Aaron Marcus breaks down how to start acting in three steps: get a professional headshot and resume that show casting directors what roles fit you, take classes and audition for theater and student films to build experience, then find a legitimate agent through casting platforms and industry referrals.
Chapters
Hi, in this video I'm going to be teaching you the 3 essential steps you absolutely need to take in order to break into the acting industry. When you follow these steps, you are going to have a game plan, a strategy that you're going to be able to use that will give you your best chance for success. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus and welcome to my Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel. Where I teach people how to break into the industry as well as teaching actors and models how to take their career to the next level with the videos that I upload twice a month. Don't forget, click the red subscribe button below if you haven't done that yet, as well as the bell, the notification button, and that way every time I upload a new video you will be told about it. And if you like the video, please Click the thumbs up. Really appreciate it. So for people who are interested in breaking into the industry, there are 3 steps that you want to take. The very first thing that you absolutely need to do is create a headshot. Now, sometimes people will say, well, I'm a model, I'm really not interested in acting. Still, you want to create a headshot. And the reason for that is when I first got started, 35+ plus years ago. I had no idea what I was doing, and somebody said, well, you should create a headshot. I didn't even know what a headshot was. And basically, a headshot is a photo that will allow industry professionals to get a sense of who you are. When I say who you are, I don't mean who you really are. It's how are you going to be cast. Now look, I typically have a look where I look like the nice guy, the friendly guy, which as it turns out, I really am. But I don't have to be in order to get cast that way. So the very first thing you need to figure out is how are you realistically going to get cast? Oh, and by the way, the reason why you do want to have a headshot, even for modeling, it's the simplest way to get started by having a headshot done. I'm not saying it's easy, but it's the simplest way to get started. And you can actually, just like me, book modeling jobs just from a headshot. So that's why headshots are crucial for both actors and models. But here's, here's the deal. You know, a lot of times people just try to look great Women try to look beautiful, guys try to look really handsome. They're wearing really interesting-looking clothing, neat backgrounds, and things like that. This is not a headshot video. I do actually offer workshops just on headshots, but that's not what I'm doing here today. I want to teach you how to break into the industry, but I will give you some basic information about a headshot. So number one, your goal is to have an effective headshot. And what I mean by an effective one is it allows people to very quickly see the kinds of roles that are right for you. So when you look at this headshot, you can see this is the guy— and it's me— but it's the guy who is the doctor. He's going to get cast as the lawyer. He could be the college professor. He could be the high school teacher. He could be the politician who's really trying to help people. people in this world. The therapist, essentially, he's somebody that you like, somebody that you trust, someone that you will share personal information with, somebody who's honest, someone you'd like to spend a couple of weeks with if you're on a set. And, and so it's not a coincidence. Those are the kinds of bookings that I get. And it's not to say that every once in a while I might get something against type. But I know what my type is. I know how I generally get cast for projects, and so that's why my headshot shows that. So here are just a couple of quick tips about headshots just to make sure you understand them. I, I will add a link so that you can learn more about headshots at the bottom of the page. But essentially, your headshot needs to focus on you, no pun intended. But I, I do a lot of private online mentoring with people, and when I'm helping them create a headshot, a lot of times I will see photos that they had taken previously where there might be an ocean in the background or beautiful forest or trees and, and walls with interesting paintings and their wardrobe is really— it really stands out because they think it looks great and they think they look great in it. Get rid of all that stuff. Remember, you are the focus of the shot. Your wardrobe should be like nice wallpaper. It enhances the feel of the room, but nobody's staring at it. Your background If you're shooting outside, it needs to be blurred so that nobody's able to see things back there. If you're shooting in the studio, just have a nice clean backdrop. So once again, all the focus is on you. Okay. So the 2 other things I was just going to suggest about headshots. Look, you need to make sure that you find a great headshot photographer. And one of the things that I highly recommend is interview the person before you decide to shoot with him or her. And the reason for that is there might be a great photographer, has a great reputation, a lot of people recommend the person, but maybe for whatever reason you don't feel comfortable. Maybe the person's sarcastic. Maybe the person is just not— You know, all that friendly. And depending on what you want, you know, you might want somebody who, if you're feeling uncomfortable, knows how to say the right words to relax you, to give you the freedom to try things out without being criticized, without feeling rushed throughout the session. So anyhow, I would definitely try, if you can, interview the photographer ahead of time. And I would ask the photographer, How do you see me being cast? What kind of characters do you see me being submitted for? And if you interview a number of headshot photographers, you will find that there might be certain looks, certain characteristics, certain types of characters that they keep recommending and suggesting, which will be very, very helpful to you. The other thing is just preparing before your session. You can go to photographers' websites to look at lots of other headshots. Now, just because it's on a headshot doesn't mean— or on a website doesn't mean that it's a good headshot. You know, maybe the photographer has taken a lot of headshots, but they just aren't all that good. But, you know, if you have a pretty good sense of what a good headshot looks like, an effective one, then it might give you some ideas. And just remember, for your wardrobe, Just make sure it enhances your image. You don't want a lot of skin showing because our eyes will go to the lightest part of the page. So those are some of the other things just to keep in mind. Number 2, you need a resume, although that's really part of number 1— headshot resume. Now, if you are only interested in modeling, no, you don't need a resume. There is no such thing as a resume For models, people just want to look at photos. That is your resume. For actors, yeah, you do need a resume. And when I'm doing private mentoring with people and they're just getting started, and I will ask them about a resume, and they will say, well, I don't have a resume, I've never done this stuff before, and they think they can't put one together. You can. And once again, this is not a, um, a video about resumes. I do full Full workshops just on resumes. But let me give you a couple of quick hints for things to put on a resume with absolutely no experience. Number one, you've got a name, right? Okay. So, put your name on top of the resume. You've got to have contact information, email, phone number. Make sure that is in there. Here's something that I do, and you can see it here on my resume. I like to have a headshot in the upper right-hand corner. If you happen to have 2 different headshots with different looks, that's great. If you only have one headshot, use the same one. That's fine. That way, as they're looking at your resume, they can see you again, and it's just another way of planting your image in their brain. The other thing that you can do is, once again, even without any experience, if you've had any acting training taken any acting classes, absolutely list that. It's essential because that way an agent or maybe a casting director might look at your resume— well, first they've looked at your headshot and they think, okay, this person could be right for the role. They'll look at your resume and they'll see, okay, the person hasn't done anything, they're just getting started. But if they see that you've taken some, some good classes, solid acting classes, that might be enough. for them to bring you in. And when you're— when you are listing it, don't just say acting class. Make it specific. What kinds of things have you studied? Was it acting for the camera? Was it script analysis? Was it improv? Was it acting for TV commercials? You know, whatever, whatever it was, make it specific. And that way they, they, the casting director, or maybe an agent or a director, can see what you have studied. And if you studied with somebody who has a name in your particular area, uh, with a good reputation, then that can be really helpful as well. The, the last thing I'm just going to mention about a resume is if you have any special skills. And when I say special skills, uh, think of if you are a casting director and you need to bring someone in to read for a role What kind of special skills might help you get brought in? So, do you ride a motorcycle? Are you a boxer? There are tons of things. You know, are you an athlete? Do you speak a foreign language? So if you took French in 3rd grade and now you're 40 years old, you know, I wouldn't list that as a special skill. You have to actually sound fluent. In the language. But yeah, if you are bilingual or you speak a number of different languages, absolutely put that in there. Are you a musician? And once again, you don't have to be a professional. Just like for sports, you don't have to be a professional. But if you got cast in a TV commercial and they needed someone who looks like they know how to, you know, shoot hoops on the basketball court, is that something you can do? Absolutely. And then you can also think a little bit outside the box a little bit. If you are a professional bartender, certainly add that, you know, that in there. Do you have a passport? Do you drive a 5-speed, you know, stick shift, a manual car? All those kinds of things would be really helpful to put into your special skills section. So anyhow, those are the things that you can put onto a resume. Next thing, you definitely want to get some experience and training. Look, there are very few people in this world who are just naturally great and just naturally can walk onto a set and be amazing. There are some, but, you know, there are people who buy lottery tickets too and win $20 million. It's highly unusual. And most of the famous people that you see have and continue to study now. So absolutely try to find a great acting class that's local to you if you can. If you're in a situation and it's safe to be in person, certainly that's going to be great. If not, try to do something online. But you, you want to make sure that you do some research If you can speak to some current or students who have studied there, you want to find out who the teachers are, you know, and make sure that the classes are right for you. If they are teaching, you know, acting for the camera or TV commercial acting or script analysis, you know, things that will just be really— or improv, things that will be really helpful to you Those are the kinds of classes you want to take and not just a generic acting class. And like I said before, make sure you find out who the instructor is to see if they've really had experience, you know, in the industry, because otherwise you might be spending a lot of money and not getting what you need out of it. The other thing too is as far as getting experience, Look, I would start doing any kind of local theater, start auditioning for local theater. Now it's true, working on the stage is different than working in front of a camera, but if you get great acting skills, you can learn how to edit or change your, your acting performances on the stage for the camera. Everything is much, much, much smaller in front of a camera. But something that you can also start doing is contact some local colleges and go to the film department and find out who is teaching film classes where students have to shoot films for the class itself. And, you know, if you have a headshot resume, send it in, say you're really interested. I guess you could try it even without a headshot and resume and see if you could audition. For some student films. Those are great experiences even if the films are horrible, if they're not— if you're not able to use any of the footage for, you know, an acting reel or anything like that. Just being in front of a camera, being on a set will really be helpful to you. So I would try that as much as you possibly can and also check out to see if there are independent filmmakers in your area and you can see if there are Facebook groups. You can go to meetup.com and see if there are any meetup groups for local independent filmmakers. So try to get as much experience as you can. The other thing too is if you feel up to it, you know, you can try contacting some advertising agencies in your area and see if you can submit your own headshot and resume to the art or creative directors at the advertising agencies. Sometimes they are the ones who make final decision, decisions on which actor gets hired for the TV commercials. Sometimes they can recommend. So anyhow, those are really helpful people. And you can, besides just doing a general Google search, there is an organization, it's AAAA, it's 4 A's, .org. American Association of Advertising Agencies, and you can see if there are any members in your area. You will find tons of other ad agencies that aren't necessarily members, but that is one place to go to. Very last thing, and this is the third one for breaking into the industry, and that is finding an agent. Yes, you can find work on your own. You can also use companies like 800 Casting, Casting Networks, Actors Access. These are places where you can get information about auditions, absolutely. And you should be, you know, looking into some of those to see which one or ones might be right for you. But, you know, typically agents are going to know about the best jobs in the area. They are going to be able to make sure that the jobs are real. They're going to make sure that you are getting paid the correct amount for, for doing the job. And so you definitely want to find an agent. And there are lots of different ways of finding agents. You can go to a local, a local theater and talk to the actors afterwards and ask them, by the way, do you know, do you know of any agents in the area that I should contact? And you might start hearing certain names pop up over and over and over again. You can go to the SAG-AFTRA website and you will find a list of signatory agents in certain markets in the United States. Signatory agents are agents who sign contracts with the union. They've agreed to abide by union rules. You will get a, you know, small list. There'll be plenty of other agents who are not affiliated with the union, but that will also give you a list of some people you could potentially contact. And even with some of the advertising agencies, you know, maybe you could ask them which agents do they typically go through when they are searching for actors for TV commercials. And also just do some searches for local actors and you know, network. If there is any extra work happening in the area, that could be a great way to get onto a set, not only learn about what takes place in either a film, a TV show, or a TV commercial shoot, but you can network and talk to some of the other extras and, and ask them about headshot photographers, about agents, about other possible projects coming up. So Getting experience will be really helpful to you before you start reaching out to agents because agents want to work with people who they can submit for a booking or for an audition and hopefully book the job. That's how they make their money. So they want people who are good at what they do. So just to kind of wrap things up here, the 3 things you absolutely want to do to break into the industry is number one, get a headshot and resume. Number 2, take classes and get experience. And number 3, find a good legitimate agent in your area. If you need help with this, I do save 5 days every month to mentor people, and you can just go to my website howtoactandmodel.com, and there is a link there, and you can learn more about my mentoring program. Or if there is a question that you have about getting started, uh, leave it below and I will answer it for you. And you know what, I— what would be great is just to have a large community of people asking questions, people answering questions, and that way we can all help each other. Once again, if you haven't done this yet, don't forget to click on the little red button to subscribe, the little bell notification button, as well as if you found this helpful, please click the thumbs up icon so that way it will help spread this information out to other people. I am Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
