Category: Acting

How to get acting jobs in commercials, training videos, and film & television, without moving to Hollywood!

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Learn the strategies and actual systems to get paid acting gigs. Discover exactly how I’ve helped hundreds of actors get great bookings, including the different types of work available to actors, exactly what you need to get that work, and how to make sure you’re getting the best rate possible for your work.

 

Are you frustrated running around from audition to audition, only to get rejected or to get booked as a low-paid, non-speaking extra?

 

If you knew how to find the best acting jobs and knew exactly how to get booked on those jobs, you’d be able to spend more time acting and less time being disappointed.

What if you had connections with someone inside the industry?

Someone that could share with you:

  • …the many ways actors make money every day, even outside of Hollywood.
  • …exactly what clients and casting directors are looking for when casting these jobs.
  • …the tools that will get you the best bookings, sometimes without even auditioning.
  • …how to get people working on your behalf to get the highest rates possible for your bookings.

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Why you bombed that audition before it began

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One of my biggest pet peeves as an agent was how clueless many actors were about auditions. Or specifically, that they had no idea about the kinds of roles they should or shouldn’t be auditioning for.

Actors would come in with a copy of the breakdown for a big studio film shooting in the area and point out a role they thought they were “perfect” for. Then would come fifty questions wondering if we had submitted them for the job, how could they get the casting director to meet with them (because of course if the casting director saw them in person they would KNOW that they were right for the role), and what sort of money they would get from the gig.

They had actually mentally cast themselves as a Hollywood star–but some of these actors hadn’t even booked a paid acting gig before!

I mean, it’s great to have big dreams and aspirations, but you need to have a realistic plan for getting there. Would you try out to be an NFL quarterback if you were a scrawny kid that had never even played football? Of course not! But for some reason,

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Beware of the Scammy McScamScams

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Over the past 7-8 years I’ve fielded questions and given advice to hundreds of aspiring actors and actresses. It never ceases to amaze me how many scams are out there targeting actors, and how many actors actually get sucked into these scams. I spend a lot of time giving really specific advice on what they needed to do to really break into the business. But for whatever reason, many people would turn around and do the complete opposite of what I told them. Years later, those actors are still not getting good bookings. They get frustrated and burn out and decide to chuck their whole acting dream out the window. Some of them are actually even worse off than they were before they started!

The entertainment industry is filled with scams. Most actors find that out the hard way, to the tune of thousands of dollars, months and months of wasted time, and no bookings. Think that could never happen to you?

Take a look at the short video from one of our previous acting workshops, where this young actress shared her own experience with a shady agency.

[embedyt] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_E9MeExBCo[/embedyt]

 

A true agency is very selective about the actors and models it represents.

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The talent agent: what is your job, anyway?

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When I worked as an agent and spoke with people who had never worked with one, it became quite clear that most people have no idea what an agent does or why they should have one. The Dictionary.com definition of a talent agent is simply, “one who represents performers.” This is pretty vague and doesn’t say a lot. If you look up the definition of agent, the first entry is “a person or business authorized to act on another’s behalf.” This comes much closer to describing what an agent actually does. A talent agent has two main functions-to negotiate contracts, and to solicit clients on your behalf.

Agents really have two separate customers: the talent they represent (models and actors) and the clients who are booking the talent (producers, directors, art directors, etc.). The agent’s job is to meet the casting needs of the clients by filling roles with as many the talent they rep as possible. Agents often walk a fine line trying to please both groups of people. Because agents only get paid a commission off of the total amount of money that the talent make, it’s in their best interest to get their talent as much money as possible.

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Using film festivals to do some real networking

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Attending film festivals can be an awesome experience–seeing great new films on the big screen, walking the red carpet, and feeling the energy in the air can be inspirational to new and experienced filmmakers alike. But festivals serve another very important function for anyone in the industry–the networking opportunities at film festivals can make or break a career. In the fast-paced world of Hollywood, you never know who can help your career in the future. That fresh, new director you met at a small festival–she could turn out to be the next Scorsese, or the guy you were shooting the breeze with in the lobby could be the buyer for an international distributor or the casting director for one of the major studios.  Film festivals may be the one opportunity you have to connect with the person that will give you your big break in the film industry.

So why don’t we hear more success stories about people getting their big break after meeting a big Hollywood player at a festival? Simple–most people come across as bumbling idiots! The vast majority of filmmakers and actors never take the time to prepare what they’ll say or how they’ll act when they do meet someone.

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