I Apologize In Advance... The Industry’s Dirty Little Secret

Have you ever heard someone say that you have to “pay your dues” before you can succeed in the industry?

Did something about that just not sit right with you?

Because you are a part of the Boost My Star tribe, I feel it is my obligation to be completely honest with you, even when the truth is somewhat inconvenient.

The truth is that “paying your dues” is a concept made up by actors that cannot push their careers forward. It’s a way of justifying a lack of progress.

You can either have excuses or you can experience success.

I’m guessing that, because you are here reading this report, you are choosing to forego excuses and looking for the opportunities that will lead to success in your acting career.

See, the whole “paying your dues” concept is one of the industry’s dirty little secrets and the truth is that having a career that exceeds even your wildest dreams isn’t just within reach. You can have it in an instant.

A few days ago, I heard from an actor that did exactly that.

Her story is great, but the best part is that you can do the exact same, right now and sky rocket your career almost instantly too. Here’s how...

Success as an actor is less about talent or having a certain look. It’s more about what you are willing to do to build your career.

For most actors, what they are willing to do doesn’t extend far beyond acting classes, headshot sessions, auditions, and shopping for a new agent every now and then.

This doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what it takes to build your career.

After all, if you what you are after is becoming a professional actor, you have to treat it as a profession.

I have a good friend who is a lawyer. He always told me that “a good lawyer knows the opposing lawyer. A great lawyer knows the judge.”

This is the way actors should approach the industry too.

How many times have you been to a networking-type of meetup or happy hour only to be surrounded by fellow actors?

That’s where we come back to the notion of doing what you are willing to do to build an acting career.

Networking with other actors is probably well within your comfort zone. Calling the head of a major studio and pitching yourself for a production is probably way out of your comfort zone.

Yet, that’s what our fellow BMS tribe member did (on Labor Day nonetheless).

She was at a barbecue with her industry friends, like many of us were. About an hour in, she grew tired of hearing everyone either exaggerate what they had going on, or lament about what they didn’t have going on.

She has been in the industry for some time now and she said “the barbecue is kind of an annual thing and I didn’t want to be in the same circle this time next year doing it all over again.”

When you feel inspired to do something differently. Do it. Don’t question things and don’t overthink it.

As humans we are equipped with intuition for a reason (the nature of which is a topic for another time) so whenever you feel that intuitive nudge, yield to it.

That’s exactly what she did. She told me that, for days she had been thinking about why actors wait.

“Why can’t we just go straight to the real decision makers” she thought. So on Labor Day, she picked up the phone and that’s exactly what she did.

While her fellow actor friends were working on their tans, she managed to get on the phone with a showrunner for one of the hottest shows on primetime!

Because there is no such thing as “down time” for a showrunner, he was in the office laboring away on Labor Day.

So, instead of the phone ringing to the receptionist, the call simply went to the next available phone that was not on “do not disturb” mode.

It happened to be exactly who she needed to get in touch with. A showrunner isn’t typically involved in small casting decisions, and that’s why she wanted to speak with him.

However, when a showrunner calls the casting office and says they “have someone in mind” you can bet that casting will move mountains to make something happen.

So, our fellow tribe member was reading for the CD less than 48 hours later.

Not only that, she walked out of the casting office with an offer for to be a series regular.

Her agent had submitted her for a much smaller role, reluctantly and after much coaxing, but she wasn’t called in to read.

However, the initiative that she displayed by calling the production office was exactly what that character needed, so it was a complete no brainer and everyone immediately knew it would be a great fit.

I’m not saying that you need to drop everything and call a studio or a production office right now. You should however think of what you can do to differentiate yourself from the sea of actors and communicate to decision makers that you are the obvious choice.

Here’s how I can help with that.

Think about who you could be the difference maker for your career. Don’t think small. Think about who could skyrocket your career.

You would think that they would be flooded with people who want something from them, but it’s actually the opposite.

The intimidation factor is so great, that hardly anyone ever bothers to approach them, even though a 15 second phone from one of them could change the trajectory of anyone’s career almost instantly.

Remember, being successful as an actor is less about talent and more about what you are willing to do build your acting career.

Are you willing to intern at a production office for the chance to get some facetime with decision makers? Are you willing to step out of your comfort zone and be part of a holiday caroling quartet (story for another time), or are you willing to change your career plans completely and work in a casting office for a few years so you can get to know everyone?

The number of ways you can a decision makers attention are endless.

This is what “paying your dues” really is. It’s not about waiting your turn in line. It’s about stepping out of your comfort zone, going against conventional wisdom and the advice of your industry friends, and ultimately making things happen for yourself.

Regardless of what path you take, it is extremely important that your industry reputation as a professional actor matches your goals.

Don’t risk having your efforts fall flat.

It’s easy to be passionate about an acting job, once you have one. It is much harder to be passionate about everything that leads up to that.

Time and time again, I’ve heard directly from casting directors about casting decisions being made because someone was more passionate than someone who would have been the conventional choice.

It’s important that you make yourself highly visible to the industry as a complete professional rather than as someone who is acting as a hobby.

Most actors remain stuck in their careers because they are afraid to ruffle feathers. However, remember that Steven Spielberg got his start by sneaking onto the studio lot.

Mila Kunis lied about her age to be eligible for a production. So, don’t be afraid to boldly break out of the mold and do things differently.

If you are ever in doubt about something or if you just need someone to bounce ideas with, I’m always just an email or a comment away because my goal is to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How to Get More Auditions and Be Booked For Gigs You Actually Want

He was the epitome of taking “the road less traveled by.” 

He was my acting coach and one of the greatest people you would have ever met. I unfortunately attended his funeral a few years back but I was delighted to see hundreds of people, most of them actors and other industry professionals. 

I have made it my mission to document what I learned from him, so that it will be available for actors everywhere. 

For starters, here’s one of the most important and impactful things I learned… 

As actors, we love to work our craft. There’s nothing like the feeling you get from being on stage or in front of the camera. 

However, it’s easy to overlook working on our craft because we are constantly looking for the next set to hop onto. 

While there’s nothing wrong with this and you should absolutely do this every day, that’s only half the equation. The wrong knowledge and talent combined with the right mechanics will yield a terrible result. 

Simply stated, imagine taking a super talented actor, throwing them onstage and telling them to sing any song they chose. What do you think the outcome would be? 

Why? 

Wrong talent, right mechanics (even if the are totally tone deaf and can’t carry a tune whatsoever, everyone knows how to sing a song…some of us are just really bad at it) 

When you couple the right talent with the right mechanics, magic happens! 

My acting coach had a unique ability to teach this. I’ll get to why in a second, but first have you considered why the top .01 of the industry “made it” while many of us spin our wheels for decades, without much progress? 

Here’s what they knew… 

When you couple the right talent, with the right mechanics, and they meet opportunity, the sky doesn’t even begin to describe the limits. There are none! 

My acting coach taught me that I have the right talent, in fact almost everyone is born with the “acting gene,” and he coached me through the right mechanics. 

The second half of the equation is someone like my friend Brian. He can teach you how to create the right opportunity. Getting the opportunity to spend time with someone like him is priceless and for most, it has been. 

I convinced him to share something with you that he has only shared twice before. In his long and illustrious career he has only shared this 2X before in this format and he is going to share it with you on a live and free webinar. 

Obviously, he can’t do this forever, so sign up now while you have the chance. Remember, he has only shared this twice before and I’m not sure when he will do it again, if ever. 

Here’s a little bit of what you will from Brian… 

How to: 

• Stand out in a crowded market – with or without representation 

• Identify the 3 biggest mistakes every actor makes that stop you from gaining traction with the biggest casting directors 

• Discover the easy steps – you didn’t even know existed! – that put you on top of the list (both when you and your representation submits you!) 

• Pitch yourself so you get in on the BIGGEST television, film, and theatre auditions 

• Submit to projects with the confidence that you are getting a fair shot 

• Present a profile to your agent that gets them excited to submit you for the biggest gigs (even if you fear your credits are unimpressive) 

And tons more! 

In fact I’m so confident that you will love what Brian has to say that if you feel like it was a waste of your time, let me know and I’ll give you a free gift as a humble apology. (This would be a free week of BMS, if anyone redeems) 

You already have the “acting gene” and we’ll go over the right mechanics soon, because you have to start working on creating the right opportunity now. 

Find out more by signing up for Brian’s webinar. Do it now while it’s fresh on your mind. 

You know that I only bring you information, tools, and resources that I hope will help me… 

See you at the top,
Scott 

P.S. In case you’re in a hurry and scrolled to the bottom here’s what’s going on: my friend Brian is hosting a live webinar. It costs you nothing and you will learn how to create endless opportunity for yourself as an actor. He’s only doing it for a limited time so sign up now! Remember, when you combine the right talent, with the right mechanics, and the right opportunity (what Brian will teach you) there are no limits to what you can do. 

How To Get Your Acting Career “Unstuck”

One of my mentors told me really early on that “most people overestimate what they can do In 1 year and underestimate what they can do in 3 or 5 years.”

This has been true for just about every actor I have ever met. Even when we modestly trim our goals to make them more “realistic” when telling someone else about them, we still tend to do this.

If you feel like you have been trying to get ahead in the industry and feel like you are not making the progress you should be making, you could be coming right up to the edge of accomplishing everything you have ever wanted to accomplish in the industry and more.

What will determine whether you stay stuck in your acting career and continue to spin your wheels or whether your career will take off like a rocket, is not what you may think.

Here’s why...

Let’s face it, in order to make the leap and even try to become a professional actor, one has to be a big thinker and incredibly optimistic.

Just about every actor, I’ve ever met has had incredibly ambitious goals for years 1, 2, and 3. I want to be extremely clear: there is absolutely nothing wrong with thinking big and having gigantic goals.

In fact, I encourage it.
What derails us from achieving those big goals is not having detailed plan of action to accomplish them.

Not having this is kind of like getting in your car with the goal in mind of going to the grocery store, stepping on the gas and sitting back hoping that you eventually arrive at the grocery store.

In reality, you probably wouldn’t even make it down a few blocks in one piece.

If you instead used your GPS to get there, and actually steered the car of course, you would have step by step directions along with an anticipated time of arrival and the vehicle to get there. Pun intended.

So, if you want to make real and meaningful career progress you need to build a GPS for your acting career.

That way you know when you are on track and how to get back on track when you are not.

You will know that as long as you don’t deviate from your career GPS, you will be on the right path and making progress towards your end goal of being a fulltime, professional actor.

Most actors stop progressing in their careers because they never took the time to put a plan together.

They just kind of mindlessly go from one audition to the next, and look for a better agent every now and then. Even though some of them book a few jobs every year, the work is typically mundane and they never progress beyond one or two liners.

Studies have shown that what causes people to quit just about anything, is not a lack of achievement.

Rather, they quit because of a lack of progress.

Even actors who are working steadily, but are not getting to the next level will often leave the industry, not because they weren’t able to find work but because they weren’t able to secure meaningful work.

If you want to avoid falling into that trap, start by getting clear on what you truly want to accomplish in the industry.

Sit down for a few minutes and really think on it on a deep and personal level. Meditate on the question, if it helps.

Be sure that what you want to achieve in the industry is not guided by what others may think your goals should be or what would make someone else happy.

Then be honest with yourself about where you are in your career at this moment.

If you are still on the ground floor and haven’t yet spoken even a single word on a project that had any kind of distribution, then be honest with yourself about that. No ifs, no and, no buts and no excuses.

You don’t have to share this with anyone, but if you are going to get to your career destination, you have to know where you are starting from.

Write those 2 points down on a sheet of paper, or wherever you keep permanent notes.

Start by writing your goal at the top of the page and work backwards to fill in the steps you need to take to get from where you are now, to where you want to be.

Some of those steps may require you to get out of your comfort zone or to do things you may not be happy about.

For example, you may have an agent right now that you really like and that may be doing well in terms of getting you into auditions.

However, if your agent is playing too small themselves, then there will likely come a point when you have to part ways.

If you are virtually unknown in the industry, then at sooner or later, you will have to get out and meet industry decision makers.

Actually, you should be doing this daily, no matter where you are in your career because there is simply no better way to go from zero to 100, than to have an industry decision maker in your career.

This doesn’t have to be the head of major studio. It can be a primetime Casting Director, or even a mid level studio executive that believes in you and your talent.

Here’s how to make it easier for CDs and industry decision makers to believe in you and take you seriously as a professional actor, rather than someone who does this as a hobby.

If you are not able to finish your list right now, set aside 30 minutes over the next day or two to get it done.

It may just be the most important time you spend on your career.

To make the planning a bit easier, there are a few milestones that every actor will have to hit, so you can start by writing those down and then fill in the space between those points.

For example, social media is becoming a major factor in casting decisions, so actively building your presence on social media should be a focal point for you.

It’s such an important factor, that I created a way to help you get the ball rolling. Here are the details.

Another point might be to get on a first name basis with Casting Directors in charge of productions you want to be a part of.

There are a few things that would make this possible.

You would need to have a body of work that would leave a lasting impression, so things like making sure your reel is fantastic and having multiple stand-out headshots available would be important points.

Also, you would want to submit to their projects at every opportunity and leave an impression when you read for them.

Ensuring that your industry reputation is in tip top shape and that you are highly visible to industry decision makers are also important points for every actor and the time to start focus on those is right now.

Here’s how I can help with that too.

It doesn’t matter what you want to achieve in the industry. Whether you want to win more Oscars than anyone else in the academy’s history, or if you just want to be a series regular on a show that ultimately ends up in syndication, you need a plan of action to get there.

Your plans or even your goals may change along the way and the industry will most definitely throw you curveballs, so remember I’m always here even if you just need someone to bounce ideas off of.

I’m only a comment or an email away, so get in touch anytime. I’m happy to help in any way I can because, personally, my goal is to...

See you at the top,
Scott

What Type of Actor Do You Want to Be?

When you first decided to become a professional actor, what did you set out for?

Was it the fame, fortune and fanfare or did you really just want to be a working actor who gets to be a part of interesting project?

If you are reading this, then you are a part of the Boost My Star tribe, and you know that I interact with tons of actors and industry decision makers every day.

What I find out from them is sometimes difficult to comprehend, because it is not always aligned with what we feel on a surface level.

Fair warning: we’re going to go deep with this report because it’s that important!

See, you can’t achieve your ideal career until you know exactly what that it is and have a plan to make it happen.

Most actors, nearly all of them actually, just float from one audition to the next. Every now and then they land a part with a few lines, spend a day or two on set and then, go back to audition grind.

The most successful actors, don’t do this.

Here’s why...

They realize that, if they are going to build a successful career, filled with interesting work and opportunities, it is important to have a definite vision.

I’m not talking about goal setting or law of attraction stuff. That’s a topic for another time. For now, let’s keep things on the practical side.

The most successful actors clearly define the roles they want to play and build their entire career around that, rather than trying to build a career out of whatever comes your way.

To be clear, this goes way beyond simply the look you portray, though that is a part of it.

What’s more important however, is to create a character set that is synonymous with you.

A few things happen when you do this.

You completely eliminate the competition for this type of role, which means that you can basically pick and choose your projects. You will have way more to choose from than you could ever handle.

And that’s not an understatement.

Take Danny Trejo for example. You would instantly recognize his face because he hands more credits to his name, than most actors will ever even audition for.

He also plays the title character in Quentin Tarantino’s Machete franchise.

Danny has a very specific look. He’s very well suited for dark and gritty roles and not a casting meeting goes by that his name doesn’t come up in conversation, when CDs are casting for this type of role.

In fact, he has appeared in as many as 5 feature films in a single year, which is completely unheard of.

The reason for this is that he is the obvious choice for this type of role, so he is always top of mind for these projects.

By his own admission, he never set out to be a celebrity and by just about any measure of “celebrity” he really isn’t one.

He doesn’t have to dodge the paparazzi and over his decades long career, he’s only been on the red carpet a handful of times.

Yet, his acting work is plentiful and fulfilling.

See, there is an all too common misconception in the industry that has most actors believing that they need to go after the celebrity factor to have a career like this.

That’s simply not true and through my countless interactions with actors, most of them (quietly) don’t want this.

So, there is a misalignment between what they truly want from their careers and the career they are trying to build. This is what has so many actors taking a random approach to building a career.

They take anything and everything that comes their way rather than having a laser focus on the type of career they want.

Not having a focused approach to what you want your career to look like is also what could get you lost in the shuffle of all the other actors who are doing the exact same thing as you.

Taking the “anything and everything-will act for food” route is a long and hard struggle and it’s nearly impossible to differentiate yourself from everyone else.

While it may seem like you are limiting yourself and your opportunities by doing this, you are actually doing the opposite.

Rather than being a small fish in a giant pond, you become the only fish in the pond.

This doesn’t mean that you will get locked into only playing this type of role for the rest of your career. Over time, you will unlock new opportunities and dimension to your career.

For example, think of it like Dwayne Johnson who isn’t limited to just playing the touch guy anymore. It’s still a huge part of his career, but he now gets to play comedic and dramatic roles with a softer side as well.

However, his career would never have taken off if he started with this “shotgun” approach.

Once you have focused in on the type of career you want to have, then it’s just a matter of making yourself visible to the industry.

If they have no idea who you are, then they can’t hire you so make sure you put yourself in the best position to be found. Here’s a great place to start.

What you have discovered here is an easy and practical way to make it in the industry.
The old ways of doing things are quickly dying away and the industry is moving faster than ever before. So, the time to carve out your space is now.

After you have conquered your corner of the industry and mastered the type of roles we’ve been talking about, you can then move on to conquer the industry as a whole and become a household name and marquee actor if you choose.

It all starts with creating opportunities for yourself. Even if you have an agent, you still have to both be on the same page with where your career is going.

Most agents will put you on the path to taking anything and everything, unless you instruct them to do otherwise.

Learn from other actors that have achieved the success you are after and follow in their footsteps to get there.

Take things to the next level by leveraging things like social media. Again, you don’t need to have a huge celebrity-level presence.

In fact, I can even help you get the ball rolling. Here are the details on that.

The first thing you need to do is decide what kind of roles you truly love to play. Sit down for a few minutes and make a list. Think of all the roles you loved to play and also about the ones that you would have loved to play.

Then go to work on building your career around that idea.

Remember, if you want someone to bounce ideas off of, I’m always only an email or a comment away because my goal is to...

See you at the top,
Scott

2 Changes You Must Make to Be a Professional Actor

“You call yourself an actor?”

My heart sunk. I had been working on the scene for weeks and I was so excited to finally get feedback from my acting teacher, and that is not what I was expecting to hear from him.

In retrospect, it was one of the best things that ever happened to me.

I’ll always remember the look on his face when he asked me that. He was completely serious, and I immediately knew that it wasn’t intended as a joke, even though I chuckled.

To this day, I can’t exactly identify what that look was, but I knew I didn’t like it. Over time, I came to know exactly what he meant.

I respected my acting teacher very much, and I hung to every word and every critique.

This was probably the biggest one and almost no one else in the class caught the deeper meaning. Those that did, went on to build incredible careers and have participated in some amazing productions.

Over the last few years, I have begun sharing that message and what I learned from my acting teacher with members of our Boost My Star tribe, and those that have taken it to heart have enjoyed massive success in their acting careers too.

If you want to be successful as an actor, it all comes down to 2 things...

The truth is, most actors that are truly pursuing this as a profession are doing almost everything right, yet they struggle to make meaningful career progress.

Audition, Agent, Repeat. That’s how it mostly goes. Every now and then they book a role and after the production has wrapped, they go back to the same cycle, right where they left off.

What pushes talented actors out of the industry isn’t a lack of work. It’s a lack of interesting work.

One liners and bit roles are only interesting the first handful of times. After that, the monotony sinks in, especially when you know that there is so much more you can offer, if only someone would give you a chance.

We have all had those moments of hollering at the TV or squirming in our seats at the movie theatre, thinking we could have played a role so much better.

One of the reasons that I started Boost My Star, was that I noticed everyone (including me) putting the cart before the horse so to speak.

Every actor I knew was focused almost entirely on refining their talent and getting better. They were always in enrolled in one acting class or another, and sometimes they were in a few of them at the same time.

It seemed like they were at a workshop every other weekend and they were completely focused on becoming better actors.

However, they never took much time to focus on the things that would actually lead to them having an opportunity to share their talent.

That’s why most careers never get off the ground.

Actors are creatives and as such, we love flexing that creative muscle and we tend to forget about the things that are necessary to build a career.

Even if you have an agent it’s still up to you to make contacts with industry decision makers, nurture those relationships and ultimately generate interest for your talents from CDs.

Remember that at the end of the day, the industry is a business. Unfortunately, talent is not enough, and you have to make yourself into a marketable commodity. That’s why Instagrammers and YouTubers are coming to the mainstream entertainment industry in droves.

They draw in viewers and also bring people to the box office. This makes it worthwhile for the networks and studios to cast them, even though there may be actors that are better suited for the role.

While I completely disagree with this and think that talent should always win, I do understand it.

Unfortunately, it’s one part of the industry that I don’t see changing anytime soon, if ever. Rather than hoping things were different the most successful actors have learned to operate within the system instead of trying to change it.

I created a way, for you to improve your industry standing and make yourself highly visible to decision makers. You can get the details on that here.

After you have some traction on that side of the coin, then it’s time to focus on other things.

See, you can take a dozen classes on how to master an audition, but it won’t make a difference if you don’t have many auditions to go too.

So, focus on generating as many opportunities for yourself as possible first, then focus on how you will deliver a star worthy performance.

That way, when step on set you can stop thinking of yourself as an actor and you can instead be a vessel through which your characters come to life.

When you approach the industry and your craft this way, you immediately become irresistible to industry decision makers, because you will be the “whole package.”

Casting Directors, will want to hire you on the spot.

They see talented actors all day every day but talented actors that also have the business workings of the industry figured out are very rare, so they will lean on you and look to cast you at every opportunity.

CDs love to work with talented actors that can also add value to the production and draw an audience.

It’s why your social media accounts are scrutinized anytime you are being considered for a role. Here’s how I can help with that too.

Making an effort to meet industry decision makers, work on generating opportunities for yourself, and focusing on the “business” side of things is not why actors choose the industry.

Because of this, I have built tools to make you visible to decision makers and help you promote your career practically on autopilot so you don’t have to worry about it.

If your acting career isn’t progressing as fast as you hoped and if you are not booking as much interesting work as you would like then it’s time to do something differently.

Here’s a good place to start.

If you do this, the at the very least you will be doing something differently than the 99.99% of actors who simply hope to be noticed and “discovered.”

You will be taking a bold step towards making things happen. That’s a perfect recipe for success in your acting career and what I hope will lead me to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Access The Secret Treasure Trove of Acting Work

Do you have predictability in your acting career, or are you just kind of winging it from day to day?

Answer that questions honestly.

Nearly every actor I have ever met, is winging it, so don’t worry!

If that’s you too, it is not your fault!

There are not many people in the industry that actually have a clue about what is working right now, to make it as an actor.

This leaves us piecing together, random bits of information and advice which, well intended as it may be, is usually coming from colleagues that are in the same position as we are.

That’s why I created Boost My Star and pledged to make it all about the side of making it in the industry that no one else dares talk about.

For example, there’s a source of acting work that all of us have access to, but very few actors actually use it. Some of those that have used it have gone so far as to call it a treasure trove of acting work.

If you want to be a working a lot more than you currently are, let’s get real for a bit...

Not 1 actor in 1,000 works as often as they would like to. It’s actually not uncommon to go through a marathon of auditions during pilot season and then not book a single audition for months after that.

The truth is, whether you are self represented or if you have an agent, you should be going on auditions and booking jobs predictably and most importantly, consistently.

What drives more actors out of the industry than anything else, is not being able to book enough meaningful work.

If you want to have a long and prosperous career, you should never be without something to do that is related to your acting career, so that you always have plenty of work to choose from.

After all, that’s what it means to be a full time, working actor, right?

Getting to that point can be the hardest part for most of us, but it doesn’t have to be, and if you search hard enough there will always be a reason to justify why it may not be happening.

For example, we’re coming to the end of summer. The chatter I’ve heard around town has been“everyone’s on vacation” or “pilot season was intense this year, everyone is still recovering.”

If predictability and consistency is what’s needed in your career, the question then becomes about how to achieve that.

For starters, you have to quite the noise about everyone being on vacation, or about it being the holiday season. Someone in the industry is always doing something, and often the best times to land on their radar are when everyone else has checked out.

This is one big reason why doing things consistently is so important.

Because of all the distractions around today, it takes about 8 times for someone to register seeing something, before it officially lands on their radar.

So, if you (or your agent) are only submitting for projects one time...how likely is that you are going to be seen?

Here’s a ninja tactic: submit for projects multiple times.

Granted, it won’t be appropriate for you to do this every time and you will need to use judgement and discretion.

When you really want to be called in for a project, don’t be afraid to do this. There is usually a window of time during which the casting office will be accepting submissions. You should submit at least once early on, and then again towards the end.

Ideally, you would also submit somewhere in the middle.

At worst, you get put in the “no thanks” pile a couple times but even so, your materials will have been reviewed 2 or more times. That’s a dream come true, in any scenario!

Trust me you will never get a cease and desist notice.

You should also be submitting to projects that haven’t yet begun casting.

Why?

Because, no one else is doing it, even though this is what top tier agents do: they find projects for their talent rather than waiting for the projects to find them.

The key is that you don’t just send in your materials in the same way you normally would. You have to get creative. For example, send the CD a bouquet of balloons with your materials attached along with a letter about why should be called to read for the project.

You could even have a friend deliver it.
A friend of mine put together a holiday caroling quartet one year and “delivered” it to a CD. See, no one in their right mind turns away a singing quartet.

They were promptly allowed to go right into the CDs office and deliver their performance. The entire casting office came in to watch them perform, because that’s what happens when a singing quartet comes into your workplace.

They opened with a traditional song, and about a third of the way into the song, “remixed” the lyrics into being about them as actors and why they would each be perfect for the production.

Long story short, they were not called to read for that project. However, the CD was so taken with them, their creativity, and their boldness that she got them featured on a 30 minute, primetime sitcom as a group.

It wasn’t even a project of hers, but she knew of it and called the casting office to get them in.

From then on, she practically went out of her way to help move their careers forward. She insisted they were called into to read for everything she worked on and she even opened doors for them through other casting offices.

A major factor that encouraged her to do this was that the actors all had incredible industry reputations that reflected they were serious about being working actors and not just hobbyists.

That’s the same reason the insanely small percentage of actors who tap into the “secret” treasure trove of acting jobs, send their careers skyrocketing.

This source is available to everyone but almost no one uses it, even though it is absolutely the best way to get another acting job. All you have to do is leverage your last one.

Casting Directors are just like us. When they wrap a project, they go on to the next one, so maintain that relationship. That’s the treasure trove!

Send them a thank you note for giving you the opportunity, after production wraps. Casting is grueling work and it’s very much a thankless job, so you will immediately land on their radar as someone worth keeping on file (more on this next time).

Even if you don’t hear back from them, trust me, you will have made an impact.

Connect with them on social media, especially if you have a base of followers that is growing and dedicated to you. Here’s how I can help you get the ball rolling on social media too.

Contact the CDs periodically too. Holidays and Birthdays are excellent times to reach out, without being too forward.

My incredible acting teacher said to all of his students “you can make excuses like everyone does, or you can have the results they don’t even dare to imagine.” That requires you to do things no one else does.

Use at least one thing you learned here and your career will change forever.

Just be sure that your industry reputation matches your goals. It’s a big factor in casting decisions for a reason.

Remember, Boost My Star is about the side of the industry no one else talks about because everyone in

the industry is busy doing the things that everyone else in the industry does.

Don’t fall into that cycle, and don’t let this become one of those things that you intended to do but never got around to.

Choose one thing to do right now and do it immediately.

Let me know what it is in the comments below or send me an email. I read and respond to every one that comes in and I’m happy to help in any way I can because my goal is to...

See you at the top,
Scott

The Truth About Your Acting Career

Last week was one of the most important weeks for actors and it presented incredible opportunities, if you paid attention and took action.

You probably didn’t even hear a word about it around town.

I’m not referring to pilot or episodic season, so most actors have no idea what I’m talking about...and that’s why most will never make any significant career progress.

Before we dive in, I have to be honest. You may actually want to skip this report.

I deliver some inconvenient, if not harsh truths and it’s definitely not a “fluff” piece full of motivational platitudes.

Instead, this report contains real world strategies about what is working right now to make it as an actor.

So, if you are ready to finally make real progress in your acting career, there’s something you should know...

Most of what you have been told about the industry is completely wrong. The reason I created Boost My Star was that, as I looked around at the information that was available to up and coming actors about making it in the industry, I realized it was outdated at best and mostly just plain wrong.

Your acting coach will tell you to keep working on your skills and you will eventually be noticed.

If you turn to your agent for advice, you will be told that it takes time to build a successful career and to just keep plugging away.

While that’s actually ok advice, it’s still not the best course of action.

If you turn to your industry friends, you will probably hear motivational talking points.

So where do you turn?

Always go to the source. Look at the actors you admire, and breakdown their careers. Determine why they made the career moves they made and how the opportunities present themselves.

Did they stick with their first agent, or did they go through agents every few months until they found one they clicked with?

What kind of support did their agent provide?

Though the show is a work of fiction, I always recommend that you watch and study the show Entourage. It’s a fairly accurate, albeit dramatized, version of the inner workings of the industry.

Find your Ari Gold.

I do career breakdowns at least once per week, and without fail, every actor that has built a successful career had someone in their corner that went to incredible lengths to support them.

In fact, this extends to every corner of the entertainment industry and just about every profession out there.

There is always someone that takes you under their wing and helps you get off the ground.

Today, the dynamics are a bit different and it’s easier than ever to open doors. More on this in a moment.

First, I want to clear something up. Doing what everyone else does gets you the results that everyone else gets. That’s why it’s important for you to go against the grain.

Try this: go to Instagram and search #actor or #actorslife and look around for a bit.

How fast did you scroll through the posts? Chances are you scrolled pretty fast. Everything and everyone sort of blends into the background because no one wants to stand out.

We all want to be noticed, but we are afraid to stand out. That is a career killing paradox.

If you want to make it in the industry it is important that you differentiate yourself. That’s why last week was one of the most important weeks for actors, and not for the reasons you might think.

See, the industry model has changed. Whereas, you used to need someone in your corner to open doors for you and introduce you to the “right people,” you can now use a few simple tools to build the wind beneath your wings.

Here’s what I mean by that...

We’ve seen YouTubers, Instagrammers and Influencers crossover to the mainstream industry in droves over the last few years.

It’s because they came with a built in audience and what the industry refers to as Proof of Marketability. Basically, they sell tickets and draw people to the box office.

That audience is the wind beneath their wings. I’m not saying that you have to build a huge following with millions of fans.

What I’m saying is that your destiny is yours to shape. With a solid industry reputation and a small group of people that know, like, and trust you, the sky is the limit.

Think of what happens when you discover a new actor that you admire. The first thing you do is probably check out their IMDb to see what other credits they have and scroll through their social feeds to see what they are all about.

That’s why last week presented such a big opportunity. It was Shark Week! The shows boast some of the highest ratings on Television, and the fans are die hard fans!

Joining the Shark Week conversation for example, is one of the things you can to differentiate yourself.

See, audiences don’t just want to watch an actor, they connect with the person behind the characters they play.

It’s why actors do the late night talk show circuit and press junkets before a big release. Today, you no longer need to go on the late show to connect with just as many people.

Instead of tuning in like everyone else, look for opportunities to join conversations and connect with others.

Don’t throw an Academy Awards watch party, just for the sake of it. What if you livestreamed your commentary about whether or not you feel the award went to the right person.

Some will disagree with you, but the ones that do will love you for it.

In today’s environment you first have to connect with someone in order to earn their attention for your projects.

This is why, when everyone else tunes out, that’s a good indication that you should be looking for the opportunity to get to work.

That doesn’t mean you have to “roll up your sleeves” every day. I created a way where you can put this on autopilot, so you can be confident that’s it’s always getting done.

When everyone else is focused on their tan and “taking it easy” you should be looking for ways to give your career a boost.

he real industry decision makers are never completely checked out, and you shouldn’t be either.

The number one thing you should be focused on at all times, is differentiating yourself. Actors come a dime a dozen, so ask yourself how you can go beyond being just another actor and make yourself a commodity.

Then you must make yourself highly visible to the industry. Most actors have no idea what this even means, so here’s how I can help with that.

If Casting Directors and other decision makers don’t know you, they can’t hire you, so you have to do something everyday to grab their attention.

Just be sure that your industry reputation is aligned with your goals.

This can make you lose credibility faster than almost anything else. Anyone can say they are an actor, but there is a big difference between being an actor and in being a working actor.

If you want to be a working actor, your industry reputation must reflect that, so you don’t get put in the same category as all the other hobbyists that call themselves actors.

That’s the recipe for building an acting career.

If you have questions about any part of this, let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. I read and respond to every one that comes through because my goal is to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Get More Auditions and Book More Acting Jobs in 2019

The industry is changing. If you have been around Boost My Star for any length of time, you have heard me say this at least a thousand times.

The problem is not that the industry is changing, it’s that actors are not changing with it.

If you think of your actor friends, and the way almost everyone approaches the industry, you will notice that they all approach it the same way.

Enroll in acting classes or improv, find agent, wait for phone to ring. That’s pretty much how it goes for almost all of us.

However, if you are still acting in 2019 you have to change the way you do things.

If you want to have a long and prosperous career as a working actor you simply cannot afford to do what everyone else does. Doing so will get you the same results that everyone else gets, and most actors are on their way out of the industry, about as soon as they enter it.

The industry is undergoing a massive shift and getting more auditions, especially more quality auditions, is crucial to your success as an actor.

More than ever, you need to deploy every advantage available to you, and what I’m about to share with you will give you a huge advantage!

Let’s start with the 1 super simple change you can make right now that could lead to you getting tons more auditions immediately...

As you progress in the industry, your body of work will “do the talking” and open up doors for you.

However, as you start to build your acting career, your body of work may not be sufficient enough or visible enough to do this for you just yet.

That’s why we rely on tools such as resumes, headshots, reels, personal websites, IMDb, etc.

This is what casting looks to when evaluating whether or not they want to invest time into the process of considering you for a role.

When your agent looks through the dailies, they will match you with opportunities you may be a fit for. They then send out your resume, headshot, and reel to casting for their review.

This is the part where most actors believe the “ball is out of their court” and it’s now up to casting to identify their talent and give them an opportunity.

However, the process is just getting started and there are a number of things you can do to practically ensure that you shine each step of the way so that you can breeze through the various steps and eventually be called in to audition.

The first item that Casting Directors will review is your headshot to determine whether the vision they have for the role, is one you match up with.

If they determine you are a close enough fit, then they will skim your resume and place you into a “keep file” or if they don’t see a fit, they will disregard your submission completely.

More on this in a second.

If you are lucky enough to go into the “keep file” this is when the casting department will review your reel and start to determine your castability index. We’ll come back to your index in a moment.

The question is then how do you get yourself into the “keep file?”It starts with your headshot and resume.

The biggest mistake you can make here is to have a headshot that is indistinguishable from the hundreds, if not thousands of other headshots CDs look over every day.

Your headshot should reflect your current casting type. If you are going for girl next door type of roles, then your headshot should not be done with a full face makeup and smoky eyes.

Think of ways that you can make yourself standout, without going against type.

Also, consider what projects you may be submitted to. We are coming up on another election cycle, which means that more projects of a political nature will be greenlit, than in recent years.

For example, adding an American Flag lapel pin to your headshot would instantly make a connection to you and the role you are auditioning for in the mind of the CD.

You should have a couple of different variations of your headshot available for agent to submit, depending on the nature of the roles you are going to be submitted to.

If you have the cashflow to do a reshoot to add things like this, great! Otherwise, you can have a friend photoshop a lapel pin onto your current headshot. You could even have them add frown lines to your images, if you are being submitted to darker and more serious roles.

It’s all about doing whatever you can to standout and move along in the casting process.

Contrary to popular belief, your resume is not as important as it used to be. There are so many production companies and so much content being produced that casting simply cannot keep up with all of them.

This is why your resume is largely irrelevant now, and what CDs look to instead is IMDb. So, to give yourself the best chance of being called in, you need to make sure that your reputation on IMDb is in good shape.

Here’s how I can help with that.

Once, casting determines that your experience level and reputation are good enough, and your headshot has been approved, they will then look to your reel for final confirmation before calling you in.

This is the most time consuming part of the process for casting, and that’s why it is reserved for last.

The mistake nearly every actor makes is to send out the same reel for every audition they go on. At best, some actors (very few of them) will have a dramatic reel and an action or a comedy reel.

However, just as you should have a few different variations of your headshot, you also need to have reels that are specifically tailored to the roles you are going out for and most importantly, they should be tailored to the people that are going to be viewing them.

If you are being submitted to a play a doctor for example, but there is not a single frame in your reel that shows you playing a doctor, how well is your reel going to serve you?

This is where you have to go beyond what everyone else is doing. If you don’t have time to shoot new material for your reel, you can at least make subtle changes.

One of our tribe members changes her background color to match the CDs preference.

This is the age of social media and practically everything you have ever wanted to know about almost anyone is pretty much readily available.

Look for the Casting Director online and see what they like. If you see that the CD is always wearing something pink, then the background of your reel should be pink rather than the traditional black bars.

You can make quick changes like this on the fly and without needing any technical skills whatsoever.

You might think “I don’t want to be known as the person that sent in a reel with a pink background!”

Consider whether you would rather be known for that, or would you rather be forgotten about?

Remember, it’s all about getting to the next stage in the casting process. If it takes a pink background for you to get called in...why not do it?

Go above and beyond what everyone else does, and you will get disproportionate results that they cannot even imagine.

Your reel, and your body of work along with a host of other factors will determine your castability index. Chief among those factors is how the industry views you and that’s why you have to make sure that your reputation matches your goals.

As long as no red flags come up when casting is doing their due diligence and looking into your reputation, then you will be called in to audition and it’s your time to shine.

By now, casting will be eagerly anticipating your arrival because of the impression you made long before you ever walked in the room.

Approaching the industry this way is something that no acting teacher and no colleague would ever recommend.

I have pieced together what is working right now based on my countless daily interactions with other actors and industry decision makers, and by exhaustively studying, interviewing, and extracting every bit of knowledge from actors that have made it and built lucrative and enviable careers.

They always march to the beat of their own drum and are not afraid to color outside the lines. They force themselves out of their comfort zones and simply do the things others are unable or unwilling to do for fear of being ridiculed or making a mistake.

Without fail, all of them use 2 strategies to succeed.

1. They do things differently.

2. They make themselves highly visible to the industry.

If you want to be the next actor to make incredible career progress quickly, here’s how I can help with both.

I’ll stop at nothing to give you every advantage possible to succeed as an actor, because my goal is to...

See you at the top,
Scott