Actors are incredibly special people. Of course, I’m biased but that doesn’t mean I’m wrong...

Think about it, who in their “right mind” would choose a profession where, the longer you stick with it, the less likely you are to succeed?

Who would knowingly pursue a career where only the top few are able to book consistently, while everyone else fights for the leftovers?

Before we continue, I want to be very clear about something...

The industry was never designed to be a place where anyone and everyone could succeed, but that doesn’t mean it’s difficult.

I think most actors know that on some level but they never really start to think about why that is...

See, few things stick around in the human mind in the same way that your work can. Think about it, how many times have you sat quietly sipping a cup of coffee, mentally replaying scenes from your favorite movie?

How many times have you sat on the couch after a long day and spaced out to a few episodes of your favorite show?

That’s why the industry is such a small and exclusive circle, at the top levels.

When you really think about it, that’s a lot of responsibility, so it makes perfect sense that only the most dedicated actors make it to the top levels.

If what you want is to be a successful actor, what I’m about to share with you just might be the thing that sends your career skyrocketing...

Did you know there are three different types of auditions you can have? Most actors only know about two of them, and they only recently became aware of the second one of those because of the changes that have happened over the last 18 months or so.

This is a problem, when you consider that the third type of audition is quickly becoming the most common one.

Something I’ve realized recently is that, even the actors that are aware of all three different types of auditions haven’t quite figured out just how different they are.

It’s fun to talk about acting techniques and the creative side of the industry but there is a lot more that has to happen “behind the scenes” if you want to build a successful acting career.

Professional actors put a lot of effort into that side of things, because without it, the creative side doesn’t matter.

If you want to be a professional actor, but you’re not making the kind of progress you should be making, the issue could be that you’re focusing on the wrong things.

Here’s what I mean...

When I talk to actors about what they are doing to build their acting career, they almost always say things like “I’m taking this class, I took a workshop, I’m thinking about redoing my headshot, I’m recutting my reel, etc.”

While those are all great things to do, everything should be done in its due time. What I’m about to say is going to be shocking and will contradict 99.99% of what you’ve been told about making it in the industry...

Succeeding in the industry doesn’t take what most people think it does.

Most actors think it takes a ton of connections with “the right people,” world class training from the top instructors, and a ton of time devoted to paying your dues.

In reality...

It’s not about the training one actor has, that others don’t have.

It’s not about the credits, and in some cases it’s not even about the talent.

That’s why even incredibly talented actors can have careers that are as different as night and day, when on paper they should be experiencing the same levels of success.

We’ve all looked at a cast list and wondered why a particular actor was booked.

Take someone like Dwayne Johnson, for example. Anyone would be absolutely delighted to perform alongside him today, but it wasn’t always that way.

He’s made incredible progress in terms of his acting skills, but if you watch some of his earlier projects, you might wonder why he continued to book, and it was almost unimaginable that he would go on to become one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.

His performances didn’t leap off the screen and he wasn’t a once in a generation type of talent.

So, what kept his career moving forward when anyone else would have been passed over and forgotten by the industry in a heartbeat?

If you want to be a professional actor. This is something that could make a huge impact on your career too...

Have you wondered why some actors seemingly book just about everything they ever audition for, while everyone else struggles to make any kind of progress.

When I speak with actors, one of the topics that comes up just about every time is “how do I book more?”

As actors, we’re told that just having the opportunity to read for something is a great accomplishment and to make the most of it.

While that’s partially true (we’ll talk about which part is true in a moment), it doesn’t help actors build their careers.

Here’s why...

Because being an actor falls under the category of “art”, success isn’t always clearly defined. It should be as simple as booking the part equaling success and not booking it equals failure.

That sounds a little bit harsh, but when you look at it that way you actually have a way of figuring out what went wrong and how you can fix it.

If you want to be a professional actor, that’s an important skill to have, because any way you look at it, part of becoming a professional is booking jobs consistently.

But, before we talk about how to go about it. fair warning, there’s a lot of tough love coming your way...

It goes without saying that, when building an acting career, you are bound to have some missteps along the way.

Most of the time, those things are minor and they are easy to bounce back from. However, there are a few mistakes that can be career killers if they are not fixed right away.

Just about every actor I’ve ever spoken with has made at least one of them and the majority were making more than one.

Building a successful acting career is just as much about knowing what not to do, as it is about knowing what to do.

See, you can do all the right things and still fail to become a successful actor, if you are working against yourself by making these three mistakes.

So, if you want to build your acting career and book consistently, these are the 3 mistakes you have to avoid...

The industry is all about access. Think about it. What if you could walk into any casting office and ask “what do you have for me today” and have everyone scramble to find your next role?

Before you start telling yourself that something like this would never happen, do this... Think of your favorite actors. Choose 3.

Would any of them be able to walk into a casting office and pull this off? While I’m not actually encouraging you to do this (at any point in your career) what I want to point out is what is possible when someone has access to industry decision makers.

Why do you think so many friends of successful actors are able to break into the industry as well?

It’s because they had a direct way to get in front of casting directors and industry decision makers.

If you’re reading this, you probably don’t have an A list actor friend you can call and ask them to get you something in their project.

The good news is, that it doesn’t matter as much as it once did. See, today, casting directors and industry decision makers are easier to get in front of than ever before.

If you want to build a professional acting career, putting yourself in front of CDs and decision makers is something you should actively be doing, instead of just hoping that someone “discovers” you.

Here’s how...

Are Zoom auditions about to be over with? There are a lot of reasons for why that could actually be the case, so should you be spending any time on trying to get good at handling zoom auditions?

Here are some things that could make zoom auditions a thing of the past...

If the industry suddenly decides they no longer want the incredibly high level of efficiency that zoom auditions provide, and they want to go back to the old way, then zoom auditions could go away.

If casting directors decide it’s a good idea to pack a waiting room with dozens of actors, then zoom auditions could go away.

If actors boycott auditions and demand that casting departments force them to drive across town, wait for what can sometimes be hours, so they can read for a few lines, then zoom auditions could go away...

Based on that, do you think the industry will do away with zoom auditions any time soon?

The truth is, the industry was destined to move to zoom auditions as the norm. It’s something I’ve been talking about for a long time, and the events of last year accelerated that move.

Zoom auditions are easier and much more efficient for casting departments to manage. When they became much more common over the last year, many actors were pleasantly surprised.

However, a zoom audition is not like a traditional audition. There are a few very important things that you have to focus on, if you want to deliver an audition that sets you apart.

If what you want is to improve your career and become a professional actor, you really have to focus on mastering this...

Social media is an important part of building an acting career. That goes without saying and most actors know this. That's why everyone in the industry promotes their social media at every opportunity.

A few days ago, I was out jogging when I saw a bus driving by. It had an actor's face plastered on the side (at least I would later find out he was an actor) along with the usual "follow me @."

It got me thinking about the lengths actors will go to, in order to promote their social media and I realized that just about everyone is doing it completely wrong.

The truth is that many people become quite successful by using social media to boost their acting career, but they don’t do it the way you would think.

Social media can make or break acting careers, so I'm still shocked to see just how many actors have no plan for how to use it.

If you want to be a professional actor, you have to figure it out. It's simply not an option to ignore it and hope things work out for the best. You need to have a solid plan for growing an audience, connecting with them, and influencing them to support your work.

That goes way beyond simply counting the likes and shares you get on a selfie. If you do it the way professional actors do it, it's actually quite simple....