Career & Craft | 13 years In
The Business of Acting
No one teaches you this part.
You’ll spend four years and a lot of money learning to act, and then you’ll get out and discover that acting is maybe a fifth of the job.
The rest is a business, and it has rules, and nobody hands you the rules.
So — here’s what I know. Thirteen years of it, most of it learned the slow way.
The Thesis
This Business Isn't Fair
The best actor in the room does not always get the part, and sometimes the best actor in the room doesn’t get seen at all.
I am not going to pretend otherwise, and the people who tell you different are selling you something.
What I’d say is this. There’s a lot you can’t control and a smaller amount you can, and most actors spend their energy on the first pile. The whole point of this page is the second pile.
What We Work On
Some of the questions we cover
These are the ones that come up, more or less every time. Short answers here. The long ones are what the session is for.
How Do I Get An Agent?
You don’t really find an agent — you get findable, and then somebody they trust says your name. What we’d work on is what actually moves that needle for you specifically, and in what order.
Should I Have An Agent or A Manager?
Not right away — when you’re starting out, an agent doesn’t have much to sell yet. Get good, get a reel, book a few things on your own, and representation gets a lot easier to find. Plenty of actors book their first jobs submitting themselves.
What Should Be On My Resume?
Your credits, your training, and any special skills that are actually true — if you put “horseback riding” on there, someday somebody hands you a horse. One page, stapled to the back of your headshot, and don’t pad it. A short honest resume reads better than a long creative one, and casting can tell the difference in about four seconds.
What Kind of Headshots Should I Have?
Ones that look like you — current, shot in the last year or two, by someone who shoots headshots for a living. (Not your friend with the nice phone. Sorry.) Two looks is plenty: one warm and open for commercial, one a little more serious for theatrical.