Houston, Texas - One day your out hanging with friends and family, taking pictures out in a backyard or at a lake and someone says to you, "Damn, you look like a model in these shots, have you ever thought about modeling professionally or becoming an actor?"
Surely, you should brush off that little question and take it as a nice gesture of admiration for your good looks and move on with your business. But most people can't shake that kind of admiration off; they lose sleep over it thinking to themselves, "I'm a pretty as she, or handsome as he, why don't I get out there and go for it?"
True, why not go for it? Everyone is 100% sure that Brad Pitt and Daniel Craig started off the same way, right? Now that some Hollywood actresses like Megan Fox and Jennifer Aniston are starting to age, there could be room for you in Hollywood, right? Man or woman, you've gone out at turned heads at Christmas parties, family reunions or just walking into some mall in your favorite town. You're so good looking or so pretty that you're often asked if your a professional model, actor or something, so this must be the new thing you should try to build up your vanity.
Well, the honest truth is and it's also a damn shame, that to be a professional actor, there are a lot of steps that you have to make to separate yourself from all of those other people that feel that they too can live a comfortable life as an "actor." In the Independent Film Scene [IFS] circles, there are people who have quit their jobs and stepped into the world of acting to try and live off of it. Sure, some have kept a busy acting career taking gig after gig, making a $100 here and $250 there and living with their mom, or a friend, or a lover. But is that really the career you're looking for?
In Houston alone, Indie actors are a dime a dozen and if you're not chose for a spot in a commercial or an Indie film, another one is called in on a hot minute and masters the role you failed to attain; it happens all the time. Reputations in the IFS are so brittle, that it only takes you mingling with the wrong film team one time to get you written off and it happens all the time in you local city/town. With a simple search you'll learn right away that everyone is a professional and that everyone knows the odds and ends about acting, knowing what you need to get started and who you need to train you for that next level performance. If you find yourself in this position, taking advice from other actors, your on the wrong track for success.
Look at the picture to the left, and I mean really look at it. What do you see in that actress? What's the first thing that got your attention to look at it the first time. Your answer should have been, I don't know what she's doing" but the next thing you should agree to is, that whatever she is doing, she believes it 100%; that's what an actor is supposed to do in a film or commercial, actually believe that that moment is real to us all, even though it's not. By the way, that photograph is a direct shot from a web series that received fandom all over the web and was produced in South Texas. At the time, the actress was a teen and since then has moved on to bigger and better films. But her first real leap was landing a role that garnered a lot of attention from local talent agents and scouts that were looking for an actress who believed in her talent to being a role to life. Do you want to be like her?
First of all, let's take a look at you. Go step up to a mirror and look at yourself for ten minutes. If you have one quality that you think might separate you from other actors in your local area, what do you think it is? About 99.3% of you didn't get off of your chair or off of your phone to do what I suggested; you are the ones that need to stop reading this blog and go back to working on local "low budget" 24-hour, fast food films that will go no where. No-no, don't get up now. I'm sure you'll find true success out there as an extra in a local film or something.
For that .7% of you who did stop reading, got up and looked into the mirror at yourself, well, you're being honest with yourself and for the first time I'm sure you saw a quality that stood out in the first two minutes. Your next step is to harness that quality and bring it out to life, where you can master the emotion, the fell, and the dire consequences should it ever leave your side. And how pray tell do you do that, well it's called "theater arts." Yeah, that's right - go find a local theater and learn what it takes to act in front of large crowds, learn what it takes to follow direction, and even better, what it takes behind the scenes to help get a production off the ground. Every Oscar winning actor has partook in theater to hone their skills and make them who they are; and I mean everyone!
The prestige received by an actor to be asked to move from one city to another, is one of the rarest and life consuming rewards that a thespian [actor] can receive in their lifetime. For example, Mariah Carey was a waitress way before she became a professional singer. She worked hard, often sang in a cafe in front of her patrons to make the day go by and people admired her looks and her talent. She still went to school and had many ups and downs before she was given a chance to perform on stage, which finally led to a record deal. I'm not suggesting you should work at a cafe, but please don't quit your day job to become an actor; the easy gigs don't pay enough and most of the gigs you get require an acting agency that is willing to sift through it's clientele to get to your file and give you a job; and remember that your not the only good looking guy or gal that the agency has in it's filing system.
Models fall under the same principle too. The main problem in the modeling field is that there's just so many formats and genre's that its really hard to break through unless you have a photographer who has broken through the local muck with the same modeling agent you have and can score you some big gigs. Outside of that, you'll just be another file in a drawer somewhere, so do your best to break your own rules and get creative; playing it safe in the modeling field will kill your attempt at making your mark with agents looking for the next level model to pass the big gigs to on a regular basis.
But back to acting, most new actors turn to Indie film projects after they've considered themselves ready to dive into the next level of acting. Indie films should be considered as amateur as a high school play and not taken with the attitude that "this indie project is different and it's going to go somewhere." Indie films rarely go anywhere and it's been proven that only .038% of all indie films actually break out and become huge hits at film festivals. Don't believe what you've just read? Then go to an Indie film festival and see for yourself. You'll find that every Indie film is a winner of something, that there's a BIG TIME actor that performed and/or produced a few, plus those films are never released to the general public outside of festivals and have been in festival circulation for a few years.
There is a risk of failure that might surface should you also "play it safe" on roles that may be too short, just in the background, just a voice over, or just a standby. You're going to have to learn to be patient on sets for projects you've been assigned. Most new actors want that "action packed" feel of landing a role in a new Indie film project, but most Indie films fail to have such an impact on a new actors career and many may feel the stale taste of the Indie pop scene that resonates actors to bad films like a bad bad plate of finger foods being passed around at a party. That is the point where new actors quickly realize that this IFS is not for them and they give up. So sad, but it's true.
Okay, so what can YOU do to prevent such things from happening to YOU? - Good question and it's about time you asked. Follow these [10] steps required to start your acting career in the right way. Don't skip over anything you don't understand, look them up and watch YouTube videos as required.
1. Get into performing in front of large crowds in Theater Arts/stage plays. You'll learn about mastering your expressions and emotions, pre-production efforts, script reading and delivery, dialog enhancement, voice projection, and makeup. If you haven't gone to a Renaissance Fair and experienced life performances, perhaps you should!
2. With time, patience, practice, and refining your skills, work to become a leading actor in a theater stage play. Be the center of attention and show your talents to a live audience. Feel the power of your work and the prestige of being respected for your skills to amaze the crowd.
3. See a real acting coach that teaches theater arts and take courses about transferring your stage skills to film. This may be a little expensive, but well worth the rewards as you plan to
4. Only use an Acting Agent for resourcing outside local Independent film projects. If you want to work in local commercials and even in prime time advertising, use an agent to help you get those projects. You might have to fight your way through the agents long list of favorites who are ahead of you, but believe in your self and continue to plug away. If your lucky, you might become one of your agents favorites and get issued a few gigs each year.
5. Consider working in ultra low Indie film projects for free and in a volunteer basis without a contract. It may surprise you the number of leading actor gigs you can land on a variety of projects in a short time. Be sure to always sign release forms to protect your image; remember that you can always change or add items to any contract tossed at you. Always use the term, “Actor retains control of own image, for purposes of marketing, promoting, and especially commercialized poster sales” to protect you, should the low budget indie project gain strength with a real investor or producer.
We wish you the best of luck in your dream of becoming a professional actor. Remember that having a solid foundation to your craft is the best and fastest way to secure confidence in yourself!
Ride Easy!
D. R. Quintana
