The Little Known Way Successful Actors Build Complex Characters

Why are most actors one dimensional? I know that sounds harsh and “artistic expression is subjective so everyone is entitled to their own opinion...”

Let’s be real though, some actors are just much better than others at building dynamic, complex characters with many layers.

Since those are the actors that tend to be the most successful, when they combine their talent with something else we’ll talk about it in a bit, that’s where you should look to for guidance on building your own acting career.

Acting classes can be great, if you find one with an instructor that has the ability to help you layer your characters, but again if we’re being completely honest most of them fall short on that.

It’s not for a lack of trying because the truth is most actors try really hard to create complex, layered characters but they just make it way too complicated.

Professional actors do this instead...

They keep things simple by addressing the most impactful parts of their character first.

That’s where most actors get it wrong and that means they are working backwards, right from the start.

If you think over any of the acting classes you’ve taken, you will remember that nearly all of the guidance you received when acting out a scene was related to how you were delivering the lines.

According to a study conducted at UCLA, one of many studies on the topic, verbal communication accounts for as little as 7% of the receiver’s perception of your message.

In other words, focusing on how you deliver the lines in a scene, means you are focusing on the 7% of how your character will be received by the audience, while making the 93% at best a secondary focus.

Professional actors do it the other the way around. They focus almost entirely on the part that makes the biggest impact.

When you build a character that way, the way you deliver the lines is something you almost don’t even have to think about.

The 93% is your body language and when you get it right, the way your character speaks just kind of takes care of itself.

Don’t take my word for it. Here’s a simple way to test it right now...

You might want to get your phone out and record yourself so you can see the difference.

First, forget everything I just said and act this out right now.

“Hey Meghan, it’s so great to see you...”

Now, make yourself small as you say the line. Pull your elbows into your ribcage and lean back a bit while your eyes dart around the room.

Deliver the same line.

Next, open your eyes widely, roll your shoulders back and shift your body’s center of gravity lower as you deliver the same line.

Can you see how different your verbal delivery was those 3 times, even though you put zero effort into how to deliver the line itself?

The first time is where every actor starts, then they think about what their character is feeling when they see Meghan.

If they are nervous about seeing her, then they would try to act nervous. Usually, they would add some hesitation in their voice and then look to the director to help with blocking the scene appropriately.

When you do it backwards, you make yourself nervous first and then the way you deliver the lines matches up automatically.

Your body simply won’t let you do it any other way.

By pulling your elbows into your ribcage, leaning a way subtly from the other person while looking for an escape route, your tonality will match the nervousness your character is feeling.

If you were to try and deliver the line excitedly, your body language would change.

Rolling your shoulders back, with eyes wide and a lower center of gravity is going to make you project your voice, while you are visually trying to take in every detail of the moment and while you are literally trying to “ground” yourself to make sure this is real.

That’s excitement!

You may not have raised your volume much and that’s ok. That’s where the complexity of a character is.

When you build a character this way, you don’t have to try to sound excited because your character will be excited and you will deliver the lines in the most appropriate way.

I know that’s a very simple example but remember that’s what professional actors do. They keep it simple and the details take care of themselves.

Of course, everything we went over today is of little use to you if you don’t have enough opportunities to showcase your talent.

Something else professional actors do, very early on in their career, is focus on raising their level of visibility.

You can have all the talent in the world but if casting directors and industry decision makers don’t know you, they can’t hire you. Here’s how I can help you raise your visibility.

This is also an area that most actors overcomplicate.

They dabble with a dozen things when just one or two of them could have a bigger impact than everything else combined.

If you think of it this way, it makes a lot of sense.

If you can effectively create complex, layered characters that resonate with audiences in the way we talked about today, and you can show up in the place where CDs and decision makers are already looking for talent, what more is there to do? That’s why I created this...

Of course, what we went over today is just a starting point to give you the overall idea of how this process works.

Over the coming weeks we’ll dive deeper into the details. We’ll also go over how you can build a complex character that blows away casting directors, and how to do it quickly in an audition situation.

If you have an audition coming up, what we went over today is a great start and it will help you stand out.

If you don’t have any auditions lined up, then give this a try. It helps to make sure that your industry reputation matches your goals.

That way, when CDs are going through submissions yours could catch their attention.

I know we went over a lot of stuff, really quickly so if you have any questions at all. Shoot me an email or leave it in a comment below.

I’ll always respond and help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Turn 1 Acting Job Into Many

Another month of 2022 has come and gone. After working with so many actors over the years, I’ve realized that around this time, most actors start to really reflect on what’s happened with their careers so far this year.

Most of them, if they’re really honest about it, realize that they are stuck in the same place they have been for a long time.

Coming to that realization causes many of them to simply throw in the towel and leave the industry.

It causes some actors to really buckle down and work harder than ever before. The problem with that is, they continue to do the same things that caused them to get stuck in the first place.

Professional actors are able to build successful careers because they don’t allow themselves to get stuck. They are very good at moving from one career stage to the next.

If you want to become a professional actor, this is something you have to get really good at too. The good news is it’s actually not as difficult as you might think. Here’s where to start...

What I’ve learned over the years is that, without realizing it, most actors start their careers over from scratch constantly.

They never build on the successes they’ve previously had. Here’s what I mean...

If you end an acting job without leveraging it into another one, what are you going to do to get your next job?

You’re probably going to wait for your agent to get in touch with you about your next audition.

That means you will always be on the audition hamster wheel, never really being able to take your career to the next level.

Why?

Because you’re not building relationships with CDs, directors, and other industry decision makers. If you don’t build relationships with them, they’ll never think of you and ask you to be a part of a project.

When you do build solid relationships with them, at the very least, they are much more likely to ask you to read for whatever project they are involved in.

When that happens, the dynamics change dramatically.

You’re no longer auditioning cold. You are going into an audition as someone they are looking forward to seeing instead of being just another face in the crowd.

When I share this with actors, they can usually wrap their minds around the concept but what they struggle with is figuring out how to go about it.

After all, if you just reach out to CDs and industry decision makers saying “I want to build a relationship with you” it’s not going to go very well.

So, how should you go about it?

Most actors overthink this but it’s not very difficult.

You do it the same way you build a relationship with anyone else. Don’t approach them out of the blue as an actor for hire.

Be genuine and if there’s room for a relationship to come out of it, then move forward. If the person you are reaching out to isn’t receptive, then drop it and move on to someone else.

This isn’t something you can force but that’s ok. You don’t have to build relationships with everybody. Even just 1 or 2 solid ones can completely change the course of your career.

Start by reaching out with a genuine compliment because everyone loves to be complimented.

If you are reaching out to a casting director, compliment them on how there was so much synergy in their latest project.

If you are trying to connect with a director, you compliment them on the consistency of the characters in one of their projects and the depth of the emotions the actors showed on screen.

As tempting as it may be to end with “I would love to work with you sometime” don’t do it! It would immediately make you blend in with every other actor out there.

You don’t want it to appear as if you are only reaching out to them because it would help you in some way.

You just want it to be a quick exchange between two industry professionals. All you are trying to accomplish at this point is opening a door.

That’s it.
If your message is genuine, most of them will at least reply with a thank you.

What you can do then, to further the conversation, is ask a question about whatever it was that you originally complimented them on.

If you complimented a casting director about the synergy in a certain cast they built, you can then follow up with a question about how they spot talent.

Building a relationship with them this way is completely professional and you won’t risk offending someone or coming off as being pushy or creepy.

You can use this strategy to build relationships with industry decision makers out of the blue and it works wonderfully.

You can also do it to follow up and stay in touch with the people you work with. Staying in touch with CDs who already put their faith in you is how you avoid starting your career over from scratch every time.

It’s also how you turn 1 job into 2, then 3 or even 4 or more.

Staying in touch with them is all about increasing your industry visibility, which is crucial to your career. I also built this to make it easier for you to be visible in the places where they are already looking for talent.

It’s also important that you follow up with everyone you work with.

Let’s say you follow up with a CD but you just happen to catch them on a bad day and nothing comes from it.

Well, if you happen to show up over and over again where they are looking for talent, chances are they will at least remember you reaching out to them.

That familiarity can make a big difference.

CDs that you have already worked with are much more likely to work with you again, provided that everything went well on set with a previous project, because there is already a level of trust.

You can also use this to build trust with CDs and industry decision makers you haven’t worked with yet.

Even if you have worked with them, but if it’s been some time since you have been in touch,

having a solid industry reputation can be the difference between getting a response from them and having an opportunity to build a relationship or never hearing from them again.

Don’t leave it to chance.

I know that what we went over today is not what you normally do in the industry and that’s exactly why you should start doing it ASAP.

Professional actors don’t build their career by doing the same things everyone else does.

They do things differently. Boost My Star is all about bringing you the things that are working right now to build your career the right way.

This is one of them.
Take what you learned today and try it out for yourself.

As you start to plan how you are going to start doing this, feel free to get in touch. Shoot me an email or leave a comment below.

I’ll always respond and I’m happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

Becoming an Overnight Success

Have you ever wondered how some actors come out of nowhere and take the industry by storm, seemingly overnight?

One day they’re just another actor no one’s ever heard of and the next, they are literally everywhere.

You can probably think of more than a few examples.

This is something that has always fascinated me and when I talk about it with other actors, they usually have no idea what leads to that type of “overnight success.”

It’s actually a lot more common than you might think.

When you look at how successfully actors build their careers, they almost always pop up out of nowhere.

Sure, many of them spend years and years in the industry spinning their wheels just like everyone else, but the point at which they make the transition from struggling actor to professional actor is almost always instantaneous.

The reason is that they figure out something that makes the difference. They find the key that helps them differentiate themselves and practically forces the industry to take them seriously.

If you want to take your career to the next level this is something you have to figure out too...

Let me be clear, there’s no magic pill, no secret handshake, and there’s not even a powerful connection that makes the difference.

It happens a little bit differently for everyone but they all figure out some way to put themselves front and center of a casting director's attention.

Most actors go about it the wrong way. They spend their days hoping that someone will find them and put them on the map, but professional actors proactively try to be seen.

Here’s what I mean...

When you remain in the shadows, trying to build your acting career like everyone else, it becomes way too easy to get stuck in your career.

Even if you are getting auditions consistently, they probably never really go anywhere and CDs constantly pass you up for other actors that can seemingly bring more to the table.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that those other actors delivered a better audition than you did. It means that something about them made the casting director want to see more.

After all, that’s what leads to callbacks.

So what makes those actors stand out to CDs and how can you stand out instead?

Before we go further, I want to point out something I see happen way too often. When actors get stuck like this, they tend to think that just having more auditions will fix it.

Surely, after going on a number of auditions, someone is bound to cast them, or so they think.

What’s really happening is that they are just continuing to spin their wheels, since they’re not fixing the problem.

They’re just doing the same things over and over again.

There can be many reasons that you’re not getting a call back but the one that I see most often is that you’re not standing out to Casting Directors.

Just delivering a great audition is not enough.
You also have to make sure they don’t forget about you as soon as your audition is over.

Even when you seem like you would be the perfect fit for something, you still have to give CDs something to remember you by.

If they remember you, that means they noticed you and that’s the position you want to be in to give yourself the best chance to get a callback.

So how do you do it?

First, you have to realize that CDs can end up in a pretty monotonous spot. When they are casting for something they are seeing actors back to back for hours and hours.

Not only do most of them look similar, since they all have to fit a certain profile, they also tend to deliver auditions that are similar.

It doesn’t take very long for things to start running together.

So CDs are hoping that the next person they see will be one they can add to the callback list, so all you really have to do is give them a reason to add you to the list.

One way to do that is through your talent, but that’s incredibly difficult. We’ll get into why another time because it’s kind of counterintuitive and it's a topic of its own.

For now let’s talk about the easier way to do it instead...

Fair warning, the “easier” way won’t replace talent altogether. You still have to be able to deliver an audition that is good enough. The last thing you want to have happen is finish reading only to see a blank faced CD staring back at you.

If you get zero reaction from them, don’t wait for your phone to ring.

So assuming you are able to deliver an audition that piques their interest, CDs will then take a closer look at you.

What happens at that point is crucial.

That’s when something about you has to grab their attention and make them put you on the callback list.

That “something” could be an extensive list of related and impressive credits or it could even be a special skill that you can add to the character.

Whatever it is it has to make casting directors notice you. I built this to help with that...

What sets professional actors apart is that they are really good at putting themselves at the center of casting conversations.

If you leave the room and there is nothing noteworthy for CDs to hold onto, it’s much more likely that you’ll end up being forgotten.

Professional actors don’t leave that to chance, when they are building their career. They have multiple ways of being memorable.

You can have multiple ways too. We’ll go over some other ones another time. For now, this can be the distinguishing factor that makes CDs notice you.

Some actors will try different things and usually end up wasting a lot of time.

For example, many try social media, but fail to make it work for them. It’s not that it doesn’t work as your distinguishing factor, it can work very well, but it’s incredibly complicated to get it right.

Instead of making things harder on yourself just focus on showing up in the places CDs and industry decision makers are already looking for talent. I built this to help.

It’s incredibly powerful because if you are on a CDs radar before you even walk in the room, the dynamics change completely.

So get started on what we talked about today and remember I’m always only a comment or an email away if you want to bounce ideas. I’ll do whatever I can to help because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How to Build Your Brand as an Actor

Have you spotted the common trend in what we have been talking about over the last several weeks or have you been living under a rock, purposely trying to ignore it?

If you have been following along, it’s been incredibly obvious to see what one of the most important things is to your acting career, considering that we have discussed it in one way or another for quite some time now.

In case you are just now crawling out from under that rock, I’m talking about branding yourself as an actor and how to build a brand that makes casting directors notice you.

Over the years, I have not seen many actors get this right, at least not until wasting years wondering why their career was stalling.

The ones that do get it right, are usually the ones that are able to make big progress quickly and build successful careers.

If that’s something you would like to do too, then you have to learn this...

First, let’s clear up something pretty important.

Your brand is not one single thing. It’s not your name, your “look” or even the credits on your resume.

As an actor, your brand is a combination of everything having to do with you.

How you define your brand has as much to do with the things you choose to pursue, as the things you don’t.

Your brand will influence what casting directors think, when they first see you. That’s almost always going to be through your headshot, so that’s why I spent a great amount of time talking about how to make sure your headshots are always in line with your brand.

Like I said a moment ago, we have talked extensively about how everything stems from your brand so now let’s go over how to build the brand itself.

Branding yourself as an actor enables you to build deep relationships with people that are working on projects that align with your brand.

So the first thing to consider is who you want to build those relationships with.

Here’s what I mean...

If you don’t enjoy the company of people who like slapstick comedy for example, then building a brand that aligns closely with that would mean that you are surrounding yourself with people you don’t particularly want to be around.

So take some time and sit down to really think about this.

Think about the types of projects you most enjoy working on. Hone in on the one you enjoyed more than the rest because that’s probably the genre you should build your brand on.

A well defined brand will stick to a single genre early on.

That doesn’t mean you won’t be able to play outside of it, but you do have to develop your career to a certain point first.

Here’s why...

When you focus on a single genre, you spend a lot of time in front of the most dedicated fans of that genre.

That’s huge because they are the ones who will spread the word about every project you’re a part of.

In other words, that’s how you will start to build your fanbase.

So, once you decide what genre you want to focus your brand on, then start to make sure everything else matches that.

Most actors get this wrong. They start with getting their headshots done and getting an agent.

However, actors that focus on branding first tend to make more progress, quicker. This is because they can make sure their headshot is aligned with their brand.

They can also look to sign with an agent that works well with similar talent and has good working relationships with people working on projects that align with your brand.

Take Dwayne Johnson for example. Virtually everything he has done, has stemmed from building a brand as an action hero.

During his days as a professional wrestler, he was able to build a dedicated fanbase that was, no surprise, very much into action movies.

So, had he taken an entirely different direction and decided to pursue a different genre, it wouldn’t have aligned with his brand and his fanbase wouldn’t have followed.

Take that into consideration as well...

While you may not be a professional wrestler, is there a genre that you can tap into where you are already spending a lot of time and energy, off set, doing things that are somewhat related.

For example, being into extreme sports lends itself to building a brand that is focused on projects in the action genre.

If instead you enjoy sitting down with a good book for hours at a time, that would lend itself more to projects that are entirely different from the action genre.

Once you decide what you are going to be focusing on, you just have to make sure that everything you do as an actor aligns with that.

We’ll be talking more about it over the coming weeks... For now get started on what we talked about today.

Once you decide which way you want to go with your brand, here’s how I can help you show up better in the places where casting directors are already looking for talent.

I do want to be clear on something...
Building a brand by itself won’t do much for your career.

Even actors with well defined brands and materials that match their brand perfectly, will struggle to get their careers to the next level, if they don’t also focus on being visible to the industry. Here’s how I can help.

When you combine being highly visible to the industry, with a great brand, the possibilities are endless.

While your brand won’t launch your career, it can make building your acting career a lot easier.

That’s because you will have the building blocks every casting director looks for, already in place.

There are a few of them but your brand is probably the most important one. We’ll talk about the rest another time.

As you start deciding what direction you want to take, in terms of your brand, feel free to get in touch. I’m always happy to bounce ideas and help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Build Your Acting Career Through Dramatic Characters

Whenever I get the opportunity to talk candidly with actors about the types of characters they like to play, I always get the same answer from almost everyone.

In one way or another, they describe dramatic characters as being their favorites.

It’s understandable. When you play a dramatic character you get to let loose and live in someone else’s world, one that is typically very different from your own.

That’s what being an actor is all about...

However, what I’ve learned over the years is that most actors don’t really grasp the complexity of playing dramatic characters and that keeps them from being cast to play their favorite types of characters.

When you play characters you are passionate about, it comes across in your performance and that goes a long way towards building your acting career.

Professional actors build their careers this way and if you want to be one too, you have to figure this out sooner rather than later...

Before we get to how to play dramatic characters, let’s first talk about what they actually are.

Some actors think dramatic characters are always serious or sad but a dramatic character can be on the comedic side too.

Here’s what I mean by that...

Dramatic characters are simply characters that operate at the extremes of their nature. They can be over the top on the comedy side or they can be over the top in a dramatic project.

Regardless of which side of the spectrum they exist on, you will actually end up playing them pretty similarly.
The core of the character will be the same, but their motivations and what they are trying to convey will be different of course.

When you play a dramatic character, you can pull from your past experiences on set and that makes your performances more powerful every time.

That’s why it’s no surprise that some of the most successful actors specialize in dramatic characters.

Let’s dig a little bit deeper into how a dramatic character will evolve on screen.

A big mistake that most actors make is taking a dramatic character to its extreme right from the start.

When you do that, there’s nowhere else for you to take the character making anything above that level come off as overacted and comical.

To play a dramatic character well, you have to amplify their emotions and actions incrementally. You also have to release the tension from time to time, usually by going to the opposite end of the spectrum.

A good screenplay will include scenes for you to do that, but even if you are working on a project where the screenplay doesn’t provide for it, you have to be able to identify places where you can do it.

Otherwise, your performance will be one dimensional.

A good way to identify that is to think of why your character is so dramatic. There will always be a driving factor behind the drama but it may not always be a part of the script.

Sit down and think of your character.

Think of whether it’s something in their past that causes them to be over the top and dramatic. Where they picked on in middle school and became the class clown as a defense mechanism?

Did that behavior stick with them into adulthood, causing them to always seek to be the center of attention?

Maybe they witnessed a parent or sibling getting a lot of sympathy when they were down on their luck and that caused them to always push the envelope, in terms of making things worse than they actually are.

Add another layer to this and think of whether or not this behavior is something your character is even aware of.

Then, think about the other characters.

Are they aware of your character’s deeper cause for being so dramatic? That’s a pretty important point that will affect the way they interact with people.

Let’s say that you are playing a character that had a flat tire on their way into work. When they meet a friend for lunch later in the day, the flat tire suddenly becomes a near miss with an 18 wheeler that caused them to run off the road and get a flat tire.

On top of that, their boss didn’t care about it and nearly fired them, never even asking if they were ok after the near death experience.

Whether the other characters are aware of the cause of your character’s dramatics will impact the nuances of how you play the scene.

If they are unaware, you would be searching for clues of whether or not the other people in the scene are buying your dramatic, made up story.

If they are aware of it, then you would be looking for confirmation that they don’t believe your story, so you can then express an underlying sense of disappointment because nobody cares.

That’s a subtle difference in your delivery, but the impact and the effect it has on screen is huge! We’ll go further into those nuances and how to play them, over the coming weeks.

They really are the difference between a good performance and an Oscar worthy performance. The script will give you some stuff to work with but it's up to you to build out the rest of the character.

Even after you master doing this, you will still need to work on putting the building blocks of your career in place, because talent only gets you so far. I created this to help you with some of the rest.

Even the most talented actors struggled to build a career until they put an emphasis on the other things that go into building an acting career.

One of those key things is visibility.

All the talent in the world won’t get you very far, if you don’t have the opportunity to share it with the world. This is a great tool to help you be more visible to the industry.

Once you increase your visibility to industry decision makers, you also have to show them that you are someone who truly wants to be a professional actor, not a hobbyist.

There are really only two ways to do that. You can either point to an extensive body of work with impressive credits or you can make sure that your industry reputation is in top shape. Here’s how I can help with that.

I know we went over a lot today so If you want to bounce ideas about how to do what we discussed, shoot me an email or let me know in the comments below. I’m always happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

How To Book Great Characters

Everyone loves playing a great character because you get to show off your range. That’s what being an actor is all about.

Sure, you get to do this in one way or another anytime you’re on set but playing a great character takes it to another level.

It allows you to become the center of an entirely new reality.

Most actors are stuck with characters that get a few seconds or a few minutes of screentime at best and it’s really difficult to build a career that way, even if you are booking those characters consistently.

Professional actors build their careers through great characters because weak characters don’t get much screen time and they certainly don’t make for a great lead.

If you want to become a professional actor you have to learn how to book these roles and you have to be able to deliver a world class performance on set when you do.

Here’s where to start...

We have talked about this concept recently but I have found over the years that most actors never really get around to implementing it.

They’re too afraid that they will miss out on opportunities. The opposite is true.

I’m talking about narrowing your focus to a particular category. When you do that, you can build deeper relationships with casting directors and other industry decision makers that also specialize in that category.

CDs that are really good at casting the kinds of characters you want to play are hired over and over again to cast similar projects. That’s how they end up specializing in that category.

As you’re building your career in the same category, you will end up working with the same people over and over again.

One of your biggest career decisions will be made when you decide the category to focus on.

Building a career centered on your chosen category ends up being a lot easier than simply going after anything and everything.

When I go over this strategy with actors their next question is usually about how to get opportunities to read for great characters.

That’s really where the topics we’ve discussed over the last few weeks become the most relevant.

For example, if you have a great headshot but it doesn’t really match the category you are looking to focus on, casting directors are likely to pass you over for other actors whose headshots are a closer fit.

That’s why taking a broad approach makes it more difficult to even get opportunities to read.

So let’s talk about what casting directors look for when casting great characters and how you can fit the criteria so that you’re more likely to be asked to read for them.

They look for actors that have a good grasp on the character’s nuances and that starts from the moment they look at your headshot.

If they look at it, and it matches what they had in mind for a certain character, and they ask you to read for it, what they will be looking for in your audition are the little things that make the character unique.

Those nuances aren’t always found in the script so CDs are trained to look at your interpretation of the character and how naturally you embody it.

Maybe you’re playing a complex character and you decide to play it with an eye twitch during your audition.

Even if it doesn’t turn out to be the best character choice, casting directors notice that you took the character in a decidedly different direction.

That’s what leads to callbacks and bookings.

So as you prepare for auditions do it with those nuances in mind, but don’t be overly concerned with making the right character choices for those nuances. The director will help you polish things up on set.

They just want to work with actors who bring their own flair to the character.

Of course none of that matters if you don’t even have enough opportunities to audition. That’s why I began with the part about narrowing your focus to a single category.

Even as you start to build familiarity and relationships with people in your chosen category there will still be more to do.

CDs will still look for actors that have a good industry reputation. This is how you can show them your reputation and make it stand out.

Having a good industry reputation can help open doors and your talent will help you build relationships with directors and have them wanting to work with you over and over again.

You may even find that they ask to see you for certain characters.

That’s when your career goes to the next level because things get easier when they invite you to read.

Of course that depends on whether or not you stay visible to them. Here’s how you can make yourself visible where they are already looking for talent.

When you combine good talent with high visibility and a great industry reputation, good things can happen with your career very quickly. You have the talent and I built this to help with the other things that go into building your acting career.

As you start to work through the things we went over today, remember I’m always only a comment or an email away. Feel free to get in touch anytime, even if you just want to bounce ideas.

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

See you at the top,
Scott

What Your Headshots Say About You

When actors decide to get into the industry the first thing they do is put together their headshots.

That’s usually the first big mistake they make.

Few actors actually get their headshots right and it usually causes them to spin their wheels for a long time. Not only is that demoralizing, it’s just a waste of time.

The actors that are able to make big progress in the industry are the ones that put the right pieces together early on in their career.

Your headshot is your first impression and if your first impression doesn’t match what the industry expects to see, building an acting career is going to be an incredibly difficult task.

Professional actors don’t leave things like this chance. They put a lot of effort and planning into putting together the right headshot that can help their acting career.

If you want to make progress and get your acting career on the right track, you need to figure this out too...

For starters, there’s no such thing as having “the right headshot.” You can only have the right headshot, for a particular moment in your career.

I’m not talking about reshooting your headshot every so often, to make sure it stays up to date with your current look.

It goes beyond that.

When you are doing your headshot, you have to make sure that it turns out to be congruent with the types of characters you want to read for.

Here’s what I mean...

Every actor has a certain character type they are best suited for, your headshot must match that.

The right headshot for an actor playing a girl next door character is going to be completely different from an actor playing seductive roles.

A headshot for an actor playing an action hero is going to be very different from an actor playing a corporate executive.

That’s not to say that the same actor can’t play both types, but an actor still in the building stages of their career is going to have an easier time focusing on one side of the spectrum.

This might sound harsh, but submitting a girl next door headshot for a role that is written as a seductress makes you and your agent look unprofessional and incompetent.

Not only is it a wasted effort, it can erode your industry credibility. If CDs are constantly seeing your headshot for things that don’t make sense, at some point they will just start to ignore it.

So let’s talk about creating the perfect headshot because it starts long before you step in front of the camera...

We just went over how your headshot must be congruent with the roles you are reading for. That’s something you have to decide before you ever meet with a photographer.

Sit down and work with your agent to get specific about the types of roles you should be reading for.

Most actors, and most agents, will simply go for anything and everything that might be a remote fit, but actors that make career progress quickly tend to have a much more narrow focus.

When you get clear about the types of roles you want to read for, it translates to having a headshot that matches those roles.

When casting directors look at your headshot and see a terrific match for the character type they are casting for, not only will they call you in, they will be eagerly waiting to see you because you are such a great fit already.

Just like actors have particular biases for the characters they play, photographers also have biases for what they shoot.

Look for a photographer that is skilled at shooting for the types you want to play. Some headshot photographers are great at coaching actors to get a certain look out of them.

The problem is that if you choose a photographer that is great at pulling the wrong look out of you, your headshot won’t match what you are hoping to read for.

So, be selective about the photographer that does your headshots. Don’t just book a shoot with someone your friend used because they may not be the right fit.

Look through their portfolio pieces and see if they have worked with other actors in the same categories as what you and your agent have settled on.

Your headshot is too important to simply think it’s ready, just because you look good in it. Work with your agent to make sure it matches the criteria we talked about today.

This is just one of the tools you need to give your agent, so they can help you be successful. I also created this tool to give actors like you another advantage.

We’ll talk about the rest of them another time.

Take a look at your current headshot and think about how well it matches the criteria and consider whether it’s time to get it redone.

Even when you do get it right, the perfect headshot won’t do much for you if it never gets in the hands of the right people, so you have to make yourself visible to the industry. Here’s how I can help.

Having a great headshot and being visible to industry decision makers can do wonders for your career.

Those two factors, combined with a stellar industry reputation is as close to being a recipe for success as you can get.

Take your time with this and don’t just jump to getting your headshot redone without the proper planning.

If you struggle with it at all, remember, I’m always only a comment or an email away and I’m happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott

What To Do When Your Acting Career Stalls

We are officially in mid March, as of the time of this writing. That means there is no longer an excuse to wait for things to pick up in the industry.

If you are still struggling to get things going in your career, it’s time to start changing things up. Most actors get that part, but the question is...how?

When things aren’t going your way, what do you do?

Do you reshoot your headshots?

Do you recut your reel?

Do you enroll in an acting class? Maybe the answer is all of the above...

Well, if you look at what successful actors do, you probably wouldn’t end up doing any of it, at least not immediately.

There will come a time when you realize that you are not making the kind of progress you should be making, and you will start looking for answers on what to do next.

If you’re reading this, chances are, you already have realized it and you’re probably wondering what needs to change to get your acting career to the next level.

The short answer is to do what professional actors do. Here’s where to start...

If it has been a long time since your last booking, you are probably ready to do just about anything to get back on set.

That’s a great way to approach the industry but it can actually lead you down the wrong path. Being eager and willing to do whatever it takes to get on set makes you susceptible to spinning your wheels.

Here’s what I mean...

When they hit a roadblock, most actors will simply start changing everything up at once without putting much thought into what or why.

Professional actors figure out the problem first. Then, they start working on how to fix it.

For example, if you are not getting enough auditions that’s not typically a problem that taking another acting class would solve.

So, if you realize that your career has stalled and you enroll in an acting class just because it’s something to do, you won’t be fixing the problem that actually caused your career to stall.

The first thing you have to do is figure out what the problem is. Let’s continue with the example of not getting enough auditions, since it’s a problem that a lot of actors are familiar with.

Ask yourself and work with your agent to figure out why you are not getting enough auditions.

Determine how often your agent is submitting you and what the results are. Being submitted often but not being asked to read is a different problem than reading often but not getting callbacks and bookings.

We’ll come back to that in a bit...

If you’re not being asked to read, the problem could be that your headshots don’t match the roles you are being submitted for.

When that’s the case, it’s either time to reshoot your headshots or it’s time to work with your agent on making sure that what you are being submitted for aligns with your current headshots.

However, if your agent isn't submitting you very often but you are being asked to audition consistently, then you just need to talk with your agent about submitting you more often.

Maybe your focus is too narrow and there simply aren’t enough projects that fit your criteria. Sit down with them and take a look at your career and what else you might be a fit for.

What if you are going on a lot of auditions but you’re just not getting very many callbacks and you're not booking enough?

If that’s the case, your headshots are doing their job but you might not be delivering in the room. Redoing your headshots at this point could actually be a horrible decision that sets you back.

Instead, work on your auditioning skills. Enroll in a class if you can or at the very least do some self training.

Record yourself doing an audition. It helps if you have a friend present to read with.

Act as if you are auditioning for the role of a lifetime and do it as if you are in the room with the people that can make or break your acting career.

After you finish reading, watch the recording and take notes of what you would change to make your performance more impactful.

Then, record yourself performing the piece again, taking into account the notes you took previously.

Watch it again and see if your performance has improved.

You may have to do this a few times before you are fully satisfied. Do this exercise often. Over time, you will see that you will have fewer and fewer notes for your first take.

So, on your next audition, you will be in the habit of performing your best from the start.

What we just went over can make a huge difference in your acting career, but there are several other factors that most actors never consider.

Before casting decides to move forward they will look into you. If what they find isn’t up to their expectations your chances of booking fall dramatically so make sure that your industry reputation is always in top shape.

It’s not always about what happens in the room.

Getting in the room is where you get to show casting directors your talent, but getting there is really difficult if they don’t know who you are. That’s why it’s so important that you make yourself visible where casting directors are already looking for talent.

Everything we went over today can make a huge difference in your acting career. Whether or not you have an audition coming up, put the exercise to use.

Sit down with your agent and talk about your career. Come up with a plan to get it to the next level.

Regardless of what your next career move is, this can help open doors for you.

So what is your next step going to be? Let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email. I’ll always read and respond and I’m happy to help however I can because I truly want to...

See you at the top,
Scott