Aaron Marcus, an actor with 38 years of experience, explains that actors need at least two headshots: one commercial (warm, approachable) and one theatrical (serious, dramatic). Multiple looks only help if they're believable and match how you actually appear; casting directors dismiss headshots that don't look like you.
In this video, I'm going to be sharing with you how many different headshots do actors really need. And if you watch this until the end, I've got a great bonus video for you. It's all about what happens if you don't get paid for your acting job, and I've got 2 tips for you. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center. Where I try to help my fellow actors by sharing information and experiences that I've had as a working actor for a little over 38 years. If you haven't done this yet, don't forget, subscribe, click the notification bell so you always know when a new video has been uploaded. And if you like the video, give it a thumbs up. That's actually very helpful. And like I said, share the link your friends. So I am asked this question quite a bit. I do a lot of private mentoring, and it's not unusual for me to have people either send in questions or ask me during a session, how many different headshots do actors actually have to have? So like a lot of things in this industry, there is no one answer. There are very few absolutes In the industry, there's not one method, acting method, to use. There isn't one way to have success. There isn't one way to put together a resume. It's— there are a lot of different ways that work and combinations of ways. So first of all, let me just tell you, headshots in today's time period are so crucial, even more so than in the past, because now everything is done electronically. And when you might have— and these aren't exact numbers, and they will change from audition to audition, character to character, casting director to casting director— but depending on the role, it's not unusual to have 100, 500, 1,000 headshots submitted or more For one particular role. And then the casting director— and once again, this isn't an exact number, but I've spoken with enough casting directors and I feel confident in saying it's not unusual to have maybe 30 invitations go out for actors to audition for one role, and then one person gets selected. So since your headshot is going to be seen with a lot of other headshots It has to stand out in a positive way. So one of the questions is, well, should I put together a lot of different headshots showing different sides of me, showing different emotions, showing different ways that I could be cast? So one answer to that is, look, if you happen to have Well, first comes down to finances. You know, when you're shooting a headshot, you know, will the headshot photographer shoot a couple of different looks during the session, or do they charge more? I mean, that's something you need to straighten out ahead of time. But, you know, if you're able to have 2 different looks for the same price, then it's going to come down to, do you really have A very distinct look, or can you actually play different kinds of roles? I can tell you for me, yeah, I mean, I have played different kinds of roles, but it's not that often. Typically, when people look at me, whether it's in person or they'll see it in my headshot, which represents how people view me, They're going to see a very similar look. You know, I'm the highly educated guy. I'm the doctor. I'm the lawyer. I'm someone that you like. I'm the one who is approachable, someone you want to spend time with, someone that you would share personal information with. I'm not threatening. People feel they can trust me. And so I only put together one headshot. And I put together one commercial headshot. And you can see it here. This is my newest headshot. And there are people who can have a different kind of look, and they might want to put together a theatrical look. And you'll see an example. This, just so you know, this is not an actual headshot. It's the feeling that I would be using if I wanted to put together a theatrical headshot. You can see that here as well. A theatrical headshot is not warm, friendly, inviting, opening. It's more serious. It might be used for more serious roles for theater, and you still say a lot in your eyes. You're talking to somebody through your eyes. You're feeling a lot, but it's not warm and fuzzy and approachable kind of look. So if you Want to put together a theatrical headshot? Yeah. Then sure, you can have 2. But what people normally are asking about, you know, should they put together different kinds of looks because they feel they can play the doctor, they can play the head of a motorcycle gang, they can play the blue-collar worker, they can play the police officer. You know, look, if you have all those different looks and it's believable— I mean, don't just throw stuff together. If you really look that different, sure, you can do that. And then if there is a role for the construction worker, the police officer, yeah, then you can use that headshot. Is it necessary to have— some people say, yeah, you've got to have 5, 6, 7, 8 different kinds of looks. So depending on the role that you're auditioning for, that's the headshot you're going to use. Look, you can, and it could be helpful to you. Is it necessary? I don't think so, but sure. I mean, if that's something you want to do, it certainly can't hurt. Here's the key thing though: make sure that it absolutely looks believable. I'm not the head of a motorcycle gang. Now, I could be the accountant for the motorcycle gang, I could be doing their taxes, but no, I'm not their— I could be their CPA, but I'm not riding the Harley down the street and getting into gang wars and fights and stuff. It's just not my look. Look, I want to think as an actor, could I do that? I feel like I could pull that off, but do I look the part? No. Am I ever going to get cast as the part? No, not unless they need somebody who looks really out of place there. Yeah, then that could be me. I also wanted to make sure that, you know, please let, let, let us know if you put together multiple headshots. Has that been helpful to you? Just leave a comment in the comment section of the channel, and I will personally respond to you no matter what you say. I appreciate it. And look, that's the whole point of having this, just so we can share information with each other. Here is— if you look up here, you will see 2 things. You will probably see a, a playlist that you can click on, and you'll have access to tons and tons of videos there. But if you want to just look at the video of what do you do if you're not paid for an acting job, use the little exclamation point icon and click on that, and then you'll be able to watch that video. I hope this was helpful to you, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
