How Professional Actors Create Natural Characters

If you have ever watched one of your performances, chances are that you were probably distracted by something that plagues most actors...

I’m talking about your hands and why they seem to have a mind of their own on screen.

Because we rarely ever think of what to do with our hands, off set, actors tend to think that what to do with your hand, on set, is a small enough detail that doesn’t really require much attention.

So, when you watch one of your performances, you probably end up cringing a bit and wondering why you were rubbing your forehead to show that your character was deep in thought.

You might watch a scene where your character was angrily pointing their finger at someone, but it didn’t quite look right.

How natural is any of that?

Seriously, think about it. When you are deep in thought, do you rub your forehead? Not many people do. It’s a lot more natural to just sit and think, usually looking, blankly off into the distance or at whatever is in front of you.

These subtleties are what separate professional actors from everyone else.

Thinking about the little things is what helps them deliver powerful performances and If you want to be a professional actor, you have to think about them and a lot more too...

Acting classes don’t really teach much on this topic because it’s too nuanced to go into in a typical group setting.

This leaves most actors to just try and figure it out on set. Professional actors don’t do that. They plan their character choices well in advance.

If what you do with your hands doesn’t match your character, it can pull the audience out of the moment and detract from your performance.

How can you tell whether you are adding to your character or distracting the audience?

There is an instinctual element to it. If something doesn’t feel right, it’s usually not the right character choice.

As it relates to what you are doing with your hands, if you are thinking about whether to use a particular gesture to emphasize certain words,it’s probably not the right character choice

It will almost always look robotic and pull the audience's attention away from what’s actually going on in the scene.

If you get through a few takes and things just don’t feel right, your immediate urge will be to plan a different choice.

While that may seem like the obvious thing to do, it will almost always send you down the wrong track again. Instead, step away for a bit and try to just clear your mind and let things happen.

A good way to work through the scene is to do the opposite of what you were doing before. If you were playing the scene one way, play it the polar opposite way.

Instead of waving your hands to show some kind of excitement, play the scene more calmly at least as far as your hands are concerned.

On the other hand, if you were playing the scene with calm hands try out a few gestures and see if it feels natural.

You don’t have to plan the gestures themselves, just plan to either go further with them or plan to tone them down a bit, depending on how you were originally playing the scene.

Try different things spontaneously over a few takes and see how it turns out. If you’re still not happy with the way things progress, let the director know and ask for specific guidance.

You will intuitively recognize when things are falling into place and when your character choices are on the right track. You will notice what your hands are doing but you won’t be overly focused on them.
Details like this are what separate professional actors from everyone else.

So pull a few of your old scenes from different projects you worked on and watch them a few times. As you are watching, first identify whether your hands are distracting from the rest of the scene or if what you are doing with your hands just doesn’t fit for some reason.

After you review the scenes, act them out again and change up what you were doing with your hands.

Work through the scene with the process we talked about today and see how big of a difference this can make.

Next time you get on set, you will also be able to use the same process to ensure that your performance is the best it can be.

Even when you refine your skill set and deliver powerful performances on set, there will still be more to do.

For starters, you have to make yourself visible to the industry so that you can show just how talented you are. I built this to help you show up where they are already looking.

It doesn’t stop there...

No matter how talented you are, casting directors and industry decision makers won’t call you out of the blue. They have to know about you and have a reason to seek you out.

Casting directors want to work with actors that have a stellar reputation. If your industry reputation is not what they expect, they won’t feel comfortable working with you over a more established actor. Here’s how I can help with that.

The industry has always worked this way and it’s part of what makes it so difficult for actors to get to the next level in their career.

It causes so many actors to leave the industry before achieving the goals they set for themselves.

We’ll talk more about that over the coming weeks.
In the meantime, I built this to give you every advantage possible to succeed.

As you work through everything we went over today, remember I’m always only a comment or an email away.
Get in touch anytime, even if you just want to bounce ideas. I’m always happy to help however I can, because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Sign With The Best Agent For Your Acting Career

How successful an actor becomes is directly tied to their relationship with their agent.

Actors that have a solid relationship with a quality agent have an incredible advantage over actors who have a more common relationship with their agent.

Most actors know that and it’s something that is on their mind constantly.

Whenever I have spoken with actors over the years, their most common questions are along the lines of how to get an agent or how to get a better agent.

That’s something that has probably been on your mind quite frequently too.

Successful actors focus on signing with the right agent as early in their career as possible. If you want to build a career as a professional actor this is something you have to do sooner rather than later...

*****CLIFFHANGER*****

Unfortunately, most actors go about finding an agent the wrong way. You can’t go after just any agent, because quality agents have a specialty.

They work best with a particular type of actor. That doesn’t mean they won’t work actors in different categories, they absolutely will but it all depends on what career stage those actors are in.

Something I want to clear up is that you don’t need a top tier, A list agent to make it in the industry and trying to sign with them is almost always a waste of time.

Instead, what you should be looking for is an agent that will partner with you. Usually, this agent will also be in a similar career stage as you, meaning they are still building their career as an agent too.

That doesn’t mean you have to sign with someone that is fresh out of the mailroom.

You need to have a defined set of criteria that your future agent must fulfill, if you are ever going to consider signing with them.

Actors are usually reluctant to do this because they are afraid that disqualifying agents will mean they have fewer chances of signing with the “right one.” In reality, this minimizes the chances of you signing with the wrong agent which can be an absolute disaster.

Some time ago, I spoke with an actor that signed with an agent that seemed like a good fit but she soon found that things weren’t quite what they seemed.

When meeting with him, he was enthusiastic about signing her and said he would be putting all of his energy into getting her auditions.

It didn’t take long for her to realize that she was just one of too many clients on his roster. The agent wasn’t being very proactive and nothing was really happening with her career.

Not one to just sit around and wait for the phone to ring, she found an opportunity on her own by doing many of the things that we talk about here. It was for a pilot that was eventually picked up and ran for 3 solid seasons.

The problem was that, even though she found this opportunity on her own, the network didn’t work well with her agent.

Phone calls went unreturned, emails went unanswered and they eventually moved on and ended up casting someone else.

The actor missed out on a great opportunity because of the agent she was signed with and she was still contractually obligated to him for some time after that.

I want to be clear, I don’t think this agent was sabotaging her intentionally. The problem is that when agents take on too many clients, hoping that at least a couple of them end up booking a few jobs, actors inevitably fall through the cracks.

Contrast that to what it’s like to work with an agent that is a partner and 100% committed to seeing you succeed.

They actively look for opportunities for you, and they aren’t satisfied with just submitting you to whatever comes across their desk.

That is the kind of agent that will actually help you build your acting career.

Come up with a list of agents you would love to sign with. Don’t leave someone off your list simply because you think they won’t even consider you.

We’ll talk about how to make that a nonissue in a sec...

What you want to do is determine their criteria for new talent. That will take a little bit of research but it’s not difficult to do.

Everyone announces when they have signed with a new agent so you will be able to see what was going on in their career at the time.

You can see whether they were relatively new to the industry or if they had a good amount of experience and a lot of credits. You can also determine if their agent has a particular kind of talent they like to sign.

You can even see if their talent work on particular kinds of projects.

Compare what you are able to find out about the agents and the type of actors they sign, with what is going on in your career.

If your career is in a similar place to the actors they like to sign, leave that agent on your list.

If you are way off, then take them off your list for now. That doesn’t mean, you won’t sign with them one day, but you might need to sign with an interim agent first and build your career a bit more before you have a real chance of signing with them.

Once you have a list of agents that might be a fit, don’t reach out to them the same way that everyone else does.

Build a relationship with them.

Start by reaching out and complimenting their work and don’t ask for anything in return. Don’t even ask if they are accepting new talent at this point.

Build a relationship with other people in their office too. Do it the same way, without asking for anything from them.

Once you have determined that you fit the criteria for the type of clients they typically sign and you approach them about representing you, you won’t exactly be a cold submission.

In fact, if you are like the actors they typically sign the agents you want to sign with may even approach you first. It always helps to be highly visible in the places where they are already looking for talent. Here’s how I can help with that.

If that happens, try to contain your enthusiasm and let them know that you would be open to having a discussion about it.

Even when you sign with the right agent, it won’t be an automatic path to success

If you want to build your career as a professional actor you need to give your agent every tool possible for them to help build your career. This is one of those career building tools that can really help.

Most actors focus on signing with the right agent because they think things will automatically get a lot easier but that is only one part of what it takes to build a successful acting career.

A good agent can help you get your foot in the door but casting will still look into you, whenever you are being considered for a role. Make sure that what they find shows that you are a true professional.

Take what we talked about today and consider whether it’s time to start thinking about a new agent, or at the very least have a conversation with your current agent about how things are going.

Signing with the right agent is incredibly important so remember I’m always only a comment or an email away if you want to talk things through.

Feel free to get in touch anytime and let me know how your agent search is going. If there’s anything I can do to help, I’m always happy to lend a hand however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

What The SAG Awards Can Do For Your Acting Career

Whether you have spent years rehearsing your acceptance speech, or even if it’s something that has never crossed your mind, the SAG awards should be something you pay attention to every year.

As an actor it is an opportunity for you to see what the industry is responding to and identify the coming industry trends.

Leading up to the awards show, there will be more and more speculation about who the winners will be.

Some actors and projects that everyone thought were sure to win will go home empty handed, while some of the underdogs will go home as big winners.

Why the winners take home the awards and why others, who might be seemingly more deserving, will go home empty handed is something you should pay close attention to because it goes hand in hand with becoming a professional actor...

Nearly everyone will agree that the winners and the nominees are all very talented.

But there are also tons of actors, equally as talented, that will never get a nomination. Before we talk about what sets them apart, let's talk about what they have in common.

Actors that deliver powerful performances on set develop characters with multiple layers of complexity.

Most actors get caught up in the moment, and acting classes kind of stop with the surface level emotions and character choices because going beyond that gets complicated.

But, it doesn’t have to be...
Start by finding the secondary emotions and driving forces behind your character’s actions

That’s how you get an audience to feel as if they are watching something real unfold before their eyes. It’s how the audience becomes immersed in the story and feels like the character you are playing is a living, breathing entity instead of something that lives on screen.

You really take this to another level when you focus on the biggest part of human communication.

I’m talking about body language.

One of the biggest things that actors are concerned with when they plan their on screen action, is what to do with their hands.

When you build your character with body language in mind, that becomes a non issue.
Your body language should dictate the way your character speaks, not the other way around.

That’s not how most actors build their characters. They memorize their lines, plan out their points of inflection and then they think about what their characters will do with their body.

World class actors consider what is happening in the scene and before the scene. They plan their body movement from there and then go back and plan out the way their characters will speak the lines.

Doing it this way gives you much more flexibility.

For example, let’s say that you are performing a scene and your line is “I’m so happy to see you” as you run through a park.

The script would give you some context about why your character is running, who they are happy to see and why they are happy to see them.

If you were planning your character choices like most actors do, you would start by panting as you speak and try to catch your breath as you speak the words.

That’s an ok place to start, but compare that to the way a world class actor would do it.

Both would start similarly, with panting and shortness of breath. The world class actor would go further and think of the reasons behind the running, because that would dictate the body language.

For starters, how fast your character is running will play a big part. Are they sprinting or are they running at a brisk pace?

Those are two very different things and they will each play differently
.
You make your character choices based on the purpose behind the running, not the running itself. That’s where the layers come in.

There’s a difference between trying to escape versus running for fitness.

Both would cause the character to appear out of breath but each one to a different degree. The actor that plans the body language based on the secondary levels of emotion and character motivation will play the scene more naturally.

When I talk about this with other actors, they tend to think that planning like this will make for a rigid performance.

Planning doesn’t mean that you have to do your takes the same way every time. You can still change things up, but do it from the perspective of those secondary emotions.

Directors love an actor that can play the scene in different ways. That’s not to say you should go from one extreme to the other, but they love it when you give them some variety.

When you show up as a true professional on set, the experience of working with you makes it back to casting directors, because they want to know whether or not they are making the right choices in who to move through the casting process.

When directors like working with you, and you deliver great performances on set, CDs will absolutely love you for it and they too will look for projects that you are a fit for.

Even when they don’t have projects for you themselves, they will often recommend you to their colleagues when something you might be a fit for comes along.

That’s how you start to build a track record in the industry.

Winning an award can do the same, but on an entirely different level of course. Some award winning actors leverage their new reputation into more opportunities and even bigger projects.

Here’s how you can solidify your industry reputation without having to win an award.

There are many different things that go into building an acting career, and your industry reputation is one of the biggest ones.

Most actors spend nearly all of their time working on the creative side of the industry and leave everything else for their agent to handle.

There are some things that you just have to be responsible for yourself and your reputation is one of them.

We’ll talk more about the rest of that another time and build out a game plan for your career.

Whether you have dreams of taking home an award one day or if you just want to go full time with your acting career, this is one of the building blocks of your career.

Get started on that for now and we’ll take the rest one step at a time.

Don’t forget to tune into the SAG awards and pay close attention to those that end up winning. You will see that they all have something in common. In one way or another they are all highly visible to the industry. Here’s how I can help with that.

I know that some of what we went over today goes against what you may have been told about making it in the industry.

If you have any questions about it or even if you just want to bounce ideas, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I’m happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

The Biggest Difference Between Success And Failure As An Actor

Over the years, I’ve worked with more actors than I can count and I’ve seen many patterns emerge. Without fail, the most passionate actors are always the most successful ones.

What may come as a surprise is the reason why they are more successful.

It’s not because they are more talented or because they have better connections. That’s what most actors think makes the biggest difference, but in reality being passionate about what you do is what really moves the needle.

Of course, I’ve never met an actor who said they weren’t passionate about acting but the difference is that successful actors follow through on everything that’s required to build a career and they do it with the same passion they have on set.

Most actors don’t.

They love the creative side of the industry, but when it comes to everything else they sort of draw a blank and put things off for “another time.”

In fact, many actors think their talent alone is justification for avoiding those things, so they end up not making very much progress since they never really get around to putting the building blocks of their career in place.

On the contrary, that’s where successful actors start and if you want to build a successful acting career that’s where you should start too...

Before even getting to the building blocks, you first have to figure out what it really means to be an actor. Most actors get this wrong and it keeps them from making any meaningful progress

See, being an actor isn’t about playing characters. It’s about bringing characters to life. The most successful actors approach their craft this way and it makes a huge difference.

When done correctly, it allows the audience to completely detach from reality and experience the emotions of the characters they are watching.

It makes them feel as if they are watching something real unfold.

For example, when you watch a Leonardo DiCaprio movie you don’t see him on screen. He is extremely talented and skilled at bringing characters to life so those characters are real in the minds of the audience.

It’s only when the credits roll, that you snap back to reality and think of how great a performance you just witnessed.

Most actors focus on getting really good at playing characters. World class actors focus on becoming them.

That falls into the creative side of the industry, so it’s the part that most actors find themselves working on while ignoring everything else that goes into building a career.

Before we go into what those other things are, let’s bridge the gap with something that is part creative and part “left brain.”

When it comes to working with directors, almost every actor I’ve ever talked to gets this wrong and it makes life on set a lot more difficult.

What’s worse is that most don’t even realize it, but it does show when you look at their list of credits.

Successful actors know that working well with directors can make a huge difference, because directors will always prefer to work with proven talent.

So, they show up to work with a character that is developed, but they are still coachable and deliver performances that need polishing.

Here’s why...

Having a character that is too polished makes directors feel as if they have been left out of the creative process.

Having one that is too rough makes them feel like working with you is just too much hassle.

So, you have to get really good at creating characters that directors can mold with you. Working well with directors and developing relationships with them is one of the most impactful things you can do to build your acting career.

This goes way beyond what happens on set. Most actors don’t realize that booking a job and getting on set is only the beginning. What comes after is even more important, if you want to build a successful acting career.

We talked about this recently...

Following up with CDs, directors, and anyone else you worked with is what can turn a single acting job into, two, three, four or more. This is especially true when it comes to directors.

See, they have the ability to attach particular actors to a project and bypass the audition process.

While it will likely take some time to build that kind of relationship with a director, building some familiarity can tilt the scales in your favor during casting, even early on in your acting career.

It’s how you end up building a career and start making the progress you should be making.

Spending time in acting classes and redoing your headshots feels good in the moment and it feels like you are making progress.

What successful actors do is work on the things that make the biggest difference. If you really want to build a career as a professional actor, you owe it to yourself to give yourself every advantage possible. This is one of them.

What I’ve referred to as the “creative part” is too subjective to rely on as the only way to build your career.

It is important of course, but some CDs will think a group of actors are incredibly talented while others will think those same actors are uncastable.

That’s why you also have to work on things that are universally thought of as being positive by CDs and industry decision makers.

For example, the industry will always weigh your reputation heavily when making casting decisions.
In some cases, an industry reputation can keep actors from even being called to audition.

Why leave one of the most important things to chance? Here’s how I can help you make sure your industry reputation is always in top shape.

We went over a lot today, and what we covered are perhaps the biggest and most impactful parts of building a career.

We talked about building relationships with the people you work with, especially directors, so you can stay on their radar and possibly come to mind the next time they need an actor like you.

At the very least, that visibility would build some familiarity with them and that can go a long way towards helping you build your acting career.

I also created this so you can be more visible to CDs and decision makers, even if you haven’t worked with them yet.

What do you think would happen in your career if you were to use everything we talked about today?

Try it out for yourself and see what happens. Shoot me an email or leave me a comment below and let me know how things change for you.

Or if you need to bounce some ideas along the way, get in touch because I’m happy to help however I can and I truly can’t wait to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Take Charge of Your Acting Career And Get Casting Directors To Notice You

What I’m about to ask you will only seem like a trick question... Has the industry changed over the last 50 years?

You would be crazy to think it hasn’t changed...right? I mean, in that time, the industry has gone from drive in pictures and nightly radio shows, to television series, to streaming content, to absolute content chaos with so much available at the click of a button that no one could ever consume it all.

So on the surface it would appear that the industry is very different today, and it seems that it’s changing pretty quickly.

But, has the core of the industry really changed and what does that mean for you as an actor?

See, successful actors know that there’s more to the industry than meets the eye and they have learned to dig deeper and uncover the parts of the industry that almost everyone else ignores.

If you want to be a successful actor this is something you have to do too, or you will risk ending up like the 99% of other actors who are stuck, spinning their wheels in their career.

If that’s something you would rather avoid and if you want to figure out how you can finally start making the kind of progress you should be making...

Fair warning, what I’m about to share with you is an incredibly powerful strategy that is so obvious and simple you will probably be at least a little bit angry that you didn’t start doing it sooner.

See, as much as the industry has changed on the surface, what drives the industry hasn’t changed and it never will.

Becoming a successful actor has always been directly tied to the relationships you build with casting directors and industry decision makers.

Before you start mentally going over all the reasons that you don't have many industry connections right now, just know that it’s ok.

That’s one of the biggest obstacles actors face but it’s actually not that difficult to overcome it.

Most actors only interact with CDs when they go on an audition. Given that more and more auditions are becoming self taped rather than traditional, in person auditions, that’s a problem. Successful actors are really good at getting more “time” with them.

When you do that, you become familiar and everyone (CDs included) would rather work with someone who is familiar instead of working with a complete stranger.

There are many ways to go about it, but the simplest way to do it is to reach out to CDs and decision makers directly.

Most actors cringe at the thought of doing that, but understand that you are not trying to get them to see you right away.

All you are trying to do is open the door towards building a relationship. If you are overly eager, you will be just like every other actor they’ve ever met.

So don’t just get in touch out of the blue, with your hat in hand begging to be considered for their next project.

Instead, approach them with a genuine compliment or comment about their work or something they care about that isn’t industry related.

That brings us to the next point...

You will have to do some basic research on casting directors and decision makers so you can find a good way to open the door.

Come up with a list of projects you would have loved to work on. Don’t worry about whether or not those projects seem out of reach at the moment.

Then, go to the credits and look at who did the casting. Add the names to your list.

Once you do that you will have a list of casting directors that are actively involved in casting for projects like ones you would want to work on.

From there, just look up the casting directors on social media, through industry groups and anywhere else you can reasonably think of.

If you happen to end up in the same Pilates class, so be it. I’m only partially kidding but more on that in a sec...

Earlier I mentioned that you are not looking to get anything from the people you contact. At this point you just want to open the door to there being some kind of connection and a professional working relationship.

So, it’s perfectly ok to send them a postcard or a letter with a small gift as long as it comes from a genuine place and there’s a reason attached to it.

Here’s what I mean...

If you were to send a CD, a postcard and a four leaf clover keychain before one of their projects opens at the box office or has a season premiere, that would be a welcome gesture.

Your postcard could have a message where you wish them success with the new project and the keychain or whatever small gift you want to include just makes the envelope bulky and less likely to be thrown out.

I know what you’re thinking so let’s address it right now. Yes, people do still send each other real mail.

Of course, it’s much less common nowadays and that works to your advantage since you won’t be 1 of 100 pieces of similar mail they have to sort through.

You will likely be the only one and that kind of attention on you, your name, and however you can cleverly include a photo of yourself is priceless.

While that is one of the most impactful ways you can reach out, it’s not the only way. Even if you do decide to go this route, it still shouldn’t be the only way you reach out to casting directors and decision makers.

You can do the same thing, minus the small gift, through Instagram.

The drawback is that, because it’s a lot easier to send a DM than it is to send a physical piece of mail, you are much more likely to get lost in the shuffle.

However, reaching out to CDs and decision makers is not something 99% of actors do. They’re intimidated or simply afraid to do it, so you won’t have much “competition” from them. You just have to be creative enough to stand out in the inbox.

However you choose to go about reaching out to them, understand that not everyone will respond. Most won’t but that doesn’t mean they didn’t see your communication.

That’s why it’s important to reach out in more than one way.

So, you can send a mail piece and follow it up with a DM a week or two later if you don’t hear back.

Change the message a little bit so it’s not exactly the same thing you said in your mail piece.

Then, like I said earlier, if you magically end up in the same pilates class that’s ok. Let a couple weeks go by and then recognize them out of the blue. Chances are, they will recognize you too (if you figured out a way to visually introduce yourself) and they may even approach you first.

As much of a long shot as this may seem, the odds are actually in your favor as long as you do everything from a place that is genuine and not needy.

That’s what makes this pilates example seem so normal. I heard from an actor who reached out in the same way we just talked about and then went to the same coffee shop as a CD she wanted to work with, for 3 months before the CD finally recognized her.

All she got was a “small world” and a “thank you” but it was enough to get her on the CDs radar, and they did end up working together soon after.

You would be surprised at what can happen when you do this consistently. It can snowball very quickly and lead to opportunities that can be career changing.

So, set aside some time to come up with your list of casting directors and decision makers you want to reach out to.

Then, make sure to plan some time to do it too.

What this does is increase your visibility and everything you do in the industry is more impactful when you are visible. That goes for CDs, industry decision makers, and for audiences too.

We’ll talk more about the audience another time, because that’s an extensive topic on its own.

For now, get started on being more visible to casting directors and decision makers, because they can help move your career forward more quickly. Here’s how I can help with your visibility too...

When you start this process you have to go into it with the right expectations. In the beginning, it might take some time to get the ball rolling.

What can also happen is that you reach out to casting directors and decision makers who aren’t sure whether to respond or not, so they’ll look into you to see what you’re all about.

That’s why it’s so important to always make sure that your industry reputation always matches your goals.

You might send over a thoughtful note (or DM) that they actually read and take to heart, but at first, they won’t know anything about you.

So, they’ll take a minute or two to look you up and the easiest and most likely thing for them to do is look at your reputation and industry history.

If it doesn’t immediately show them that you are a true professional, it’s more likely that you won't hear from them again.

It could also be a factor when CDs are making casting decisions so don’t leave it to chance! I built this to make sure your reputation is always in top shape.

Still have some questions about how it all works? Shoot me an email or leave a comment below. I’ll always help however I can, because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

Are You Making This Mistake With Your Acting Career?

Not a single actor has ever made it by relying on their own efforts alone. The most successful actors have all had something in common...

They don’t go it alone.

They understand that building an acting career goes way beyond what happens on set or during an audition.

It’s a team effort, because there are so many things that have to happen consistently to build a successful acting career.

Professional actors know this and they are really good at building a team of people around them that are all striving to make it in the industry.

While this is something that most actors think should happen one day, those that go on to build a career as a professional actor know it’s something they have to get started on sooner rather than later.

In fact, if you’re not at least putting the pieces together to start building a team regardless of what stage your career is in right now, you are making things a lot harder on yourself and it could be keeping you stuck in your career.

Here’s how to get unstuck and take things to the next level...

I know, you might be thinking that it's too soon to start building a team and you might not really have an idea of how to even go about it.

That’s exactly why you should start doing it, because doing what everyone else does will likely get you the same results that everyone else gets.

Trying to do everything it takes to build a successful acting career on your own, is usually a recipe for a career that never really gets off the ground.

Everyone on your team has a unique role to play and when everything and everyone is working well together, towards the same goal the results will immediately set you apart and casting directors will take notice.

One of the worst mistakes actors make is trying to go it alone. Even just trying to build a career with just yourself and your agent makes things extremely difficult for you.

So how do you build a team around you and what does that even mean?

When I bring up this topic with most actors, they tend to think of the more “fun” team members like assistants, stylists, glam squad, etc.

While there may come a time when those are necessary, what you want to start with are the most essential team members, because they are the ones that can actually move the needle and help you make things happen.

Don’t over complicate it. These are the team members you need and what their roles are

First, let’s talk about your agent. This may seem like an obvious one, because every actor needs an agent if they want any kind of hope of building an acting career.

However, relatively few actors have the right agent on board.

You need to have an agent that believes in you and your career as much as you do. They need to go out and make things happen for you, as if you are their one and only client.

Most agents have dozens of clients so they submit their talent for auditions and wait for someone to be called in.

If that’s the kind of relationship you have with your agent, it’s probably time to think really hard about whether or not they are the right fit for you.

Your agent should be actively seeking out things for you to participate in and follow up with CDs when things don’t work out, so you know what to work on for next time.

They’ll do this along with your manager, another essential member of your team. Your agent and your manager should work closely together.

The best way to find an effective manager is to find an effective agent and ask them about managers they work with.

It works the other way around, if you first find an effective manager, ask them about the agents they like to work with.

It’s important that they have a good working relationship because your manager will work on building out the strategy for your career and your agent will be the one that makes it happen, day to day.

So, when those two members of your team work together seamlessly, things can happen very quickly and even more so when you get public relations involved.

That’s the team member that most actors think will come way down the line, but bringing them on earlier in your career can be very effective.

An effective public relations campaign will amplify the efforts of your agent and your manager by making sure that everything you do in the industry is seen by decision makers.

An effective PR strategy can also help you establish relationships with directors, CDs, producers and other people that can make big things happen in your career.

This is the groundwork that makes everything else you do so much more effective.

The last of your core team members should be a quality acting coach. It always helps to have someone in your corner who will always be objective and give you feedback without sugarcoating it.

Just like everyone else on your team, your acting coach should be the best at what they do and be fully committed to seeing you succeed.

It will take some time and maybe some trial and error, but when you build your core team like this amazing things can happen in your career.

Look back on what we just talked about and imagine doing all of this yourself and doing well enough for your efforts to actually be effective...and then delivering world class performances on set, on top of it all.

Can you see why actors who try to go it alone or try to build a career with just a mediocre agent have such a hard time making progress in their acting career?

You have to work with people who are driven and are actively working to be successful, but you don’t have to be signed to a WME or any other major agency.

You don’t need to share a PR firm with Hollywood A listers either. You just have to find people that are motivated to succeed and to see you succeed no matter what.

I fully believe that if you are reading this, then you have the drive it takes to build your acting so here’s how I can be on your team.

Of course, that’s not to say that you will magically wake up tomorrow with Hollywood decision makers at your doorstep.

Building your acting career can be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do, but it can also be one of the most heartbreaking, if you don’t have a solid plan in place for doing it.

That’s why it’s important to start building your team sooner rather than later.

Having them in place will let you focus on what you do best, while they take care of the more monotonous side of things. That’s why I created Boost My Star, so I can help you with one of the building blocks of your career.

So, do you have any ideas about who you want on your team?

Have you worked with someone that you think would be a good fit? Reach out to them and make contact. You don’t have to bring them on right away, but you should start planting seeds of working together at some point.

Once you build your team all that’s left is to make yourself highly visible to the industry and see the impact it can have on your acting career. Here’s how I can help with that.

As you start this process I’m sure you will have questions and things will come up. Remember, I’m always only a comment or an email away and I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

Build An Unstoppable Acting Career

The first month of the year is already half over. Around this same time every year, I start hearing from actors that are starting to feel hopeless when it comes to trying to take their career to the next level.

Everyone starts off with big plans and even bigger hopes, only to find that they don’t really know what to do, so they just continue doing what they did the year before.

In the new year, you need to have a new strategy if you want to get new, different, and better results in your acting career.

Before planning your new year, you have to first take stock of what happened last year.

Successful actors are incredible at this. It’s how they are able to move from one career stage to the next so quickly.

While most actors stay stuck in one career stage, spinning their wheels for a long time, successful actors are able to identify what may be getting in the way of their progress and change things up accordingly.

If you want to be a professional actor, this is something you have to get really good at too. Here’s where to start...

First, take an objective look at what happened over the last year. Set aside a few minutes and grab a sheet of paper or open a note on your phone.

You won’t share this with anyone, so get really honest with yourself and take an objective look at your career, specifically looking at the last year.

What kind of progress did you make?

What went as planned?

What didn’t go as planned, and did you even have a plan last year?

Knowing this will let you identify which areas you need to focus on. It allows you to build a strategic plan for your career, instead of just winging it.

Here’s what I mean...

Let’s say you went on a lot of auditions last year, but you didn’t book very many jobs. That’s a different problem than not having enough auditions.

One of those problems might be fixed by redoing your headshots, the other might be fixed with some advanced training.

Most actors tend to just start doing things randomly, without really thinking about what to do or why.

They just start trying different things, hoping something works out. They didn’t book enough last year, so they enroll in a random acting class.

But, when you look back and figure out what the problem actually was, then you can tackle the right problem instead of just doing something for the sake of doing it.

This is how you become exactly what casting directors are looking for.

Let’s say that your problem is that you are not getting very many callbacks and you are not booking very often. If you have enough auditions to go on, then the problem could be with what’s going on during or after your audition.

Before deciding to move forward with you in the casting process, casting will look into you and gather information about what you’re all about. They are building a cast, so CDs go beyond what is listed on your resume.

They also want to know whether you will fit in with the other actors they are considering or whether there could be issues that affect the mood on set. They are also looking for actors who have great chemistry, among a number of other things.

This is also when they will look into your industry reputation.

If you are having great auditions (and enough of them), but you’re still not getting very many callbacks then the problem could be that your industry reputation needs to be in better standing. Here’s how I can help.

When it’s not in the best shape, CDs tend to be less trusting and they tend to gravitate towards actors who have a more established industry reputation.

What we talked about today will help you identify the strong points in your career, so you can double down on what’s working well for you.

While we talked about how to solve specific issues you may be having, there are also some things that are universal and that every actor should be paying attention to.

Those are the building blocks of your acting career.

Some of it can be monotonous and many actors tend to ignore it. That’s why I created Boost My Star, so you can focus on what you do best while we help keep this on track.

As you start planning the direction your career will go in over the next year, think of how different things could be when you implement what we talked about today.

When you double down on what’s working, while addressing the areas that could use improvement, that is as close to a recipe for success as you can get.

Aside from that, make yourself highly visible to the industry and see the impact this has on your acting career.
When you show up consistently, with your best foot forward, and a solid plan for taking your career to the next level you will immediately stand out from the countless other actors that are simply winging it.

As you’re going through what we talked about today, don’t hesitate to reach out! Remember, I’m always only a comment or an email away so feel free to get in touch anytime, even if you just need to bounce ideas.

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

See you at the top,
Scott

How Dwayne Johnson Became an Industry Powerhouse

Have you ever wondered why Dwayne Johnson continues to be one of Hollywood’s most in demand actors?

Sure, it’s easy to look at the success he’s enjoying at the moment and forget about the journey to get there but for Dwayne Johnson the journey is what makes his story so compelling and relatable.

What does any of this have to do with your own acting career?

If you’ve been around Boost My Star for any length of time, you know that I’m a big proponent of studying the careers of successful actors and mapping out the moves they made that helped take their careers to the next level.

Dwayne Johnson is a great one to study because of the roller coaster that his career has been.

His acting career was basically dead on arrival, much in the same way his wrestling career began. It too almost fizzled out before ever really getting off the ground.

Now he has built a powerful brand that transcends the screen, which in turn makes audiences want to see more of him.

See, it’s easy to look at someone who’s at the top of the industry and imagine that they were always there.

However, if you want to build your career as a professional actor you have to be able to identify the next best step to take.

A lot of that is also knowing which steps not to take.

Here's where to start...

Start by looking at a successful actor’s career. Don’t just pay attention to their accomplishments.

Dig deeper and look at the things they’ve done that made the biggest difference in their career, whether it was a positive difference or a...not so positive difference.

If you’re a fan, you probably already have at least some idea of when they were all of a sudden everywhere and when they seemed to disappear into thin air.

Let’s take Dwayne Johnson for example. If you were mapping out his career, you wouldn’t just want to look at his credits.

You would also look into the box office numbers or ratings of the projects he was involved in, his prominence in those projects, and how well his performance was received by critics and audiences.

When you go this many layers deep, you get a much better idea of what the project did for the actor’s career.

For Dwayne Johnson, you would find a mix of really high profile blockbusters, combined with projects that only met expectations, and you would even find a few misses.

So what does that tell you about the big picture strategy behind how he’s building his acting career?

There will be some missteps along the way. That’s kind of an unavoidable part of being an actor and it’s why this career mapping exercise is so important.

Obviously you won’t be able to replicate their exact moves, but that’s not really what you’re after. You want to look at the overall strategy and look at what they do.

What do they do after they have a successful project?

What do they do after they have a project that didn’t meet its expectations? Do they follow it up with a more niche project, or do they go after something mainstream?

I bring up Dwayne Johnson because his career has moved through basically every stage.

Like I mentioned earlier, his acting career stalled when getting off the ground, but then after some very particular moves things turned around very quickly.

Particularly, he narrowed his focus to playing a particular type of character and then experimented with other types, after building a successful career.

While this is key to his success, not every actor’s career is the same as another.

Many actors have come from wrestling also, but none have even come close to building an acting career like Dwayne Johnson’s.

He didn’t want to be just another wrestler turned actor.

If you really look at his career closely, you will see that he built everything based on his industry reputation, because he wanted to show the industry that he was a professional. Check out one of the biggest factors of your industry reputation and how I can help you improve it here.

Like I said, no two careers are exactly alike and Dwayne Johnson is just one example.

Whoever you choose to career map, there should be some element of the kind of career you would like to build for yourself.

Don’t start out by career mapping an action star, if what you really want to do are romantic comedies. Those career paths will differ quite a bit, so stick with something that is more closely related to your own career aspirations.

If you’re not sure of which way you want to go with your career, talk about it with the people around you. It takes a team of people, pushing towards the same goals for you, to really build a successful acting career. Here’s how I can be a part of your team.

We’ll talk more about that another time...

For now, get started on what we talked about today. Pick an actor to career map. As you start navigating through the different twists and turns of their career, pay close attention to how and when they start showing up in the places where casting directors and industry decision makers are already looking for talent. If you are looking to take your career to the next level, here’s a quick and easy way to make yourself highly visible to the industry.

Let me know what you discover about the actors you career map.

Leave me a comment below or feel free to shoot me an email anytime. I’m always happy to help however I can, even if you just need someone to bounce ideas with, because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott