In this instructional video, veteran actor Aaron Marcus shares five core strategies that have enabled him to sustain a full‑time acting career for over 37 years. He begins by urging viewers to be honest on resumes and in communications with agents, warning that misrepresentations quickly erode trust. He then stresses the importance of mastering the craft through books, classes, private mentoring, and on‑the‑job learning so that auditions are consistently strong. The third strategy focuses on having professional materials: an effective headshot that captures casting potential and a resume formatted to industry standards. Fourth, he advises finding a reliable agent, explaining the benefits of representation, typical commission structures (10% for union, 20% for non‑union/commercial work), and how agents can filter legitimate jobs and negotiate on the actor’s behalf. Finally, he emphasizes proactive self‑marketing—reaching out to advertising agencies, joining industry groups (e.g., Women in Film & Video), networking on set, and engaging in online communities—to generate visibility whether or not an actor has an agent. He concludes by promoting a bonus video on “11 Ways to Prepare Before Meeting an Agent” and encourages viewers to subscribe and share the content.
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In this video, I'm going to be sharing with you 5 successful strategies that I used and still use that has allowed me to work as a full-time actor, actually for a little over 37 years so far. So watch this video and you're going to get some really great ideas, techniques, strategies to use that will allow you to work as a full-time actor. And I also have a special bonus for you at the very end, 11 ways to prepare before meeting an agent. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Actor and Model Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center, where I share with you— and I try to do this on a weekly basis— information that I've learned working as a full-time actor for a little over 37 years now. And if you haven't done this yet, don't forget, click the subscribe button, the notification bell so you always know when I upload a new video. And if you like the video, please give it a thumbs up. That's helpful. And share the link with fellow actors. The very first strategy you want to use— and once again, these are just strategies that have been helpful to me. I'm sure there are other ways of having success. But for me, the very first strategy is be honest. And what I mean by being honest is, look, I've talked with people, I've met people, I've done private mentoring with people who have told me that because, you know, maybe they haven't had that much work on their resume, they might add an extra job so that it kind of looks like it's a principal job. You don't want to do that. First of all, it's very easy to find out whether you're being honest about that or not. And if somebody does, then everything else that you have on your resume is going to be suspect. And people typically don't want to work with people who aren't truthful. Sometimes people might tell agents, oh yeah, no, no, I lived in that city, because you know that the agent wants you to work there and live there. And you just figured, well, You know, I'll just travel there if I have to. You don't want to do that either. I remember the very first time I went up to New York to find an agent, and the agent said, look, we only work with people living in New York. And I said, you know, I understand, because she said they've had a lot of problems with people who said they live in New York, or they— even if they do live out of town, what happens is when they start getting, you know, text messages about auditions or jobs, They aren't going to be available that quickly. And how many excuses can you make that you can't make the trip up to that particular city? So I told her, and I just looked at her and I said, look, anytime that you ask me to come up for an audition, unless I'm already booked out, I'll be there. And it worked out really well, but I was also very honest with her. So anyhow, please Always be honest. Number 2, get really good at your craft. Look, if you are in a situation where you are meeting some people or you get the opportunity to audition, you want to make sure that you have the ability to do a really good job. And maybe that means, you know, reading a lot of books, If you want, you can find my book, How to Become a Successful Actor and Model. It's not an acting book, but it will teach you about the industry and how to have success. There are tons of really, really helpful books out there. Maybe you want to take classes. You know, not everybody takes classes. Maybe you want to do private mentoring with people. Maybe you want to try to do, you know, getting more on-the-job training. Maybe it's by doing some extra work. And if you're fortunate enough, you get a chance to, you know, learn from other actors. But you just want to make sure that you are ready to audition, you're good at your audition, and if you happen to book the job, you'll be able to pull it off in a professional way. Number 3, make sure that you have the right materials. And what I mean by right materials, that your headshot, it's not good, it's not— it doesn't make you look handsome or beautiful. It's an effective headshot. That's the key word. It's a headshot that grabs people's attention in a positive way. It allows them to immediately see how you should be cast, what roles are right for you. Make sure that you have that in place. Make sure that your resume is in the proper format that industry professionals expect. Now, once again, if you're just getting started, it's not going to be elaborate. It's not going to be filled with lots of film and television shows that you've done, but it's got to be in the right format, and there are ways of learning how to go about doing that, but it's crucial. Number 4, once you have everything else in place, now it's time to find a really good agent. And look, you can find work on your own, and I'm going to talk about that in a second, but you want to be represented by an agent, whether it's freelance, whether you sign the contract, because typically in Especially in smaller markets. The agent is going to be hearing about auditions and jobs much more than you will. The agent will know whether the job is legitimate. The agent will be able to negotiate well on your behalf. Now, you will be paying your agent, which is fine. I mean, and it will vary, you know, depending on whether you are in the union, in which case you will only be paying a 10% commission fee to your agent. If you are Non-union, you'll be paying your agent a 20% commission fee. And if you're doing a commercial modeling job, that will also be a 20% commission fee. But it's a great— to me, and once again, this is my philosophy, you know, if, if I'm doing a commercial modeling job, I'd rather make 80% of something and pay the 20% to an agent than to make 100% of nothing. So look, agents are— it's always a good idea to have agents. And I can tell you, especially for the bigger roles or the bigger projects, a lot of times casting directors will only go through agents and want agents to submit their talent. So aligning yourself with an agent is the best way to go about doing this. And number 5, you want to market yourself whether you have an agent or not. I worked especially up until pretty recently, I've worked really, really hard at marketing myself. And I can tell you, I'll be fully honest with you, the past year or so I haven't been marketing myself nearly as hard I'm happy with my agents. I'm happy with the work that I'm getting. I'm doing other things like helping other people with these quick tip channels. You know, so my time is spent slightly differently now, but up until very recently, I marketed myself really hard and I would reach out to advertising agencies for TV commercials, for radio spots, for commercial modeling jobs. I would join organizations like Women in Film and Video. And I'll— by the way, I'll leave that link below because it's a great organization and you can network there. Just like— and once again, if you're just getting started, I'm not recommending that you work, you know, 7 days a week as an extra. Once again, this is my philosophy. I think it's a great idea to get onto a set, especially if you haven't had much experience. You know, learn, see what takes place. Understand who are the people on the set with the crew. Who's the cinematographer? What do they do? What do the lighting people do? What does the sound person do? There are lots of people— the first AD, the director, the second AD, the second second— and that is a great place to network with other actors. And you can talk to the other actors about who were some of the best agents in your area? Who are the best headshot photographers? If you are interested in commercial modeling, who are some of the people to go to to shoot some test shots for you with some really strong commercial modeling shots? And you might even find out about projects coming to town if you're networking, even if you're doing extra work on a set. And you could also go to Facebook groups in your area, some acting Facebook groups, and just connect with other people. And if you do have an agent and you happen to find out about an audition, then you can always submit yourself and mention that you are represented by such-and-such agency and please contact them about an audition. And look, if you have a contract with the agent, then you have to do that. But even if you don't, It's a good investment. It lets the agent know if they actually do ask you and invite you to audition, it lets the agent know that people are interested in you. If you book the job, it lets the agent know that you are honest, that you're not trying to go behind their back and book things without paying them a commission fee. And those are the kinds of things that help put you on the top of their list so that when new projects come up They will be thinking of you because you work, because there's activity, even if you didn't book the job, but people are requesting you, and that's really, really helpful. So those are the 5 things that I have found, those strategies that I found to be unbelievably helpful to me, and it has allowed me to work as a full-time actor for over 37 years. I did promise That there's a great video bonus that you're going to want to watch, 11 Ways to Prepare Before Meeting an Agent. Just look up there, you will find the link, click on it, and you will get an opportunity to watch the video. Once again, if you haven't done this yet, subscribe, click the notification bell. If you like it, give it a thumbs up and share. the link with fellow actors so we can continue to build a great community of actors helping each other. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
