Hollywood is all about access. How far you go in the industry will largely be determined by the people and the resources you have access to. 

Unfortunately, this business is not a complete meritocracy. 

Some actors choose to complain about this and sulk when they are passed over for a role by someone who had the right contacts. 

Others choose to adapt to the way the industry works rather than fighting against it. After all, this is a people business, just like anything else. 

What follows is the tale of one of the busiest actors around and the way she got into the industry. I’m sharing every detail with you so that you can do the same and force the industry to take you seriously already. 

I remember a particular time when I first got in the industry. I was “in between agents.” That’s code for: my agent dropped me because I couldn’t afford to get a new batch of headshots printed. 

I was going through a particularly long dry spell and I hadn’t booked a gig in months. Desperate didn’t even begin to describe what it felt like. 

After a while, all kinds of negative things start to go through your mind. 

“Why did I ever think I could be a professional actor? Should I pack it up and go home? Will anyone even hire me again after not working for so long?” 

The best time to find your next role, is when you have just landed one. Some of this is the market factor: you’re in demand all of a sudden. Part of it is psychological: you have nothing to lose because you already have a gig anyway. 

But what if you don’t even have an idea of where your next gig will come from. What if you have no one to turn to for help and no network to tap for audition leads? 

Do you know what Facebook, Apple, Ford, and Google have to do with your acting career? 

It’s simple really, but incredibly powerful. 

These are some of the biggest companies in the world. They all achieved success the same way and it’s the way that you should approach your acting career, if you want to make meaningful progress towards your goals. 

You may have heard about this if you are pursuing day-job-type of goals along with your acting career, but almost no one connects this to acting. 

Here’s why… 

Times are a’changing grasshopper, but some things will always stay the same. During The Great Depression, when people were struggling to feed themselves and provide basic necessities, one could still stroll past a movie theatre and see a line extending out the door. 

Going to the movies was something that allowed audiences to forget about their struggles for a couple of hours and focus on the feature on screen. They could laugh until they cried and relive the memories all over again later on. 

That’s why, when people were making choices like “which one of us is getting butter with our bread tonight”, they continued going to the movies. 

What was your favorite movie as a kid? Think of your favorite scene from it for a few seconds… 

Safety quality complexity and speed 

Must have goals, and rules of engagement like frequency, private time, discipline to do the work then enjoy, 

Enough already Grasshopper! It seems that everyone in the industry is chasing the magic formula for finally making it in this business. 

Fortunately, it now comes in pill form! Take 2 everyday and you will wake up a star in no time… 

Obviously I’m kidding, but it you look around at your circle of industry friends they are pretty close to searching on Amazon to see if that exists. 

When I talk to actors nowadays, everyone is obsessed with new success hacks, affirmations, nailing the perfect morning routine so that you can carry positivity throughout the day, etc… 

All of that is important but what if you didn’t need any of it? 

What if the secret to making big career moves had nothing to do with any of that? 

Imagine if all you had to do, in order to build the career of your dreams, was just one thing every day?

Everyone loves a good character role. Some actors like playing the villain that is out of this world insane. 

Others like playing in period pieces. Whichever character role is your favorite, chances are you have probably spent a ton of time preparing yourself for it. 

What if that was mostly in vain? 

See character roles are such a small portion of what you will be auditioning for that spending a lot of time preparing for them is counterproductive. Plus, on the grand scheme, it is one of the easier roles to play. 

By far, the toughest auditions and the toughest roles to play are the ones you will be faced with most often, yet most actors seldom put much effort into preparing for them.

Grasshopper, I may have led you in the wrong direction. Here’s why… 

I was having “lunch” with a friend recently, or at least trying to. 

I couldn’t get him to focus on our conversation, or lack thereof, for 2 seconds. He was too busy posting to social! 

Doesn’t it drive you crazy when this happens? 

As I started to think it over, I realized that it happens with my industry friends all the time. With my non-industry friends, it seldom happens. 

My inquisitive mind, led me to chase that rabbit and ask questions. 

And I hate what I found!... 

A knock at the door in the evening is seldom a good thing. The day the package arrived was like any other, until then. 

I opened the door signed for the package and accepted it. I immediately felt a shiver run down my spine. My blood went cold, and I felt the gravity of what I was holding before I opened it. 

I sat the package on the counter and almost ceremoniously poured myself a drink. I’ll admit, I did hold the package to my ear and listened for a ticking sound. LOL 

Being in the industry and having watched more than my fair share of action movies, I pulled my shirt over my mouth and nose as a precaution (as if that would work anyway!) and carefully pulled at the gold ribbons. 

As they came off, it was as if the contents of the package had been held under pressure and the paper gently released. It was like the contents breathed a sigh of relief for finally being freed. 

You might appreciate the reference Grasshopper…