How To Get Booked With The New Audition Process Part 2

Over the last few weeks we have been talking about how the industry has evolved and we’ve been going over all the ways that it has grown to adapt to the changing times.

Now we are going to tie a few of those concepts together and go over a brand new part of the casting process.

Most actors don’t even have a clue that it exists, and that means you would have virtually zero competition.

If you truly want to become a professional, full time actor then this could be the opportunity you have been looking for...

Almost everyone has a big misconception about the way the casting process works. They have an even worse understanding of how everyone fits into it.

If you ask an actor what a Casting Director’s job is, they would tell you that a CD’s job is to find the most talented actor that is suitable for the role.

In reality, that is only part of their job. Their main responsibility is finding an actor who won’t drop the ball on set.

Stick with me for a sec...

Close your eyes and think of your industry friends. How many times have you watched a movie, or a TV show and thought that one of your friends would have been a much better choice to play one of the characters.

It happens all the time!

See, most actors are talented enough to get the job done so a Casting Director has to build an entire profile on the actors they see. They have to look at the big picture and how a particular actor would fit into it.

Everything from cast synergy to the audience’s acceptance of them in a particular role is what they are looking at.

Ed O’neal had a hard time booking good work after his role on Married with Children and he’s often told a story of having been recast in a film because the test audience’s all erupted in laughter at the sight of Al Bundy playing a detective.

The same thing happened to Jenna Fischer. She was cast in a series alongside Matt LeBlanc, but was recast after the pilot episode because the focus groups couldn’t accept Pam (from The Office) as Joey’s wife (from Friends).

Stuff like this happens all the time. In those cases, recasting meant millions of dollars in reshoots.

Even if a casting error only caused a delay in production, the costs to delay (rather than reshooting) are still incredibly high, so there is always a lot at stake for Casting Directors.

That's why, before moving anyone along in the casting process, they want to get to know you a bit. They are making sure that you are someone they want to take a chance on.

If you drop the ball on set and can’t deliver for some reason, that will always come back to bite them.

The industry is still going through a period of incredible fragility. Because of that CDs are also tasked with making sure that the talent they move forward with is not going to feed any controversy.

That’s why your reputation is more important than ever. More on that in a sec...

It’s also why the Zoom follow up has become such an important part of the casting process. In case you haven’t been on one of these calls yet, Zoom is just an app that allows multiple people to hold a group voice or video call.

You should definitely download the app and have it ready to go because the request for a Zoom follow up could come with short notice.

In fact, some actors are being asked for follow ups as part of castings that were put off earlier this year.

In the past, CDs would have you come in for a callback and get to know you a bit. The current environment doesn’t lend itself to that, so the Zoom follow up is another way to accomplish the same thing.

It’s actually even more efficient because multiple decision makers can hop on the call, regardless of where they are. They don’t have to carve out time to make it to the casting office.

So, you have to put your best foot forward, just as you would during a callback.

This means you should be prepared and have a space that is suitable for you to take the call.

A “safe” bet would be to use a blank wall at home, that way there are no distractions.

A better choice, if you can accomplish it, would be to have the call in a place that would play to your character.

For example, if the role you are auditioning for is an academic type, bookshelves would serve as a fitting backdrop and it won’t go unnoticed. It would connect you to the character, in the mind of the decision makers.

A couple other things you should pay attention to are lighting and sound. Be sure that the area is well lit so that unflattering shadows aren’t cast on your face.

You also want to make sure that you can be clearly heard.

Airpods are a terrible choice 99 times out 100. They pick up way too much background noise and the sound quality isn’t great either.

You don’t need to have pristine, studio quality sound over the call but you do want to be clearly understood.

Wired headsets,that bring the mic closer to your mouth, have much better sound quality because they pick up less background noise.

Make sure your cell signal is up to the task. Video takes a lot of bandwidth, so if your signal is weak it’s likely to drop the feed constantly. There’s nothing worse than a laggy call where you only pickup every other word someone is saying.

I know that seems like common sense stuff, but you have no idea how many times I’ve heard about things going wrong because of something simple like the audio quality.

As for how to handle the call, relax and be yourself. The Casting Director and the other decision makers that may be on the call just want to get to know you and find out what you are about.

There’s an interesting shift in interpersonal dynamics on these calls.

Typically, when you go in for an audition, you are a guest in someone else’s space. This immediately puts you at a disadvantage, kind of like the away team in a ball game.

When you are on a call, you’re not a guest. Even if you have been chomping at the bit for days waiting for the call, the person on the other side has no idea. They may have “dialed” you, but you made the decision to take the call, thus putting the interpersonal dynamics on an equal footing.

You just as easily could have passed and blown off the call. So, don’t be afraid to lead the conversation a bit.

Even with a stellar internet connection on both sides, there is still going to be a slight lag so expect that you and the Casting Director may talk over each other at times.

Rather than apologizing everytime, gauge whether it’s best to let them finish their thought or whether you are further along with your input. If you are further along, then it makes sense for you to finish your thought.

Don’t be rude about it, but if you simply keep speaking the other person will yield the conversation to you.

Don’t increase your rate of speech or increase your volume, just keep talking.

If it goes the other way and you find yourself being the one that is talked over repeatedly, that’s ok too.

Act as if nothing is happening. Rather than repeating the same few opening words of your thought over and over, change them up and it will seem like you are on to a completely new thought.

For example, let’s say that the CD asked you about how you relate to the character. You might begin answering, not realizing that she is going into her thoughts on how she sees the character first.

You might get cut off as you start to say “I had a similar experience...” Let the CD finish the thought.

Then, rather than repeating what you started to say, mix it up a bit. You could start with “The character’s journey is such a roller coaster and I had a similar experience...”

If you were to get cut off again, do the same thing. It could be something like “I really feel connected to the character and I actually had a similar experience...”

Those small variations will keep the conversation flowing smoothly and that’s really all that needs to happen.

At this point the Casting Director just wants to get to know you and your goal is to build rapport and put them at ease, so they feel confident moving forward with you.

Doing a follow up this way can even make that easier for you.

Zoom allows you to share links and files right through the app, so you could even send over your IMDb link to the CD. ​They are going to look it up anyway before moving you forward in the casting process so just be sure that your ranking matches your goals.

Remember, the industry is adapting to the changing times and you have to keep up with it.

Most actors will never think of something like preparing for a Zoom follow up. That can be a huge advantage for you if you seize it.

That’s also why you come to Boost My Star, the go to resource for everything about the industry that you can’t find anywhere else.

If you find yourself prepared for it, t​his can actually end up making you the only logical choice to be cast.

Why?

Casting builds a file of the actors they are most interested in.

Remember, they are putting themselves on the line with every casting choice so CDs have to do their due diligence on you. If they move you forward in the casting process you will be associated with them (the CD) and also with the production, so don’t want to take any chances.

That’s why I created this to help you build trust with CDs and show them you are a true professional and not someone who is looking to act as a hobby.

If you have any questions about this or anything else, remember I’m always only a comment or an email away. I’m always happy to help, because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Get Booked With The New Audition Process

Self taped auditions are here to stay. That’s kind of a given and I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you.

We’ve gone over that in pretty excruciating detail, since this whole thing started a couple months ago.

Really, I’ve been sounding the alarm on that coming industry shift for years, but the industry was forced to address this and adapt to things like self taped auditions much faster than anticipated.

More on that in a bit...

You know Boost My Star is the go to place for information about the side of the industry that no one else dares talk about.

Everyone is hung up on production delays and the uncertainty about when things will get back on track.

While you could make a case for it, if you focus on that, you would be missing the bigger picture and you could be missing out on one of the biggest opportunities to make career progress quickly.

If you take a step back and try to look at the grand scheme, a few things will become incredibly obvious.

For one the industry never stopped moving.

Production deals were made, projects continued to move through the pipeline, scripts were purchased, stories were optioned, agents signed new talent, and series found new ways to wrap up their season.

Even Casting Directors stayed busy and many of them are busier now than they have ever been.

Here’s what that means for you...

If you have remained active during this time, then you know that things are running a bit differently now.

While there is a lot happening right now, it hasn’t been all smooth sailing...not by a long shot. Navigating the waters of the evolving industry is taking everyone a little bit of getting used to.

Many actors are starting to get used to submitting self taped auditions, but what no one else is talking about right now is the follow up casting meeting. See, if you want to make any kind of meaningful career progress you have to master the Zoom casting.

Since it’s now evident that most of the industry’s workflow will be done remotely for the foreseeable future, callbacks are evolving into a sort of Zoom follow up.

There is only so much that a CD can discern from your self taped audition.

They are trained to pick up on subtleties that come across during a traditional audition that simply don’t come across on tape or even over the phone.

So, the industry is adapting to the times and coming up with ways to accommodate the circumstances. Zoom provides a sort of middle ground between a face to face and a self taped audition.

Of course that can be a double edged sword.

Have you ever had a bad audition, where you felt like the CD was only letting you finish out of courtesy?

Everyone has! It’s just a part of growing as an actor. However, self taped auditions don’t have feelings and CDs can (and do) hit the “next” button mercilessly.

That’s the end of the road and you don’t have any way of trying to resurrect your chances. You can’t ask to read again, as you often can when you’re in the room.

Whatever ends up “on tape” is what will be and it’s the only chance you get. From there, it’s in the hands of casting and you will either be passed over, or put into a “maybe pile.”

That’s where the Zoom follow up comes in.

See, self taping doesn’t give CDs to the opportunity to make any kind of judgement on you as a person.

In order to make a decision, CDs have to get to know you. They also have to like and trust you, because at the end of the day, when they make a recommendation for you to move forward in the casting process, they are putting their stamp of approval on you.

If you were to be cast and then drop the ball, the weight of that would end up on the shoulders of the Casting Director.

CDs are looking for clues when they make small talk during an audition.

They are being more cautious now and they try to confirm what they were able to discern about you, without meeting you in person, and that’s a tricky task.

The industry has always been built on reputation and now more than ever, you have to ​make sure that your reputation matches your goals.

In the past, you could afford to have a reputation that was less than stellar because CDs had the opportunity to meet you.

You were able to talk about your acting strengths and the reasons why you would be a great fit for the role.

I have known many actors that were horrible at auditioning but they could charm their way to being booked.

Self taped auditions don’t provide for the level of personal interaction that facilitates trust building and if we do ever go all the way back to a traditional audition system it could take years.

Personally I don’t believe we’ll ever go fully back to that for a number of reasons.

You should be focusing your efforts on adapting to where the industry is headed. It used to be all about getting a call back, because that meant you were making progress.

Now, it’s all about getting that Zoom follow up.

When you do, be yourself but turn things up a notch or two. Remember, things are kind of muted on screen so you have to overplay your emotions and actions a bit.

We’ll go over the specifics on that next time.

For now, remember that production schedules are going to be pulled forward. I know, all we hear about are the delays but that has only created a bottle neck.

Studios are looking to cut production times as much as possible. That’s both to trim budgets and also to push through as many projects as possible in a short amount of time.

That is creating a perfect set of circumstances for actors. Many Casting Directors are choosing to cast the same actors for multiple projects, since the anticipated shooting schedules are going to overlap like never before.

Of course none of that matters, if you are unable to capitalize on the opportunities and move through the new audition process.

Getting a Casting Director to watch your audition tape is only one part of the process. You also have to somehow demonstrate to them that you are up to the task and worthy of moving forward to the next step.

Here’s how I can help you with that.

We focus on it heavily, because it is the go to place for industry decision makers to get an idea about where you are in your career and evaluate your body of work.

So make sure you are on track with that, because ​otherwise it could derail everything and keep you from moving forward through the new audition process.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be going into that in much more detail but you have to build everything on a solid foundation and this is the place to start.

Let me know if you have any questions about anything we went over today. I’m always happy to help in any way I can, even if you just need someone to bounce ideas with because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Deliver an Oscar Worthy Performance in 2020

Let’s cut to the chase. As an actor, you should only be engaged in one of two things at any given time.

When you are on set, you have to be focused on delivering a world class, standout performance.

When you are not on set, your focus should be on doing anything possible to get back on set. That’s it.

Everything else will fall into one of those two categories. Of course, you will have to work on polishing your skillset. That falls into the category of delivering a world class performance.

Sure, you will have to spend some time on your social media and your overall online presence. That falls into the category of getting yourself back on set. More on that in a bit...

Over the past few weeks we have been working on crafting a game plan for how you will thrive in the new industry.

We have also been talking about all of the changes that the industry has been forced to go through and the new regulations and processes that it’s had to adapt to in such a short period of time, and how it affects you as a professional actor.

Thinking that the industry has stopped during this time would be a huge mistake.

In fact it’s moving faster than it has in a very long time and the way you fit into it is changing rapidly.

That’s why we’ve been going over how to simplify things for yourself and apply leverage to where it will actually be impactful and beneficial to your acting career.

Today, we are taking a deep dive into how to turn one acting job, into two, then three or even more. Before we get into it I have to warn you about something...

While you will undoubtedly have a couple of aha moments, the main concept is actually quite obvious.

If you deliver a world class performance on set, people will want to work with you over and over again, especially if you are playing a character that poses a particular challenge.

There are some conditions you have to meet of course. We’ll get into that in a moment

Every actor enjoys playing wild characters. You get to show your range and they are pretty fun most of the time.

However, the type of character that is incredibly challenging is the “everyday” character.

These are characters that are often relatable in some ways and in order for them to be believable and feel natural to the audience, it takes a high degree of discipline to play the character within the proper range of “rails.”

Paul Giamatti does a great job with roles like this, as does George Clooney, and Anne Hathaway plays them spectacularly as well.

What makes them so challenging is their limited range. You need to go far enough with your character but not too far.

My acting teacher would refer to this as playing inside the rails.

The idea is to create a range that your character will bounce around in and stick to that range without faltering until the right moment.

An easy way to do this is to create a numerical scale. For example, a scale of 1 to 10 could be the range between crying hysterically at 10 or a passive aggressive roll eyes at 1.

Depending on the situation that would change to 10 being jumping with joy at 10 or a simple smile at 1. You get the idea.

When you are building your character, you decide what upper levels of emotional response would be and what the lower levels of response would be.

For example when she receives bad news, does your character always go immediately to a 9 or 10 on the scale? Is she more reserved and always stays on the lower end of the range?

What about when she gets some good news? That could be a different dynamic. You could have a character that stays will go to 4 with bad news but will immediately go to 8 or 9 with good news.

It’s up to you to decide what fits best with your character but the goal is to stay within the rails.

Doing so builds tension. For the audience, that translates to a build up of energy that is then released when your character reaches the climactic point in the storyline.

That’s how stand out, world class performances are delivered. You squeeze your audience’s emotions by playing in that limited range.

They know that at some point there will be a release of energy and not knowing when is a deep rooted trigger that will have them clinging to every second of your performance in anticipation of that release.

They don’t know to which “extreme” your character will lose it. Will they have a psychotic break or a break-down?

That example is at the extreme of the range but it doesn’t have to be that pronounced of an event.

It can be something subtle, depending on the character.

For example, the movie Too Big to Fail has some fantastic characters. One of them is Hank Paulson, former Secretary of The Treasury.

The film is about the 2008 financial crisis and it centers on Paulson’s role in it.

Even if you don’t have a shred of interest in this, the film is a great case study on playing within the rails. Throughout the entire film, William Hurt does a fantastic job of portraying Paulson as a calm, collected, and level headed person.

He is the stillness in the storm, so to speak even as one thing piles on top of another and the problems he is facing get worse and worse..

It stands out in particular because there is a lot of chaos wrapped in a fast moving story.

At every turn, it seems like it’s finally the last straw and Paulson is going to lose it...but he remains calm and still in the middle of the chaos.

He is a master of rolling with the punches, yet he shows just the slightest bit of apprehension or worry. This is the character touching the rails, but not breaking outside of that limited range.

He only shows enough to let you know that beneath the surface, he is terrified about what’s coming down the pipeline.

That’s key!

The audience comes to that conclusion on their own, because of the subtleties layered into the character, even though William Hurt doesn’t show it explicitly.

Towards the end of the story, he has a moment with his wife where he finally let’s the audience in and sheds some light on what’s going on beneath the surface for the first time.

We finally understand that he feels like if he fails at his mission the world as we know it would literally end.

His perspective is that, If he doesn’t get the job done, the world would begin to crumble within days. That’s a lot of weight on his shoulders.

Even then, he stays within the established range and only touches on the rails.
Shortly thereafter, we get a glimpse into what could finally be the end in sight,,,except it isn’t. The problem compounds even further and time runs even shorter.

He gets the news about the plan he had engineered falling apart while in a meeting. At that point, he finally loses it and calmly but with a sense of urgency excuses himself and proceeds to throw up in his office.

That’s the OMG moment for the audience. That’s the moment when the energy is released, and he plays way outside of the rails and past the established emotional range.

As soon as the scene is over, he composes himself and snaps right back into the range.

The audience is left stunned by what they just witnessed and they are completely shocked that he goes right back to “normal.”

It plays as a phenomenal whirlwind of “what just happened?” It keeps the audience riveted right to the very end, waiting for the next OMG moment.

Typically, in a well written story, that moment doesn’t come and the audience is left with a palatable desire for more.

That’s how you create characters that stick with the audience for a long time.

Everyone wants to deliver a performance like that and as a professional actor you must be incredibly eager to get back on set.

With everything going on right now, that should still be your main focus.

Remember, the industry hasn’t stopped moving. Actors are taking advantage of huge opportunities right now.

We are even starting to see things step into roles that are much bigger than what they were playing before this all happened.

It’s because they put into practice what we talked about earlier. They put their focus into getting back on set and creating opportunities for themselves.

As much fun as it is to work on your craft, understand where you are right now and plan your efforts accordingly.

After all, ​having all the talent in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t have a chance to showcase that by getting on set.

Remember, things haven’t stopped. They have changed.

Everything’s gone digital now and your acting career has never been more dependent on your digital footprint than it is now.

Casting Directors are going online to search for and vet new talent, so you have to be sure that you are in a position for them to find you.

Take a long, honest look at what they will find about you if they come across your online presence.

That’s why it is so important that ​your reputation matches your goals. This is a huge part of it.

In today’s industry and for the foreseeable future, it will precede you. So, if you haven’t already started on it, do it now.

As always, if you have any questions about what we went over in this report, let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email.

I’m always happy to help however I can because I want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

The Greatest Opportunity for Actors

Even if you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, chances are you’re still aware of what’s been going on in town lately.

It’s been months since the industry has been on set. Most actors think of it as being shut down, even though it hasn’t stopped moving.

Things are just being done a little bit differently now, and many actors have been able to make huge career moves during this time.

More on that in a bit..

When you look below the surface you can see that projects are being greenlit. Agents are still signing new talent and scripts are soaring through development.

However, productions are still on hold. Even though restrictions have been lifted, shooting hasn’t really resumed yet.

This year has been a rollercoaster so far but there are still tons of opportunities. I’ve said it over and over again: opportunity is born through chaos.

So many actors have been worrying about what will happen with this over and what the industry will be like.That’s the wrong mindset to have right now..

Things are going to be different but as with most things in life, the only constant is change. If you want to come out of this with your career set on the right footing and be ready to set your career skyrocketing, you can’t try to dodge the wave of change.

You have to be prepared for it and brace for what’s coming.

If you do just a few things right, this time could be but a tiny blip on a long and fulfilling acting career.

Here’s what to do right now...

First thing’s first: don’t stop moving forward.

Creativity is like a muscle. You have to stay active and continue working on that muscle, even when acting classes and productions aren’t in session.

If you have ever tried to get fit and build muscle, you know that months of hour long gym sessions can be ruined by just a weeklong vacation without pumping iron.

The race to the bottom (so to speak) is always much, much faster than the climb towards the top.

There will always be less resistance with going backwards in anything because it’s easier to destroy something than it is to build it.

For example, a tree can take decades to reach its full potential but it can be cut down in minutes.

So, you can’t let yourself get rusty. You can’t let yourself get stuck in the routine of Netflix binging. Continue working on your skill set and you will find yourself ready for the opportunities when they come.

It’s easy to sit and wait to see what will happen before you make a move, but remember the industry has continued to move forward.

Casting Directors are reviewing self tapes like never before. That was a trend that was gaining in popularity but now it has completely taken over.

The industry is about to go through a period of unprecedented changes, not because it wants to but because it has to.

For example, movie theatres in California are shut down again. Let’s be honest, they’ve been shut down in most parts of the world for months and there’s not a clear timeline for that ending.

This has led to the studios taking drastic measures like skipping the box office altogether. This would have never happened during a normal period of industry activity (at last not for a long, long time from now).

All in all it’s turned out to be a really great move and they are actually generating more revenue than what was projected for the box office releases.

So what does that mean for the future of the industry? Most of that is a subject for another time. What’s important for now is to note that the center of power when it comes to distribution is shifting, fast and in a big, big way.

Most people want things to stay the same and just go back to before this all happened. Actors are no different.

I literally can’t count how many actors I’ve communicated over the last few weeks, all of whom were asking “when will things go back to the way they were?”

If you want things to go back to the way they were, you might as well hang up your “acting shoes.”

Irreversible change has come to the industry.

Some of it will be temporary.

Some of it is here to stay.

Some is a stepping stone. For example, take the tidal wave of self taping that washed through the industry recently.

Today, and for the foreseeable future, this is going to be the predominant form of auditioning and it is the first moving piece in a much larger trend.

It’s a trend that involves front loading the casting process with technology.

Stick with me for a second because if you’re not thinking about what that means for your future as an actor, you will soon find yourself unprepared.

What has enabled self taping to become so prominent so quickly, has actually existed for a long time.

It’s something that industry decision makers have been working to bring around, but the industry has remained stuck in its old ways.

It’s part of wanting things to remain the same.
The greater trend that self taping is a part of is making the casting process more efficient.

Casting departments have been using technology in one way or another to make or support casting decisions for some time, but it’s been haphazard at best.

Now, everyone has to be on the same page to keep the wheels of the industry turning.

That forced adaptation of a new system is exactly what the industry needed to force decades of change in just a matter of weeks.

The same is true for the rest of the casting process.

From discovering new talent to deciding on what actors will be better received by audiences, things like artificial intelligence will become incredibly important and a central focus in casting offices throughout every level of the industry.

Some of this is already in place in the upper levels of the industry and it is trickling down to the rest of it.

They are taking into account your social media presence and they are even able to model the trajectory of your career using several points of reference.

At the end of the day, a movie, TV show, or even a commercial is a form of artistic expression to an actor.

To studio or the network producing it, it’s an investment and they are developing all kinds of tools to make sure that investment doesn’t go to waste.

One of their chief areas of focus directly affects you and your acting career, because it’s all about the casting process.

Have you ever watched something and thought to yourself that one of the actors was born to play that role.

For example, try and imagine The Office without Steve Carrell as Michael Scott or Modern Family without Ty Burrel.

It doesn’t work and industry decision makers are doing everything they can to replicate the “magic” every time and they want to get it right from start.

That’s why it’s more important than ever that you are on their radar. Here’s how I can help.

The truth is that if you don’t have things like this in place, it will get increasingly more difficult to make progress in the industry.

Being “discovered” and getting your “big break” has taken on an entirely new meaning during this time, since the ways of “being discovered” are completely different now.

During the casting process you are being evaluated in ways and through channels most actors never think of. Here’s one of them.

I know it’s a lot to take in and we’ll go over the most important things in more detail soon. Let’s keep things simple for now...

If you want to be one of the few actors we’ve been talking about over the last few weeks, the actors that come seemingly out of nowhere and skyrocket overnight, then you have to be focused on where the industry is going.

Few actors thought about Amazon getting into the entertainment business. Even after they bought IMDb, most people didn’t get it.

I’ve been sounding the alarm on this for a long time and next week we’ll go into how it is all coming together now and how to position yourself to make huge progress quickly.

We’ll get into the mechanics and put together a step by step game plan as we go along but there are a couple things you need to have in place, before we get to that.

The first is an understanding of exactly what’s going on in the industry right now and how you fit into it. The second is here.

It’s all meant to get you going on a solid foundation, regardless of where you are in your career.

It can either help you get a boost to the next level, or it can get you started on the right foot.

Either way, it’s the logical next step and I put it together for you because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How to Book the Best Roles

Have you ever seen an actor that comes out of nowhere and has a meteoric rise? All of a sudden, they become the industry’s shiny new object and they are cast in everything!

It happens all the time. That kind of begs the question: why not you?

If you are reading this, then you probably have what it takes to position yourself in a way that would have your career skyrocketing quickly.

Most actors think that those “select few” knew someone or had a stroke of good luck and that’s how they were able to get ahead so quickly.

While that does happen from time to time, in today’s environment, it’s actually easier than ever for someone without any industry connections and only a few credits to build an acting career quickly.

And, if you build your career properly you can effectively eliminate the competition and make yourself the only logical choice to be cast. Even auditions could become somewhat of a formality as industry decision makers scramble to have you be a part of their project.

I know it sounds like a giant stretch, but you see it happening all the time. Most actors will spend their time wondering why it always happens for someone else.

Successful actors will instead focus on what they can do to make it happen for themselves.

If that’s you, here’s where to start....

First and foremost, you have to stop competing with other actors. That’s a game without a winner, because the one that prevails goes home empty handed.

Being successful in the industry goes way beyond just being an actor, especially in today’s environment. You have to wear dozens of hats at different times and the most important one is that of a specialist.

Here’s what I mean...

Have you ever stopped to think of just how many types of doctors there are? There’s a doctor of basically anything.

Stick with me for a sec and you’ll see how this relates and why this is so important to you and your acting career.

A cardiologist and a doctor that practices general medicine both have their purpose and which one you decide to visit depends on what outcome you desire.

If you’re not feeling well or have a minor ailment, you go to a general practitioner. If you have a heart attack, you go to a cardiologist.

Why?

Because there’s a specific problem that you need to fix.

This is how Casting Directors operate too, because the best roles require actors that fill a certain specificity.

Simply searching for an “actor for hire” to fill a specific role would be like seeing a general practitioner after a heart attack.

What they aim to do instead is find a specific actor for a specific role, and all the best roles are always specific in some way.

When casting for Barista #4, CDs will cast a pretty wide net and sort through “actors for hire.”

When casting a second lead, they will take a much more measured and narrow approach, since there is so much more at stake.

It’s the same reason that 911 asks “what’s your emergency?” If your house is on fire, it won’t do much good to send over an ambulance.

Just like you need the right tools and training to handle a fire, you need the right training and skill set to handle a specific role.

So, from this moment forward, pick a niche.

Do some market research on the niche and determine if there's room for you in that niche, what other actors are a part of that niche, and if there are projects in the pipeline.

Variety and a host of other places announce projects when they are put into production, and you can keep up with them as they move through the process.

You will see trends emerge over time in terms of the kinds of projects that are being developed.

In fact, studios will often put similar projects into production, one after the other.

It’s a strategy called “drafting” and it comes from the racing world. Runners will often strategically trail another runner, so they can benefit from the lead runner’s aerodynamics.

Race car drivers do the same thing.

When studios draft one another, they produce projects in the same category. That’s why the industry tends to move from one frenzy to another.

Look back at how many vampire and werewolf films and even TV shows were produced after Twilight. Look at how many war films were released following Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan.

This is one of the ways that the industry creates efficiencies. Instead of having to get a potential audience interested in a brand new category, studios only have to offer that audience more of what they are already interested in.

As an actor, it means that if you can get your foot in the door on a category that is set to grow, the sky is the limit.

Tom Sizemore is a perfect case study on somehow who did this perfectly.

For a while, you couldn’t watch an action movie that didn’t feature him in some way. He became synonymous with the genre, so much so that you can almost track the personal problems he went through and his very public fall from grace to the cooling off the action genre.

It’s as if the industry collectively said “if we can’t have him in the movie, we just won’t make it.”

During the height of his career, he had a very narrow focus. He wasn’t chasing action, comedy, and dramatic roles at the same time.

In other words, he was a specialist and not just another “actor for hire.”

Because he went deep into the genre, he learned all of the nuances that other actors simply couldn’t compete with and he delivered terrific performances.

You can do this too if you select your niche and then learn it inside and out.

You can then develop or refine your skills in that niche. Many actors do this, but they tend to do it haphazardly. They work on acquiring new skills, just to have something to add to their resume.

That typically turns out to be a waste of time, when it’s not planned for properly.

For example, if you decide to learn to play the piano you will have another skillset to differentiate yourself, but if there are tons of action projects moving through development your new piano skills aren’t likely to do you much good.

However, if you were to do the research I mentioned earlier, and you saw that the action category was about to get huge, you could instead go through combat training or something that would be more likely to help you differentiate yourself in that category.

Being talented is only half of the equation. ​You also have to make yourself visible to industry decision makers and be the actor whom they look at and think “that’s the one!”

Those “special skills” will help do that and set you apart.

This is what happens when you get your “big break.” It’s about having the right skills, at the right time, being the only logical choice to be cast, and then riding that wave of opportunity.

You don’t have to be a superstar to become synonymous with a category. Look back at the examples I shared with you and you will see that most actors come out of nowhere and are then everywhere seemingly overnight.

If you are reading this, then I know you are serious about your career and you truly want to make progress.

Don’t let your efforts be in vain. Put what I shared with you into practice and auditions might just become somewhat of a formality for you, as your reputation begins to precede you.

Remember, it’s important that you have the right training and the right tools. That goes way beyond a reel and a headshot. That’s a long subject that we’ll get into another time.

For now, ​start working on this. It’s a tool that most actors are well aware of but they severely underestimate the role it plays in the casting process.

Get started on that, as well as the other action steps I shared with you today, because next week we'll talk about how to find the productions that are coming up and get on their radar.

The entire game changes when you are invited to read and this is an important part of that.

We’re going to keep moving quickly going forward because the industry waits for no one.

Remember, if you have any questions or if you need someone to bounce ideas with, I’m only a comment or an email away.

I’m always happy to help because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Declare Your Independence as an Actor

Have you ever stopped to think of just how many people are involved in a production? Even a relatively small production will involve dozens of people throughout the process of taking something from idea to the screen.

What this means is that, as an actor, you have to depend on people for many things.

You have to depend on writers to come up with great characters and write them well. You depend on producers to find projects, get them funded, and put together all the moving pieces that go into a production.

You also depend on the crew to come through, your fellow co stars to deliver standout performances, and you even depend on distributors to get the finished product out to the world, otherwise no one would ever see it.

You depend on your agent and your management team so that you actually have opportunities to showcase your talent and participate in the industry.

But what if you could declare your independence from everyone, forget about the way everyone says the industry is “supposed to work” and write your own ticket?

What if you could take your career back into your own hands, and control your destiny?

It’s actually a simple process that you can get started on right now...

If you want to make real, meaningful progress you have to create a situation wherein you sort of create an industry within the industry.

Here’s what I mean...

Someone like Meryl Streep or Robert Downey Jr., has the ability to take a project from idea to red carpet premiere without having to depend on anyone else.

That doesn’t mean other people won’t be involved. The point is that they don’t have to depend on an agent to get them an audition, a writer to have a brilliant idea for a script, etc.

They can simply pick up the phone, call any studio or network on the planet and say “Whatcha got for me?”

They can call Aaron Sorkin and say “I have this great idea and I would like you to put together a script for me.”

This is true career independence and it’s one of the reasons why you will see your agent’s commission levels drop, the more successful you become

At that point you become the driver of your career, rather than the other way around.

What most actors get wrong about this, is thinking that you have to be a superstar to make it happen. While it may take some time to get Aaron Sorkin to write something for you on spec, you don’t need it from the start.

All you have to do is, create a category of one that makes you the only logical choice to be cast. I know it may sound cliche, but you have to define who you want to be.

If you want to stand out among the countless other “actors for hire” you have to specialize in a specific niche and category.

Most actors are so desperate that they will go out for anything and everything and they would take anything and everything, but that is a career killer over the long term.

First, identify what career stage you are in.

In the beginning, when you are just getting started, you do want to cast a wide net and take most opportunities that come your way.

As you progress to the next stage, however, you have to start being more selective about the projects you choose. That’s when your category of one really starts to take shape.

At times, passing on a project that is against your category will be the best move for you.

This doesn’t mean that you will be typecast and painted in a corner, where you can only play to that category for the rest of your career.

Not at all!

When you develop your career correctly, you start by hyperfocusing on your category, then expand your horizons and open new categories as you go.

That achieves a couple things. Not only do you sharpen your skills in a particular category, you also get to become synonymous with that category, to the point that no one can imagine a project in that space without you being a part of it.

Building your career with a clear purpose and a plan is crucial to your success. You would never get behind the wheel of your car, close your eyes, and step on the gas, would you?

Of course not, but actors do this everyday when it comes to their career, and they expect to get the results they hoped for.

Next week we’ll be doing a deep dive on how to create a category of one for yourself, step by step. Before we get to that, we have to lay the groundwork because otherwise it will be a much tougher, uphill battle for you.

It would be like building a house on a shaky foundation. You might make some progress, but before long the walls will start to come down.

We have to start with getting a few things right, mainly your industry reputation.

It’s everything in the industry and ​you have to make sure that your reputation matches your goals.

This is an area that most actors never give the proper attention to, even though the foundation on which your career will be built.

It’s not the most exciting thing to do but it is important. If you have been hustling and trying to make progress in the industry but are struggling to get to the next level, this could be holding you back.

Why?

Whenever you are up for a role, casting will always look into you and part of the decision making process will be to evaluate whether you are up to the task, by looking at your body of work and developing what’s called a castability index.

That’s something we’ll get into another time. For now, let’s get started on developing your industry reputation and ​making you highly visible to the decision makers who use this as a tool to evaluate actors.

What we are getting into now will be about building your acting career, on a solid foundation from the start, and with a definite goal in mind of where you want to go.

Get started on this now in preparation for what could be a career changing time ahead. ​Here’s how I can help.

See you at the top,
Scott

How to Create Dynamic Characters and Become a World Class Actor

Being in touch with so many actors and industry insiders gives me a unique vantage point on the industry.

It also allows me to bring you the best of the best when it comes to building your acting career.

The last couple of weeks we have focused on the business side of the industry and how to create the most opportunities.

Now, it’s time to switch gears and talk about what to do with those opportunities and how to make the most out of them.

If you have been keeping up with the action steps then you are already quite a bit ahead. If you haven’t been following along, don’t worry. I’ll show you how you can catch up quickly.

See, timing is very important in the industry and there is a window of opportunity right now that won’t be open for long. If you want to make big career moves, the time to act (pun intended) is now...

Some actors struggle to make career progress because they do the wrong things at the wrong time.

Some struggle because they do right things at the wrong time.

Most tend to let things happen as they will and without a rhyme or reason, but Boost My Star is all about taking your career destiny back into your own hands.

See, the greatest thing you can do as an actor to prove yourself industry decision makers is deliver a stand out, world class performance.

Whether it’s a Casting Director, a fellow actor, or a director, everyone wants to work with a rising star.

So, now that you have been booked for the part, it’s time to focus on following through.

This means you have to build dynamic characters that pop off the screen and stick with your audience, long after they have finished watching your performance. When you are able to do that, you start to build a strong reputation.

More on that in a bit...

Most actors approach a performance with the wrong goal in mind. Your goal isn’t to deliver a strong performance. Your goal should be to create an experience.

To do that you have to layer your character, and it goes way beyond just knowing “where they are coming from.”

Acting class teaches you about creating a backstory but it doesn’t really teach you how to connect your character choices to that back story. That’s where the DCM comes in.

For example, let’s assume that you have been cast as a character that is battling bulimia.

Creating a backstory will help you with surface level choices, and obviously the script would contain most of the surface level elements.

However, when you build a character using the Dynamic Character Matrix (or DCM for short), you will build in several layers of nuances that will impact your performances incredibly.

There are 4 ways that character traits and choices can be added to layer your performance, and each of the 4 ways will impact the trait itself.

Does your character know they are bulimic? Do know that it is a condition or do they just consider it something they do? If they do know they are bulimic, where are they on their journey?

From there you can evaluate whether that trait is known to others.

Does anyone else know the character is bulimic? The script will guide you, but you have to take it deeper than just the surface action and dialogue.

Here’s how...

When someone is suffering from an eating disorder like bulimia, they tend to have low blood sugar levels almost all the time.

Naturally, this should guide your performance as you add the symptoms of low blood sugar to your performance.

That’s where most actors stop, but using the Dynamic Character Matrix you create a much deeper performance by following the thread of whether it’s known to anyone else.

For example, low blood sugar leads to feeling dizzy, shaky, and it will often lead to headaches.

If the bulimia is unknown to others, those are symptoms your character would try to hide. Rather than popping a handful of aspirin at their desk everyday, chances are they would do it in the car or in the bathroom.

Knowing this would keep you from making an unnatural character choice.

They would also be very self conscious about shaking because they wouldn’t want anyone else to ask questions. Maybe it would mean that, when around others, the shaking doesn’t manifest as shaking at all. Rather, it shows itself as restlessness.

That’s a small pivot, but with huge meaning behind it.

Your character might often go from massaging her temples to brushing her hair aside in this case, so people don’t ask questions about why she always has a headache.

Then there’s also the possibility that the trait is unknown to you but everyone else knows about it.

Even an “active trait” like bulimia could fall into this category, if as I mentioned earlier it’s just something you do and don’t really think anything of it.

If it’s something that you are unaware of, you have to consider just how unaware your character is about the given trait.

Does the character suspect that everyone else is in on some secret and she’s the only one that’s out of the loop.

If that’s the case, your dialogue and interactions with others might play towards being in a constant state of suspicion. You might feel like you are constantly under a microscope without really knowing why.

See how that is a completely different set of choices compared to a character trait that stops at the surface level of bulimia?

That’s the simple version of how the Dynamic Character Matrix works and the entirety of this could easily fill a book.

We’ll go into this deeper over the coming weeks, but start with this for now. Don’t over complicate it. Just get used to going deeper with your character choices by asking the 4 questions.

Is this known to me? Is it known to others?
Is it unknown to me?
Is it unknown to others?

The top level actors that all of us look up to, do this to build characters that stick with you long after you leave the theatre or shut off the TV.

It’s how they create characters that you cry with or laugh along with. This Dynamic Character Matrix can be the difference between delivering a good performance or delivering a world class performance that people can't get out of their head.

As an actor, working at building your career, you need to have this kind of an edge. It’s what will make Casting Directors, Producers, Directors, and high level industry decision makers want to work with you over and over again.

Of course none of it matters​ if you don’t have the opportunity to showcase your talent and get on set. Here’s how I can help with that.

Building a career is all about doing the right things at the right time.

When you are on set, you need to focus on delivering a world class performance. Most actors focus on this in one way or another the majority of the time, because it’s a lot more fun than the procedural and often repetitive nature of ​making yourself visible to the industry.

However, when you are not on set, your chief focus should be doing whatever is necessary to book a job and get on set.

That’s not the fun part of being an actor and it doesn’t do much for you creatively.

That’s why I created a way for you to let me take care of that, while you do what you do best.

Do that first and if you have a project or an audition coming up, run your character through the CDM to prepare.

If you find yourself on set and feeling like your performance is lacking, run your character through the CDM again to find the areas where there may be a character conflict and how you could improve your performance.

If you don’t have anything coming up, write a scene and create a character from scratch with the CDM or pick one of your past characters to do this exercise with.

Note how you would have played things differently and how the choices you made on set could have been enhanced by putting them through the Dynamic Character Matrix.

You should even write down the 4 simple DCM questions and carry them with you on set, so you can refer to them anytime.

If you have questions about how any of it works, shoot me an email or leave it in the comments below. I’m always happy to help however I can because I want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

Why Most Actors Never Succeed and How To Avoid Their Mistakes

What I am sharing with you in today’s report is one of the most important things you can work on to improve your acting career and dramatically increase the impact of your performances.

Few things have this kind of an impact on your career and working on things like this is what takes someone’s acting career from zero to a hundred seemingly overnight...yet, almost no one does it.

That means you can effectively eliminate the competition and basically create a situation where you are the only logical choice. You can create a situation where Casting Directors and industry decision makers have to take you seriously as an actor.

So put your phone on airplane mode, turn off the tv, and shut off any other distractions so you can focus on this right now.

By simply going through this report and putting into action the few key items I spell out for you here, you can send your acting career skyrocketing and make the kind of progress most actors only dream of, and you can do it faster than you ever thought possible.

Here’s how...

Most people take the completely wrong approach when it comes to building their acting career (by the way, when I say “most” I really mean everyone except for a handful of people at the very top levels of the industry).

They take some acting classes that don’t really go much further than building a character’s back story and discovering their “true motivation,” take some headshots and throw together a reel rather haphazardly.

Not only do they miss out entirely on the business side of the industry, which we have been talking about extensively over the last couple of weeks, but they also focus on the wrong things creatively.

That is a recipe for career disaster!

It’s also why most actors never make any real career progress: most of what you learn in an acting class sounds good on paper and in a classroom setting but it doesn’t do much for you on set.

For example when you chase your character choices through one level after another, you typically end up trying to force character traits into your performance that don’t make any sense.

What actors are trying to get out of exercise like this are things that would make their performances better, but that’s only the surface level motivation.

The true motivation is to get better career opportunities and to get more of them. Here’s what I mean...

Most actors are taught that if they just get “good enough” the industry will seek them out and hand them their “big break.”

Of course it doesn’t really work that way and that type of advice is what has actors working on the wrong things.

If you were to focus on the right things, you could end up turning one acting job into 2, then 3, 4 and even more, since producers, directors, and casting directors tend to work with actors they like over and over again.

Think of how many times Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg or Leonardo Dicaprio and Martin Scorcese have worked together.

A director will take a liking to an actor who makes things easy for them, and that doesn’t have anything to do with “motivations” or your character’s backstory.

Here’s what I mean...
Have you ever thought about how blocking and editing go hand in hand?

The way a scene is cut and put together in the editing room, depends a lot on how the shots come together on set and as an actor, you play a role in that and it goes way beyond what most actors realize.

They don’t truly understand their role in the blocking process and usually leave it up to the production staff to decide what’s best.

However, leaving it entirely up to someone else puts your performance in someone else’s hands.

For example, editors use motion to piece different shots together without a jarring jump cut. That is, if there are enough shots to piece together.

This is something to keep in mind. You may deliver a fantastic reaction to what is going on in the scene, but if the cut to your reaction doesn’t flow naturally it will end up on the cutting room floor.

So, if you are not well versed in the editing process and how the camera movement affects that, you won’t be able to tell when things are not quite right.

An editor’s main job is to lead the audience to the emotions that the director and you as the actor are trying to portray, while keeping the fourth wall intact.

A rough cut will take the viewer out of the scene (emotionally) and diminish the effectiveness of your performance.

A seasoned director will have the ability to “see the edit” while shooting and help you, but an inexperienced director may end up hurting the pacing of your scene by remaining in the moment with you.

For example, let’s say that you are shooting an intense scene where you are having a verbal altercation with someone.

In the “real world” as emotions flare up it would be natural for you to speak over the other person, cut them off and raise your voice to make your point.

On screen, that same dynamic might kill your scene.

An editor won’t have the freedom in editing to amplify the scene by piecing your strongest moments together. Instead they will have to use as much of each take as possible, regardless of the quality of the take, potentially weakening your performance.

That can throw off the pacing of the scene or it can even reduce your screen time dramatically.

Particularly when there is overlapping dialogue, you have to take into account how that dialogue will be layered when it comes to editing, how the camera angles will play into the shot selection and more.

That only scratches the surface. We could do an entire masterclass on this, and we’ll continue to go deeper into things like this over the coming weeks.

For now, what you need is to open your mind to the bigger picture of what it means to be a professional actor and your role in the production process.

Like I’ve said repeatedly, it goes way beyond your character’s backstory.

A key thing that successful actors, the ones that make it to the top levels of the industry, are great at is working with director’s ​collaboratively.​

It’s one thing to take direction well, it’s entirely another thing to partner with the director to ensure the production ends up being the best it can possibly be.

Don’t be afraid to speak up and share your ideas, as long as they come from a place of genuine interest in delivering a standout performance that maintains its intensity through the editing process.

Of course ​none of that matters if you don’t have the opportunity to get on set in the first place. Here’s how I can help with that.

See, just like you need to work collaboratively and in partnership with directors on set, you need to do the same thing for Casting Directors.

The environment is different, but the goal is the same.

You want to make the CD’s job as easy as possible and work with them to make yourself the obvious choice. When you make things easy on them, CDs will call on you over and over again.

Casting Directors are people too and they don’t want to sort through hundreds of submissions to find the right actor for the job. In fact, most CDs I speak to go to great lengths to fill a cast while minimizing the number of actors they have to see.

Most of them make it difficult on CD because, when going into an audition, most actors have the wrong goal in mind: they simply want to book the part.

In reality you should go in with the goal of building a relationship with the CD and getting on their radar for the long term. Ideally, you would book the part you went in to read for as well, but your main goal is the relationship.

That means you have to put the CDs mind at ease and communicate to them that you are a true professional.

They have to know that you will deliver a phenomenal performance, conduct yourself professionally on set, and know that you have big goals that you are working towards.

That’s a lot for them to discern when meeting you for the first time, and that’s why it’s so important to have your industry reputation precede you.

If it’s not in line with their expectations, they may not take you seriously as a professional, regardless of how good your audition may have been.

So if you are not booking as many jobs as you should be, here is a great place to start.

The coming weeks will bring a flurry of activity to the industry and I’ll be bringing you more of what you need to do to make big career moves.

However, none of that will matter, if you don’t have the foundational pieces in place.

Take your phone off airplane mode and ​get started on this now so you can hit the ground running with everything else. It could be the difference​ between whether your career progress stalls or whether I...

See you at the top,
Scott