Over the last few months, I've noticed something happening to actors and it is severely impacting many of them.

Because of the changes that have happened with how we interact with one another, many actors find themselves losing touch with the nuances that make for great performances.

To be honest, most of them didn't have a very good grasp on this to begin with.

See, most acting classes will teach you how to portray certain emotions but they leave out a huge part of what makes a performance believable.

Successful actors know that "showing emotion" isn't enough and they go multiple layers deeper than that.

We'll talk about those layers in depth over the coming weeks.

What we'll start with today is the biggest piece of what makes a performance stand out to the audience and makes CDs and industry decision makers want to work with you over and over again.

If you want to be a successful actor, this is something you have to master...

Another year has come and gone, and as we reach the final report of 2021 I want to ask you something...

Career-wise, did this year live up to your expectations? How close did you come to accomplishing what you set out to?

If you know that you could have made much more progress and you want to set yourself up for a more productive 2022 then this could be the most important few minutes you spend on your career.

I had something completely different planned for you today, but instead I dug through the conversations I’ve had with successful actors over the past year and I pulled together their most powerful strategies.

I wanted to bring you what’s working right now to build an acting career, so here's what helped actors make big career moves in 2021...

Headshots! Every actor needs one but few actors actually get them done correctly.

What is supposed to be their industry calling card often turns out to hurt their chances of being booked, more than it helps them.

Most actors I’ve spoken to over the years have put a ton of effort into taking their headshots, but few of them have stopped to think about what they want their headshots to do for them.

Have you thought about it recently?

If you haven’t then, chances are, your headshot isn’t doing as much as it could be doing for you. That’s something that needs to change as soon as possible.

Successful actors have a very well thought out strategy for their headshots.

It’s a huge part of what helps them take their career to the next level. If you want to be a professional actor, your headshot will be very important.

So how do you know whether your headshot is actually going to help you build your acting career or if it could end up hurting your chances of getting booked?

There’s a common problem that a lot of actors experience at one point or another and hardly anyone is ever prepared to deal with it.

After seeing so many actors fall victim to it over the years, I started digging deeper and I wanted to find out why it was happening.

Most actors think this would be a good thing, and it can be if you approach it correctly.

I’m talking about having “multiple talents.” There are so many actors that are incredibly talented in many areas.

They can act, sing, dance, do their own stunt work, etc. This typically seems like it would be what a casting director is looking for, but an actor that can do it all is usually a big red flag.

However, many of the most successful actors are the ones that can do it all.

Study their careers, and you’ll see that almost all of them followed the same path to success.

If you want to be a professional actor, this is something that you will want to follow closely too...

Have you ever watched a movie or a show and saw a character being played by someone you kept forgetting was in the project?

It happens all the time and that is a horrible thing for an actor! Why?

It should go without saying, but over the years I've found that most actors don't really connect the dots on this.

Booking a role isn't just about getting a credit and getting on screen. It's also about being seen,. and more importantly, being remembered by the right people.

Otherwise, what did the project actually do for you?

That's kind of a touchy and uncomfortable subject for most actors and it's because that's where they usually find themselves.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard from actors who booked a scene on a primetime series, blasted their friends with text messages, DMs, and posted relentlessly asking everyone to tune in and support the show...

Only to have almost everyone ask "where was your scene, did they edit you out?"

See, if your performance doesn't leap off the screen and force the audience to pay attention they won't, even if you blatantly asked them to.

Doing that is something professional actors have mastered, and if you want to be a professional actor you have to get really good at forcing the audience to notice you too.

It's all about creating an emotional connection with your audience, which is simple to do, even if you only have a few lines and a few seconds of screen time.

Here's how...

The most successful actors have passed on more acting jobs than they’ve taken. That’s kind of a given, because everyone wants to work with them...

Or is that really the whole story?
What if I told you that passing on jobs was one of their secrets to success.

For many of the most successful actors, passing on opportunities is what helped them build their career.

I know it sounds strange but if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it and the biggest agencies wouldn’t use this to help their clients either.

So why is this something you don’t hear much about? Everyone likes to talk about who passed on what and how those projects went on to be huge successes.

That’s kind of the problem...

If you want to build a successful acting career you have to be willing to do the opposite of what everyone else does.

Why?
Because if you do what everyone else does, you’re likely to end up where they end up.

Successful actors do things differently and if you want to be a successful actor too, you have to know when it’s time to stray from the norm.

It can be the best career move you ever make, if you do it right. Here’s where to start...

We celebrated Veterans Day a few days ago. This time of year, heading into the holiday season always gets me thinking about big picture stuff...

Particularly, the events that marked veterans day got me thinking about what it means to be a veteran in the industry.

Most of the actors I’ve ever spoken to have a flawed idea of what it means to be a veteran actor.

Everyone knows what it’s like to be a green, newbie actor because that’s where everyone begins their journey in the industry.

Because so few ever earn “veteran status” there’s a lot of confusion around what it actually is. So why is it important that you understand what being a veteran actor is?

Because veteran actors have built accomplished careers that have withstood many, many industry changes and they’ve done it while understanding a key industry element that other actors simply don’t get.

Most other actors try to wing it, when it comes to building their career. Veteran actors almost always follow in the footsteps of someone else.

If you want to build a career as a professional actor, pay close attention to what the veterans are doing. Following in their footsteps is about as close to being a sure thing as you can get in the industry.

Here’s where to start...

It's hard to build a career when all you’re ever cast as is barista #2, and the best you can hope for is that one of your facial expressions ends up on screen.

That won’t make Scorcese pick up the phone and call you anytime soon...

Almost every actor I’ve ever spoken with has encountered the same problem when trying to build their career.

They have trouble getting to the next level in their career because they have no experience and no credits at that next level. But, how are they supposed to get the credits and experience if no one will give them a chance because they don’t have it?

It’s a problem that has been around as long as the industry itself and it’s one that few actors are able to solve.

The ones that do, end up having long and prosperous careers.

If you want to be a professional actor and you’re having trouble getting to the next level in your career this is something you have to figure out.

Here’s where to start...