears in the way you interact with Casting Directors?

Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. I’m always happy to help however I can because my goal is to...

See you at the top,
Scott