Why Dramatic Actors Rule The Industry

If I ask an actor to see a sample of their work, 99 times out of 100 they show me a dramatic piece.

Most actors think they are pretty good at it and will default it to almost every time.

When I ask actors about why they do this, in a roundabout way they say that it’s simple to do drama. When I hear this, I get where they are coming from.

A few tears and a quiver in your voice is all it takes to bring a dramatic scene to life...right?

Unfortunately, it’s not quite that easy. Building dramatic characters can be extremely challenging but if you want to be a professional actor, you have to be able to do it.

See, great dramatic actors are tough to find. Actors have to be able to go from one emotional extreme to other, often in a single scene, and that makes for a challenging performance.

It’s also why casting directors and industry decision makers love to work with talented dramatic actors, regardless of the genre of the project they are working on.

Dramatic actors tend to have an incredible acting range and are able to pull off a wide spectrum of characters.

So many A list actors started as dramatic actors, and that’s something you should pay attention to.

If you want to be a professional actor too, you have to get really good at this.

Most actors sort of shrug this off and think they’re pretty good at drama already. It’s usually not the case. Here’s why...

Just about every other category is easier to critique. Take comedy for example. If something is funny, it leads to laughter.
Dramatic moments, even when they reach the climax of a scene or a storyline, don’t always lead to tears.

Comedy is also easier to “fix.” If a performance is falling flat, then adding an element of slapstick and making the character more ridiculous will usually do the trick.

It’s more complicated than that of course, but I don’t want to get sidetracked since we’re talking about dramatic performances.

So how do you know whether your performance will actually resonate with the audience?

This is where your instincts come in as an actor. If your performance is not on track, you will feel it. You may not be able to identify exactly what it is, but something just won’t feel right.

You might find that you are way too much in your head with your character. Here’s what I mean by that...

When you build a character well, the actions become instinctive..

You don’t think about what to do with your hands or how to react in a scene, it all just flows very naturally.

If you are thinking too much on set, then it’s natural to take everything up a notch. The problem with doing that in a dramatic role, is that going too far makes it comical.

The audience instantly sees it as trying too hard.

Go back and rebuild your character and give them a powerful story. When actors do this, they tend to add a lot of information that ultimately doesn’t affect the character.

If you are going through what your character had for breakfast that morning (and there was no scene involving the character’s breakfast) you are probably on the wrong track.

Instead, go through your character’s unspoken story and add layers.

What you actually want to get to is what’s causing your character’s behavior. That comes from their past experiences and how it shapes their perception of what is happening in the scene.

That could either be a recent past experience or it could be an experience from the distant past that stuck with them.

Here’s what I mean...

Maybe your character had a tumultuous relationship with a sibling that used big words to make them feel dumb and inferior.

That could shape your character's interactions in a scene, quite a bit. How would they feel whenever someone used similar language around them?

If your character feels talked down to and belittled by that, that’s a much more specific set of emotions that you can bring to a scene, beyond just being upset.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine how you would play a character that is upset. Then, imagine how you would play a character that feels talked down to and belittled.

Is it a little easier to imagine the second one?

Of course! Defining those emotions gives your character some constraints, in a good way. See, at the extremes, dramatic characters are either in tears or they are crossing into anger.

For example, with the character we’re talking about, you wouldn’t start screaming in the scene.

You wouldn’t break down crying either. Neither one of those choices would make much sense, so your character would react within those constraints.

Building your characters this way would keep you from going too far in either direction, while still giving you a very specific set of emotions to play off of.

Most actors don’t take the time to think through things like this and that ends up impacting their career, not just the scene.

Here’s why...

Success in the industry doesn’t come from just being able to deliver a world class performance one time. You have to be able to deliver every time you step foot on set.

I think it was Jack Nicholson who said “You can be in a bad movie, but you can’t be bad in it.”

The industry will forgive a project that falls short of expectations, but they are not quick to forgive performances that fall short.

That means you have to be systematic in the way you build your characters and make character choices on set.

When this happens, you become easy to work with and that makes directors want to work with you over and over again. It also makes CDs much more likely to call you in to read whenever they have something else you could be a fit for.

That’s a key part of building a long lasting career. It only works if you can show CDs that you have a great industry reputation. Here’s a great place to start with that.

Just like actors tend to build characters haphazardly on set, they tend to build their career the same way. Not a lot of thought goes into what it truly takes to make it in the industry.

They focus almost entirely on the talent side and ignore everything else it takes. There has to be a balance, so that you build a career on a solid foundation, while also working on your talent, like we talked about today.

That’s why I built this so you can focus on doing what you do best while we work on making you visible to the industry.

We’ll get into it in more detail on this next week.

In the meantime, remember I’m always only a comment or an email away if you want to touch base about anything we went over, or even if you just want to bounce ideas,

I’ll help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How Effective Are Your Headshots in 2021?

When I speak with an actor about their industry goalks, one of the first things that comes to mind are headshots.

Actors can’t live without them and they are one of the most important things to consider when building an acting career.

A bad headshot can literally stop a career in its tracks and I’ve seen it happen way too much.

What’s most troubling is just how little actors really know about what makes a great headshot,. that improves their casting chances.

If you want to be a professional acting you can’t just wing it with this. There is a formula for what makes a great headshot and when you tap into that, you will know what will make CDs notice you and take the next step.

Here’s how...

First, you have to understand what CDs are actually looking for when they are going through headshots.

They are hoping to find an actor that will embody the role they are casting for. A highly talented actor that doesn’t “look the part” can be detrimental to a production.

That’s why the casting process starts with headshots, instead of resumes. Knowing this, you can start with the end in mind. Here's what I mean... For starters you don’t want to have just one headshot.

You should have one for each different type of character you are going after. Think of it this way, if you were a CD trying to book actors for an action role, would you want to see the same headshots as when trying to book a comedy?

Of course not!

So why would actors use the same headshot to submit both times? It doesn’t make any sense, and the majority of actors get that. I’ve realized that it’s typically under the guidance of their agents that actors steer away from having multiples.

Your agent may be against this, because it’s an extra step for them to take when they are submitting you. If that’s the case, then it may be time to find an agent who is willing to work as hard for you, as you are for yourself.

Or, it could be that they want you to build some familiarity with the CDs, as they see the same headshot multiple times. A good agent will fall into the second category.

Approach them about this, when you are updating your headshots and have a conversation about the kind of projects you should be submitted to.

Most agents will simply submit you to anything you are even remotely a possibility for. That’s why they prefer that you only have a single “generic” headshot.

If you are limiting your submissions to only two or three categories, then it makes perfect sense for you to have two or three headshots that reflect the characters you are going to play.

Your headshot’s most important job is to make a Casting Director stop and want to see more and know more about you. So, if your headshot doesn’t clearly represent the kinds of characters you are being submitted for, CDs are then having to take an extra mental step and guess at whether you are going to be a good fit for the role or not.

That’s not what you want! You want them to stop in their tracks, immediately know that you would be a fit, and have you come in to read.

There’s a number of ways you can do this, and you can actually get really specific and give yourself an incredible edge over everyone else submitting a generic headshot.

Here’s what I mean...

I spoke to an actor that has a great system worked out with his agent. Before submitting him to anything, his agent lets him know what the character will be and they come up with something subtle they can add to his headshots.

For example, he was being submitted to play a guitarist. It was a dramatic role, so the actor already had a headshot that would work. He took 2 minutes (literally) and photoshopped a guitar lapel pin to his headshot.

What do you think happened when Casting looked at his headshot? He immediately stood out from everyone else and became a logical choice.

That’s exactly what your headshot should do for you too.

That doesn’t mean you have to take a new headshot every time of course. The actor we were talking about a moment ago already had a headshot that was suitable to what he was being submitted for, so he only added to it.

That was possible because he and his agent are focused on going after a couple of categories, instead of submitting to anything and everything.

This is what almost every actor and even agents ignore. They focus too much on what comes afterwards. They focus too much on what happens in the room, but the truth is none of it matters if you don’t even have opportunities to audition.

Don’t do what everyone else does. That’s how you end up with a career like everyone else’s.

Instead, build your career doing the opposite and you are likely to end up where they wanted to go.

That’s what can happen when you go against the grain, while everyone else is repeating the same mistakes.

We’ll talk more about what that means over the coming weeks and get into the specifics of building your career step by step.

For now, I want you to plan out what we talked about today. I work with so many actors on a daily basis, and I see this being a big problem for many of them.

Getting in the room is how you will show the industry your talent. so focus on that. The rest is something you have more control over.

That’s why I built this to help you.

See, once you have the industry’s attention, and you deliver a great audition, you also have to give them a reason to continue moving you through the process.

One of the most powerful things you can have on your side is a stellar industry reputation. Casting Directors are going to look into it anyway, so you definitely want to make sure that your industry reputation matches your goals.

A lot of actors are so focused on faking it until they start making it, but that simply doesn’t work anymore. Casting Directors can see right through it. You need to have something solid to point to that the industry respects. Here’s a great place to start.

Not sure about your next step? Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. You know I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How World Class Actors Deliver On Set

The way you deliver your lines on set, or in an audition setting, can make or break your career. I know that kind of sounds obvious, but here’s what I mean.

Your vocal delivery is something that directors think of as “permanent.” Facial expressions and reactions are easy to shift. That’s what they train to do.

Your vocalizations are easy to shift too, but most directors don’t see it that way. Most casting directors don’t immediately see it that way either and that can cause you to stay stuck in our career.

Professional actors know this and they put a ton of effort into perfecting their vocalizations and tonality, making sure their voice is always screen-ready.

If you want to be a professional actor, this is something you can’t ignore...

We recently talked about all of the opportunities availble in voice acting right now. Today, we’re going to discuss how to use your voice effectively and ensure that you can always deliver a world class performance, whether you’re on set or in a sound booth.

Over the years I’ve seen actors overcomplicate this over and over again. 4 different tonalities are pretty much all you need because they cover almost every interaction your characters will have on set.

Here’s what they are...

1. Flat

2. Ending on a higher pitch

3. Starting high and ending on a lower pitch,

4. Starting at a normal pitch and ending on a lower pitch

That’s it!

Let’s talk about when to use each of the 4 tonalities.

Flat tonality is when your voice stays at a flat pitch throughout your statement. That doesn’t mean it has to be delivered completely monotone. It just means you will stay within a very small pitch range.

This tonality is used when you are making a statement and delivering information that doesn’t have an underlying emotional charge for your character. Whatever the information is, it just is.

For example, if you are playing a doctor this tonality would be used as your character reviews a patient's chart with a colleague.

Ending on a higher pitch is almost for dialogue that includes a question. It can either be an explicit question like “What’s your name?” or it can be a response that includes a question.

That would be something like “you think I was there too?”
The third tone is just as simple as the first two. It is used to give your character a friendly tone.

Think of what happens when you introduce yourself to someone. Your voice naturally starts at a high pitch when you are being friendly

Here’s a simple rule of thumb. The longer your voice stays at an elevated pitch, the friendlier your character is trying to be.

The fourth tone is used to show authority or to add some gravity to your statement. Your voice starts at your normal pitch and then drops towards the end of a statement.

This can also be used to pace your scenes. If you draw out the amount of time it takes you to get from your starting pitch to the lowest pitch, you will slow down the scene.

We’ll talk more about pacing in the weeks to come, because that is another incredibly powerful thing that professional actors are very good at using.

What you have right now, with tonality alone will make an incredible difference. If you are struggling to effectively bring a certain emotion to your character, start with this. It’s a simple way to start troubleshooting the problem.

Sometimes you may be trying to deliver lines in the form of a statement, but your voice keeps going up at the end, making it sound like more of a question.

When something doesn’t “feel right” but you can’t really figure out what the problem could be, it’s typically a subtle vocal problem in the delivery.

Unless you are working with a world class director, they may not catch it either, so look for this when you are watching your scenes back.
You can even mix different vocal ranges to layer your characters and make complex character choices.

For example, there may be times when your character needs to be serious but inquisitive at the same time. In that case, you would mix two different tonalities within a very short time frame.

Of course this all depends on whether or not you have enough opportunities to get on set. If you are having trouble with that. Here’s a great place to start.

Being able to deliver on set, or during an audition, only matters if you are actually going on auditions, booking jobs, and getting on set.

If you could use more opportunities, it’s important that you take a step back and focus on the parts of the industry that most actors ignore: the parts that actually help you build a career.

Most actors never make much career progress because they don’t take the time to make themselves visible to the industry. Instead they think that if they just get “good enough” Casting Directors will seek them out.

Casting Directors will seek you out when you have a stellar industry reputation and you can show how talented you are.

What we talked about today, will help with the second part but having just one or the other will make things more difficult for you.

So don’t leave it completely to chance. Give yourself every advantage possible to succeed and make sure that you are building your career on a solid foundation.

As you practice building your character’s voice, things will become second nature. At first, it will take some practice so remember I’m always only a comment or an email away if you need some help with this.

So, don’t hesitate to get in touch because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

What Awards Season Really Means to Actors

If you tune into the awards shows like everyone else, you could be missing out on something big!

Sure, the glitz and glamour are fun and so is the anticipation of waiting to see if your favorites will be giving acceptance speeches, but the awards can also give you some incredibly valuable industry information, if you know what you are looking for.

It’s a chance for you, as an actor, to see what the industry is responding to.

If you actually pay attention to why the winners won and why the nominees were nominated, you can do the same to build your own acting career.

Here’s how...

Start by paying attention to every category, not just the categories for actors. Everything from Cinematography to Best Picture can help you recognize trends.

For example, did any projects sweep the awards and nominations or were they spread out pretty well among a large number of projects?

Who was involved in the projects that got the most attention?
What was it about those projects that the industry admired? Dig deep into the reasons for this.

If it was a great story that was well told, what made it a great, well told story? Even a terrific screenplay won’t be nominated, if the casting and everything else on the production itself falls short.

A lot of factors come together to make a project award worthy, and what you want to do is pick the project apart and find out what made the biggest impact.

For example, a good screenplay can become an incredible and award worthy story with the right actors attached.

You don’t only want to look at the actors. You should also look at the directors involved in the projects.

Study their other work and find out what else they were involved in, and why they chose to work on those projects.

You also want to see the actors they have worked with in the past.

Do you see any patterns in the actors they choose to work with? Those patterns are not always obvious, so you should also look into the actor’s backgrounds.

Here’s what I mean...

When you look into the actor’s backgrounds you want to find out things like what kind of training they have.

You want to know what other projects the actors have been involved in and why.

By looking at the big picture you can also find out if this director prefers to work with highly experienced actors or if they like to work with actors that are fairly new to the industry.

Every director has their preferences and so does every Casting Director. When you get to know their preferences, you can give them exactly what they are looking for.

The reason you want to find this out about the award winners, is that it will give you an insight into what the trend currently is. Things change over time. For a few awards seasons, everyone was rooting for the newcomers.

It meant that having a limited resume could be an advantage. If you were following awards season closely, in the way we’ve been talking about, you could have adapted the way you approached things.

In that case, emphasizing your training more than your past work might actually give you an advantage.
But, if the opposite is true and the more experienced and “familiar” actors tend to be the ones sweeping the awards, you could be putting yourself at a disadvantage by highlighting your training and downplaying your previous work.

While you should do this every awards season, don’t stop there. Find out as much as you can about the people you will be auditioning with and study their work as much as possible.

It could make a huge difference, when you are prepared and you can give CDs and industry decision makers exactly what they are looking for.

Of course, this is only helpful if you can get in the room. If you are having trouble with getting enough auditions, it could be that you need to be more visible to the industry. Here’s a great place to start.

Delivering a great performance on set is half the battle. If you want to be a professional actor, you also have to create demand for yourself. We’ll be talking more about that over the coming weeks but you can get started on something now.

You can get started on making sure that your industry reputation is in tip top shape because that’s how you will get the industry’s attention.

That’s a big part of what will impact your career.

You have to get the industry’s attention so they can invite you to read. If you have a great industry reputation and appear to be a great fit for the role, why wouldn’t you be asked to read for it?

When that happens, things change quickly.

Getting the industry’s attention can happen by having an impressive body of work to point to that shows them you are a talented actor. That happens over time, but it can also happen when you have a great industry reputation . Here’s how I can help with that part.

Don’t let this delayed awards season go to waste. Do the research that we talked about today. You will be surprised at some of what you’ll learn about the actors you look up to.

Remember, I’m also only a comment or an email away so get in touch, even if you just want to bounce ideas. I’ll always help however I can, because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

An Untapped Source of Acting Opportunities for 2021

There are plenty of acting opportunities in 2021, but most actors will miss out on a lot of them. What that means for you is that, if you know how to find those opportunities, you could have very little competition.

For years, Casting Directors would sometimes even struggle to get people to come in and read for many of these projects, and agents would even discourage talent from considering them.

Today, even A-listers are going all in on some of these opportunities and I can think of a few actors whose careers completely skyrocketed after booking one of these opportunities.

See professional actors are willing to take chances at the right time. If you want to be a professional actor too, you should pay attention when they start to do projects like this.

Here's how to find these acting opportunities...

Chances are, if you are relatively new to the industry, you would take on these projects without giving it a second thought. But, you would be surprised at how many “experienced” actors wouldn’t want to go anywhere near them.

So what are these opportunities?
It’s difficult to put them into a single category, so let’s keep it simple and call them voiceovers.

There is a ton of work available doing voice overs. We’ll get into “mainstream” stuff over the coming weeks.

What we’ll be focusing on today are the areas that have little competition, so you have a better chance of booking.

For example, the category of video game voices has largely been left untouched by actors. It was seen as something that you wouldn’t do as a serious actor.

But, the industry has changed and now you can see A list actors voicing and playing video game characters.
Because of all of the advances in technology, video game motion capture has made these full roles that you can actually dive deep into.

A lot of actors don’t know just how intricate the story lines are to some of the more popular video games. Some cut scenes would be nearly indistinguishable from a live action blockbuster movie.

As someone who wants to be a professional actor, you can’t ignore this category.

Not only is it growing incredibly fast, without any signs of slowing down, you can actually build a fanbase doing this.

Here’s why...

The number of people that will view your scenes in the video games they play, is often more than the number of people that buy a ticket to a relatively successful movie.

Sometimes, it’s several times more people.

So, when you become recognizable to them, and move from their console to the big screen, they will move with you.

Currently, it’s mostly going the opposite way and that’s where a big opportunity is.

If you want to pursue it, you need to have a conversation with your agent. Don’t be surprised if they have more than a few questions about why you want to do it.

This is relatively new territory for them as well, and they may not know exactly how to go about supporting you in this.

If they are unable to help you with pursuing some of these opportunities, they usually know someone who can.

They will either work together, or each one will focus on finding you different opportunities.

Besides this, there are a ton of other opportunities available for actors to do voiceovers and some of the projects are incredibly exciting. It’s becoming more common to film in augmented reality or do motion capture.

That’s a bit of a different category, wth its own set of challenges so we’ll go into the details on that another time.

If you went through this and decided that you just do not want to be involved in video games at all...that’s ok!
What I hope to do more than anything else is help you see that there are other ways to get your foot in the door.

It doesn’t have to be this way, but you should be doing something different than what everyone else does.

Start thinking about how you can differentiate yourself because if you want to be a professional actor you have to give yourself every advantage possible to succeed.

I get to work with so many actors, and I see the same things happening over and over again. So many of them follow the crowd because it’s just the way things have always been done.

But, the industry has changed. CDs are now actively looking for talent in places that are easily accessible to you. Use that to your advantage!

If you want to have Casting Directors inviting you to read, it could be as simple as making yourself highly visible to the industry. Here’s a great way to get started on that.

Typically, when a CD asks you to come in and read, it is either because you have a body of work that they have come across in some way, or it happens by showing up in the places that CDs are already looking.

Whichever way it happens, at some point, casting will want to know more about you so make sure that your industry reputation matches your goals. Here’s how I can help.

So what do you think about what we went over today? Can you see how the opportunities we talked about could be used to boost your acting career?

Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. I’m always happy bounce ideas and help in any way I can, because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

What Casting Directors Are Looking For in 2021

Being successful as an actor depends on a few things, but actors tend to let themselves get distracted by a lot of stuff that really doesn’t matter.

A few days ago, I sat down with one of the most respected Casting Directors in the industry. She has an incredible eye for discovering new talent and for helping actors get to the next level.

Anytime I have the opportunity to speak with her, I get tons of incredible information. We’ll be talking about it quite a bit.

Today, what we are going to start with are the top 3 things Casting Directors look for during the casting process.

If you truly want to be a professional actor you have to know how to give CDs exactly what they are looking for...

Let’s start with the number one thing Casting Directors look for...Talent. Of course this one is a no brainer, but stick with me.

Casting Directors want to see actors that are extremely talented. If you can’t deliver a world class performance, then making it in the industry is going to be extremely difficult. CDs are always looking to work with the next rising star.

However, it can be extremely difficult to show a CD how talented you are during an audition. If you are in a traditional setting, you have a few minutes with them at best.

If you are submitting a self taped audition, you have even less. This is why casting looks to other things to get a better idea of your talent and who you are. Which brings us to the next point...

Determination. This tells Casting Directors a lot about you and it gives them confidence that you will deliver on set, no matter what. When actors are determined to succeed, they will do whatever is necessary to deliver a great performance on set.

That gives actors a ton of confidence and it comes across in their performance.

You would be surprised at how many actors show up on set unprepared. That’s why CDs are so hesitant to cast actors they don’t have a relationship with. More on that in a bit...
Being determined to succeed also goes hand in hand with being coachable on set. When actors are able to put ego aside and trust that production will look out for how the project turns out, it makes a huge difference.

Sometimes, that means playing the character a little bit differently than you would have liked to, and trusting that the director’s vision will keep everything on track.

As important as that is, what can really put you over the top is identifying your X factor. If you have been in the industry for any length of time, you have likely noticed that being a talented actor is not all that matters.

If you look at the most successful actors, the ones who are at the top levels of the industry, you would notice they have something that sets them apart from others. That’s their X factor and it goes beyond what happens on set.

Sometimes, your X factor can work its way into the characters you play. I’ve seen actors who are incredibly talented musicians that bring that with them to practically every character.

That becomes an advantage for you, because it allows casting to get creative and take characters in a different direction. Maybe having a musical solo would make perfect sense, but it never crossed anyone’s mind, until you read for the role. Often, that’s what makes the difference during casting.

Everything we talked about were big difference makers but what made a difference to casting directors, more than anything else we talked about, was finding an actor who can bring attention to the project.

It was clear that this is probably the most important factor of all.

Actors reach the top level of the industry when they can move an audience to tune into a project or show up at the box office. A project can be mediocre and still be incredibly successful if it has a cast that is made up of actors that can bring attention to it.

I’m sure you can think of at least a few examples. Studios and networks know this, so they often attach a well known actor to a project for this reason alone.

More and more often, the well known actor that is attached to a project ends up being someone with a big social media presence.

Casting Directors know that if you have a big and dedicated following, your followers are likely to support your projects. So, make sure you are highly visible to the industry in all ways. Here’s a great place to start.

You will be posting about it on social media and that will lead to excitement around your involvement in it.
This is why you see CDs actively searching for social media influencers that can also act, but that’s pretty hard to find. So, if you can be that for them, then you become the logical casting choice. So start to put yourself in a position to be able to bring attention to the project. Here’s how I can help you get the ball rolling.

What I shared with you is just the tip of the iceberg, and we’ll be talking more about everything over the coming weeks.

We’ll be going into the details on what it really takes to make it in the industry. We’ll get into more over the coming weeks but there is something you should get started on right now.

Every Casting Director stresses the importance of keeping your industry reputation in good shape. That’s why I created this to help you with that.

So, what do you think about what we went over today? Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email.

I’m always happy to help, even if you just need someone to bounce ideas with. If you have any questions about this or anything else industry related, get in touch because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

What Sets Professional Actors Apart

What if I told you there was a fast growing category, with tons of projects in the works, that many actors want nothing to do with?

On top of that, what if I said this was actually one of the easiest categories to break into and many well known actors got their start in this category.

In fact, some of the most highly respected agents in the industry use this category to launch their new talent.

So why is it that many actors don’t take it seriously? If what you want is to become a professional actor, that could be a big mistake!

See, professional actors know how to go from one category to the next and if you want to be a professional actor too, you have to be able to do the same. Here’s where to start...

Focus on making progress in your career and realize that it may not be in the category you first had in mind.

Here’s what I mean...maybe you do a lot of work in one category, even though it’s not ultimately what you want to focus on.

For example, if you are really good at comedy but you ultimately want to do dramas, it might seem like taking another comedic role would be a waste.

That is hardly ever the case, but when most actors are looking to go to the next level in their career that’s what comes to mind. More on that in a bit...

Even if you are working on something that is out of your element, you can always bring a bit of what makes you unique to the role. That’s true, even if you are in a category that is the opposite of what you would like to be in.

For example, there is always some drama in a comedy and there is always some comedic relief in a dramatic project too.

This allows you to bring what you want to showcase to the role. Some of the most successful actors built their careers this way. We’ll come back to that in a bit...

First I want to talk about when it makes sense to do this and when it makes sense to change things up. Sometimes changing directions is the right thing to do and other times, it is completely the wrong move.

If you change things up at the wrong time, it could keep you stuck in your career as you continue spinning your wheels.

It’s actually pretty simple. If you are making progress and taking on bigger roles, keep going. It might not be the exact direction you want to go in, but that’s ok. Keep at it. Making some progress in your career is better than taking on the same roles time after time.

If you are not making progress and find that you are only going after the same types of roles over and over again, it’s time to see what you can change.

Sometimes, it’s as simple as updating your headshots or recutting your reel. Other times you might decide that you need to sit down with your agent and talk about whether you two are still a good fit. Taking the next steps in your acting career sometimes means having to change some of the people on your team.

Doing it at the right time can mean huge progress. Don’t overthink it. Keep it simple, like we talked about a moment ago, and you will know whether it’s the right time.

Most actors struggle to make progress in their careers because they don’t usually stop to think things through like this.

They start looking for a new agent, even though they are being booked, just maybe not booking in the category they want to.

Sometimes, they end up getting desperate and start to go after anything and everything they might even remotely be a fit for.

This means that they are never able to get familiar with people on the production side that also specialize in that category.
Instead, you should focus on whatever category you are able to make the most progress in. It may not be exactly what you want to work on but it will give you the opportunity to start building a reputation in the industry.

Your reputation is everything in the industry, so you need to make sure that it always matches your goals. Here’s how I can help.

We’ll talk more about why that’s so important, over the coming weeks.

For now, start thinking about whether the direction your career is going in, is the direction you want it to go.

If not, think about what we talked about today and prepare yourself to take the next steps in your career.

Building your career like this will show the industry that you are a professional.

Taking some time to do things like this definitely takes some effort and most actors prefer to just go on another audition. It’s usually the easier thing to do but it is not always the best thing to do.

It’s what separates professional actors from everyone else.

It can be really tough to juggle everything that professional actors have to take care of and most actors find themselves easily overwhelmed. That’s why I built this, to help you with some of that.

So which category do you plan on starting with? Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email and let me know. Remember I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

What To Do If Your Acting Career Gets Stuck

The last twelve months have been an absolute whirlwind. Some actors took the opportunity todo things differently than they had been doing before the event of the last year and they have made incredible career progress.

Other actors hit the pause button for a little while and have been struggling to get their careers back on track ever since.

Regardless of everything, the industry has seen incredible growth and the actors that were ready for the changes, have been doing great things.

So, if you are behind on your goals as an actor and you haven’t been accomplishing what you were hoping to accomplish this year, what should you do now?

When this happens to top tier actors (trust me it happens to them too) there is something they do and if you want to be a professional actor, you have to do this too...

If you are not making meaningful progress to your goals, consider what the problem could be. Don’t just continue to do the same things over and over again.

Something has to change if you want to get different results.

Take a step back and take an honest look at what’s been going on in your career, so you can identify what you need to work on.

Are you going on a lot of auditions but you’re not getting booked?

Or, are you not getting to audition very often? Those are two completely different problems and you have to treat them differently.

If you are going on a lot of auditions but you’re not getting booked maybe it’s time that you look at your representation and consider whether they are truly the best fit.

Think about the auditions you have had recently. Were they truly a good fit for you or is your agent just submitting you to anything that comes up and hoping you book something?

Are they only submitting you for auditions or are they actively working to get you into them?

For things to work out, you need to have an agent that is working for you. Just submitting you to things isn’t going to cut it. They have to actively pursue opportunities on your behalf also.

When this happens, most actors think the best thing to do is to bring someone else in.

Instead of fixing the situation with their agent, they bring in a manager.

If you already have a manager you have to evaluate them the same way as your agent. Are they actively working for you or are they just kind of sitting back and waiting to see what develops?

There is a time when bringing in someone to help manage your career makes sense. If you evaluate your agent and determine that’s not the problem, then it may be time to bring a manager in.

They can help guide your career and make sure that you are being considered for everything that you are a fit for and even for things that don’t make sense, but that could be changed for you.

This happens all the time, even for actors that are fairly new to the new industry. More on that in a bit...

First, let’s talk about what to do if you are going on a lot of auditions but you’re not booking often.

Where is the issue?

Could it be that you are completely dropping the ball in the room?

Everyone has bad auditions, but if you find yourself constantly thinking you could have done much better, you have to narrow down what the problem could be.

You have to record yourself auditioning, but since you can’t do this in a real audition you will have to do the next best thing.

Hold an audition for yourself. It might help if you ask a friend to play the part of the casting director.

Whether you are doing this by yourself or with a friend, go through the entire process and act as if you were really auditioning for your dream role in a great production.

Record it a few times.

If you had a friend help you with this, ask them for their feedback after you have finished. Don’t ask them for their feedback in between “takes.” You want it to be as real as possible so you can identify where things could be going wrong in an actual audition.

When you get their feedback ask them to be brutally honest with you.
If you come off as rude or egotistical, it’s better to find out from them now than to keep spinning your wheels in auditions.

After you have done it a few times, put everything away for a while, ideally for a day or two. Then, play the recordings and watch yourself.

If you had a friend help with filming, make sure that you do this part by yourself, so you can be 100% honest with yourself about what you are watching.

Do you come off as an inexperienced actor? A lot of actors let their nerves get the best of them and their training and preparation go out the window in auditions.

You might go through this process and determine that your auditions are fantastic.

In that case, is the problem more about what happens afterwards, when casting starts looking into you and determining what you bring to the table? Here’s how I can help with that.

A lot of actors find that they just get looked over because CDs can’t find much about them. They look to social media and find a bunch of selfies and random posts that don’t really speak much to who you are, and that’s about the extent of it.

CDs turn to social to get a better idea of who you are off set, that’s why keeping up with your social media is so important. I built this to help you get the ball rolling with that.

Casting Directors do more than just find talented actors. They have to build a cast and when they look into you, they determine how you will fit into the bigger picture. Your industry reputation is a big part of that so make sure your reputation matches your goals.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be talking more about how to take your career to the next level. Get started on what we went over today, so you can be ready to put everything to good use.

If you have any questions or even if you just want to bounce ideas, shoot me an email or leave a comment below. I’m happy to help because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott