I speak to and interact with a ton of actors and industry people every day. One of the most common questions I get is not what you might think.

Some want to know about the “best” acting classes and coaches in town.

Others want to know about landing a top tier agent, and a few are even bold enough to ask for introductions to Casting Directors and industry decision makers.

However, almost all of them want to know the same thing.
“How do I get verified on Instagram” is a questions I am asked all day everyday.

See, getting verified and having that prized blue check mark on your profile, can do wonders for your acting career.

It will open doors and unlock new opportunities for you to make giant career leaps, if you leverage it properly.

That is something almost nobody has a clue how to do.

There are so many actors with verification badges that are still going to open calls and that are not making any meaningful career progress, because getting verified on Instagram is the easy part.

Let me walk you through it step by step...

I have the incredible privilege to interact with tons of actors and industry decision makers every day. This gives me an incredible insight into what’s going on in the industry.

The same pattern emerges over and over again.

Actors are either looking for their first agent or looking for a new agent.

It’s almost as if having “the right agent” is considered the magic pill that will solve the problems inherent to being an actor.

They will get you into those exclusive auditions that you have never been able to get into before. They will introduce you to the movers and shakers in town, and your career will take off like a rocket overnight.

In reality, whether you are signed to WME or Buddy Joe The Talent Agent, your agent is only part of the equation and there are things that 99.99% of them will never tell you.

In many cases, having an agent could even end up hurting your career more than anything else.

Here’s why...

We all focus so much energy on the spoken word. In fact, a poll conducted by one of the industry’s leading acting coaches revealed that actors spend about 75% of their time running lines, and only about 25% of their time working on facial expressions and body language.

If you want to be a fulltime actor and deliver world class performances that will have directors, CDs and even your castmates wanting to work with you over and over again, then spending your time this way is a big problem.

See, in reality, nonverbal communication accounts for about 93% of the impact you have on people. This is something that, as an actor, you have to portray in the characters you play.

The audience picks up on this on screen in the same way they do in the “real world.”

There is an absolute science and a formula for how to use nonverbal communication (body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice) properly.

It’s not limited to just the characters you play. Your body language could be the reason you are not getting as many callbacks as you should, and why you are not booking as many roles as you should.

CDs are trained to look beyond just how you perform at an audition. They are trained to look to your body language to determine whether or not you have what it takes to play the role.

Here’s how to communicate to Casting Directors know that you can deliver a world class performance, without even saying a word about it, and practically force them to book you...

Being on social media, as an actor, is simply not a choice anymore. You have to be on social if you want to grow a community that supports your work, and industry decision makers are looking to social media to influence their casting decisions.

Unfortunately, nearly all actors are doing social media the wrong way!

They are making mistakes that are actually repelling industry decision makers.

See, there are a few specific things you must be doing on social media, if you want to use it as a tool to grow your career and generate opportunities.

When used correctly, social media can skyrocket your industry status quickly, and put you in front of CDs, directors, and tons of industry decision makers.

Here’s how...

It’s super easy to find yourself lost in a YouTube binge, pick up your phone and see that two and a half hours passed.

YouTube has teams of behavioral and computer scientists to figure out exactly how to keep you on the app as long as possible.

You’ll see this relates to your acting career in just a moment.

They have giant supercomputers tracking your every move and preference and over time the computer learns what you like...and it gives it to you, which in turn makes you happy.

That same concept is how you deliver a great comedic performance, or really any genre of performance.

It starts with something every great actor throughout time has done...

And What An Audition Is Really AboutI wish we could just watch Netflix and chill, but that’s not the life of an actor.

We meticulously compare ourselves to every actor we see on screen. “Are they better than us? Are they worse?” that is what typically runs through our minds when we try to Netflix and chill.

See, there is a lot to learn from watching those that have made it to the silver screen.

For example, I have been binging Designated Survivor on Netflix. Not only is this not something I normally do (I put it on my watchlist for later), it attacks at the heart of why I normally don’t do not do it!

And, that’s exactly why every actor should be tuning in...

Being an actor requires you to be put in some very uncomfortable situations. 

Sometimes this might mean, pushing the boundaries on your comfort zone and allowing yourself to be put in situations you may not otherwise find yourself in. 

Think Tom Cruise hanging off the side of a cliff (it was not CGI!), other times it’s much simpler but still highly uncomfortable. 

As an actor you are judged constantly and you are judged on everything. 

Whether it’s at auditions, acting class, or at Thanksgiving, you are always under a microscope, so it’s no surprise that actors tend to look for a comfortable support system anywhere they can. 

Unfortunately this often leaves us vulnerable because we sometimes do need to hear those harsh truths. It is important that we don’t just pat each other on the back but instead deliver the nitty gritty things that would be as uncomfortable to deliver as it would be to hear them. 

Because I get to speak with so many actors, I have a unique perspective on what is working right now. 

I also have a unique perspective on what is not working and I have come to realize that 99.99 of all actors are simply spinning their wheels and don’t have much hope of ever making significant career progress. 

It’s easy to figure out which group you belong to. Here’s how… 

How many fellow actors have you seen come into the industry with high hopes, a gung ho attitude, and all the talent in the world, only to leave the industry within a few years? 

Most of them never even come close to reaching their goals. 

After getting to know so many actors over all these years, I have come to realize that there is always a pattern of behavior and a chain of events that leads them to leave the industry. 

Even if quitting the industry is nowhere near being on your mind, stick with me, because there 1 simple thing you can do to skyrocket your career. 

If you are in a place where you are considering whether or not you made the right choice in becoming an actor, then pay close attention. 

Being an actor is unlike anything else on the planet. 

Once you are an actor, you are an actor forever! 

There are two types of actors. 

Type 1 does this as a hobby. Type 2 does this as a profession (or at least they aspire to). 

Which one are you and are you behaving in accordance with the type of actor you are?