Chapter 1: How to Become an Actor in Film or Television CHAPTER 1 How to Become an Actor in Film or Television We see actors everywhere. We see them in our favorite films and TV shows. We see them on talk shows and posters. We see them on red carpets and on their Instagram posts (showing us how they glammed up for the red carpets). We see them win awards. We read their memoirs. Unlike the hundreds of other jobs in Hollywood that are often so seamlessly tucked behind the scenes that they''re invisible, the job of an actor is hyper-visible. It''s the job--professionals say--that everyone thinks they understand.
But the public often only sees the most glamorous parts of being a celebrity, not the daily grind of a typical Hollywood actor. When you book an acting role, you get to do all the work that made you want to be an actor in the first place. You break down a script. You learn your lines. You create your character with the help of hair, makeup, and costume people. You discuss your role with the director. You rehearse with your fellow cast members. You deliver the best performance you can muster with the time you were given to prepare and the number of takes you were able to do.
Then you hope it''s shot and edited in a way that showcases your brilliance, so you can have an easier time booking your next big role. But it''s imperative for aspiring film and TV actors to understand that for most professional actors in Hollywood, the time on a set is very limited. "People come out of high school and college, they''ve been acting in theater their whole lives, they''ve been cast in every single school play, and that''s just a very different lifestyle than a working actor," said Ben Whitehair, an actor, active Screen Actors Guild member, and cofounder of Working. Actor, an extensive resource for aspiring actors. The main part of the job is auditioning. It''s the hustle. Many working actors liken the lifestyle to owning a small business. While you''re starting out, you have to be your own talent, marketing, customer service, and community outreach departments.
Like with any small business, it takes time, energy, and money to get an acting career off the ground. There is a tremendous amount of luck involved. Get comfortable with rejection that you cannot control--rejection that often has more to do with the superficial parts of you (how you look, your chemistry with another actor, how much you match with someone''s idea of a script''s character) and less to do with your talent and skills. In the beginning, you won''t book many gigs. You''ll need another way to pay your bills that allows you to easily take time off to do auditions or take on small roles. Even when you start landing gigs regularly--a combination of student films, indie films, voice-over gigs, workshops, table reads, commercials and other one-day appearances--none of them, by themselves, will provide a livable wage. But it all adds up, and the reward is that you get to do what you love for work. Outsiders can easily point out an actor''s most high-profile credits on IMDb.
For Behzad Dabu, that would be his role as Simon Drake on How to Get Away with Murder . But when he made enough money that he was able to quit his safety job as a college admissions administrator, that was a huge win for him. Many professionals would love for people to stop romanticizing the role of a working actor. What does a typical Hollywood actor really look like? "They can go to the park and grocery store without getting stopped or mobbed," Dabu said. "They bought a house. They raised children. They have a car. And they can afford all of that by being an actor.
" What Qualities Do You Find in a Successful Actor? It might sound obvious, but actors need to love performing. You have to love it so much that you''re willing to do things that you don''t always want to do to get paid to act. That could include juggling multiple side jobs to support yourself, taking any role that comes your way, or making self-taped auditions not knowing if someone is going to watch them all the way through. Actors are storytellers. They tend to be good listeners who are highly attuned to all the different ways people communicate and show their emotions. They also tend to be curious about human behavior and psychology, because part of the job is being empathetic and understanding why people do the dramatic things they do. Actors usually love doing research about different cultures and time periods. They do a lot of that to embody their characters.
And lastly, actors must have really thick skin. Actors who survive in Hollywood have to be very good at managing their emotions. They have to be the type of people who can be extremely vulnerable on camera; give their entire heart, mind, and body to a project; won''t get fazed by comments from anonymous strangers who pick apart their looks and performances; and afterward decide that they want to do it again. How Do You Get Started? Training--and continuing to train even when you start getting work--is essential. There are many ways to get training. You could get a theater degree at a college or university. (Look up the annual lists of best acting colleges compiled by Backstage or the Hollywood Reporter . Juilliard, Yale, the University of North Carolina, and Carnegie Mellon are often listed among the top-tier schools.
) You could enroll in more intensive acting conservatory programs, like Los Angeles Performing Arts Conservatory, T. Schreiber, Atlantic Acting School, William Esper Studio, the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute, or Stella Adler Studio of Acting. You could take classes focused on acting techniques, like Stanislavski''s Method or the Meisner technique. There are also classes that teach specific skills, including scene study, character study, auditioning, and improv. There are classes that focus on acting for commercials. There are coaches--including DaJuan Johnson ( Bosch ), founder of Think Bigger Coaching, and Anna LaMadrid ( This Fool ), owner of Put Me On Self-Tape--who specialize in helping actors film self-taped auditions. Modeling classes can help you get comfortable in front of the camera. Learning stand-up comedy can help you nail your comedic timing and find your unique voice.
The goal is to eventually get good enough at your craft that you get booked for roles that will give you on-the-job training. To book these roles, you often need representation--an agent who submits you for jobs and negotiates contracts, and a manager who guides your career. But first, you need headshots, a résumé, and a reel. So how do you create a reel of work before you''ve booked anything? There are national casting networks and websites--including Actors Access and Backstage.com--that list auditions, also known as breakdowns, that you can apply for on your own if you don''t yet have an agent. These are typically for smaller projects: short films, commercials, web series, and social media sketches. There are many local networks and Facebook groups that are free. Most opportunities will be found in Los Angeles and New York, but there are growing hubs in cities including Las Vegas, Atlanta, San Francisco, Austin, and Chicago.
The process can be a grind. "Let''s say you submit yourself to thirty projects, two get back to you, you do those two auditions, and you don''t hear anything. Tomorrow, submit yourself to thirty more projects," Dabu said. While you''re getting used to rejection, make your own content. Actor Randall Park ( WandaVision, Fresh Off the Boat ) regularly directed and starred in his own comedic short films--often featuring alumni from the LCC Theatre Company, the Asian American company he cofounded at UCLA as a student--decades before he got his first professional directing opportunity. Even if you just get your friends together and piece some clips over a few months, you can create a reel to show agents and managers who focus on discovering new actors. Look for representation that''s right for you. A manager oversees the day-to-day operations of your career, while agents help find and secure opportunities, bookings, and auditions.
Once you start booking more gigs, you might consider hiring a publicist and an attorney for dealing with contracts. And lastly, anytime you get the chance to work on set, think about everything you can do in the moment to help yourself get your next role. That means showing up on time, being respectful, and making everyone else''s job easier. It means learning how different departments work and connecting with like-minded people you might want to collaborate with in the future. Don''t define yourself (or be defeated) by any individual project. Treat all your experiences--big and small, good and bad--as steps to develop yourself as an artist and build toward your eventual goal. That goal often evolves as you learn more about the industry and yourself. What Are the Career Paths? There is no one path and no set timeline for the career of an actor.
But there is a general hierarchy. Most working actors start with agents and managers who specialize in getting actors with less experience auditions for smaller jobs, and then eventually work up to the higher-profile agents and managers, who can get auditions for major networks and streaming services. The only way to fast-track to the top is if a casting director or filmmaker chooses you for a role that''s much bigger than the one you did before. But that''s out of your control. Here is a breakdown of the.