How to Acting: Get Discovered

How is it that some people get discovered as actors? Why does it seem like they don't have to work so hard to get the attention of agents, directors and casting directors? Why do some people get all the good roles? There is a reason for everything! Aspiring Actors often ask the question "How can I get discovered?" The answer is so incredibly simple, but on the other it is far from easy. The way that many actors get discovered is... Are you ready? They POSITION themselves to be discovered! That's right. Read on to see how.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• True passion
• Talent For Acting
• A Support Team
• Determination
• Perseverance
• Curiosity
• Desire To Always Be Better
• Competitiveness

1. Start training and don't stop no matter how good you think you are or how good others tell you are. Find yourself a class and a good teacher, latch on and don't let go. One mistake actors often make is they think that once they have taken a few classes, they know how to act!
2. Study the industry. Find out how it works. Find out who casts what, what agents look for in an actor, what the unions do, what the current issues are in the industry, etc.
3. Figure out what your type is. It's a concept you absolutely need to be familiar with. It will also help you target all your marketing activities in the same direction. If you try to show everyone you come in contact with that you can act in lots of different kinds of roles, your message will too diluted. You will be seen as an "Everythingolist" and that's not good. Furthermore, casting directors and agents you come in contact with want to know if you are aware of who you are as an actor/actress.
4. Learn basic business, networking and self-promotional skills. This point is so incredibly important and so often overlooked! So many actors don't understand that as actors they are free-lance professionals, which means they are in business for themselves. If you are an actress/actor your product is YOU! You need to know how to sell it. This is the edge when it comes to getting discovered!
5. Learn how to audition. Auditioning and acting on set are two different beasts. Auditioning is like the serve in tennis. You can't start the game without it, but on the other hand the meat of the game is the volleying back and forth. Serving and volleying are two different things, just as auditioning and acting on set.
6. Surround yourself with people who are already doing what you want and not with people who are trying to get what you want. There is a rule that says that if an adult takes the average yearly income of the 5 people they hang around with the most, her own income is probably within that average. The same is true usually with accomplishments. Whether you believe it or not, the fact is that you can learn more from people who have already done what you are trying to do. It stands to reason that you will want to try and be around those kind of people as much as you can.
7. Talk to both working actors, who are making a living from acting as well as to aspiring actors who have been talking a lot over the past couple of years, haven't done very much, still don't have an agent and aren't taking classes and who are always making excuses for why they are not further along in their careers. You can learn from both groups! From one you learn what to do. From the other, you will learn how NOT to be.
8. Stay curious and never ever think you know it all. Be humble. You can always learn more about: perfecting your acting technique, auditioning, cold reading, how to improve as a commercial actor, improvisational skills, hosting skills, comedic timing, classical theatre acting, acting for film, acting for daytime soaps, prime time acting, industrial acting, industry happenings, union and actor issues. Learning is non-stop!
9. Once you start to achieve some success, help others who are in the same position you were once. You'll see that it will pay off.
   Actors are a stingy and jealous lot. Many are afraid that if they give you information, that you will become successful before they will. What they don't realize is that most of the people they think that about are not even the same type and would NEVER be cast for the same roles. Whats more, they don't have the abundance mentality, which means there is enough to go around. Yes luck is important as well in the business, but the most important thing is, as with anything else, to work hard and your opportunity will come. No doubt!
10. At some point during all this you should ask yourself (and be honest) if you really, honestly and truly have the passion for acting to DO WHAT IS NECESSARY to succeed. Without this, all is lost. Without passion, it will be a chore to do all the things I listed above. Without passion, you will not be the best you can be. Without passion it will be more difficult to convince people of your abilities as an actor/actress. And even if you do land an acting job, without passion it will be tougher to keep it. And finally, without passion, you will not be completely happy in life. The sooner you own up to really wanting to commit 100% to acting or not, the better off you will be!

Tips & Warnings

• Once you do those things regularly, you will start to intuitively know how to position yourself to be discovered.
• I conducted an interview with a Hollywood acting coach Bernard Hiller who said that, "If you let anything at all stop you from becoming an actor, that simply means that it's not for you." That's why point number 10 is so important, because this is hard work and if you don't have passion, true desire and motivation, you won't go very far.
• Put a plan together and work hard!
• Don't fall into the trap that many aspiring actors fall into and think that there are shortcuts. Another quote from the same Hollywood acting coach I mentioned above is: "The elevator to Hollywood acting success is out of service. From now on you have to take the stairs!"