Aaron Marcus walks through six steps actors need to take before 2026: get professional headshots, build a detailed resume with classes and special skills, take acting classes or find a mentor, read industry books, land an agent, and market yourself. He links to workshops in the description.
Hey, I'm Aaron Marcus, and is your acting career really ready for 2026? I'm talking about an effective headshot, a resume with the right information in the proper format. Have you signed up for an acting class or made arrangements for some private mentoring? Are you ready to audition for those opportunities that will be coming your way? And if there's any hesitation to this, then this video is for you. It's the checklist, it's the actor's checklist, 6 essential steps actors must take to have success in 2026. And in the description, I will have links for you for 6 quick tip videos all connected with these topics. So let's get started. I want to let you know that In January, this is the time period where things are just beginning to happen for the industry. Things have been slow for a while, but especially December, that's like typically very slow, and things are just starting to kick in now. And there are 6 things, 6 steps that actors have to take in order to have success in 2026. First thing is your headshot. It's got to be an effective headshot. And for all of these 6 topics and 6 steps, I do entire workshops on each one. So I'm just going to give you a brief synopsis of each one, and then once again, you can click the link in the description to watch a little bit more. For a headshot, people need to be able to see exactly what your type is in your headshot. No shadows, no— on your face, no wardrobe that's distracting, no things in the background that are forcing people to not look at your face. And just make sure that this is something that either you or your agent can submit so that casting directors know very specifically what roles are right for you. 2, your resume. Even if you're just getting started and you really don't have any acting or modeling information, there are things that you can put in there that will be incredibly helpful. The types of classes that you've taken, and make them specific. Don't say acting class, make it really specific like acting for the camera, improv, whatever it is. And your special skills. Some of these things can make the difference between getting offered an audition and not. Martial arts, do you speak foreign languages, are you an athlete? Sometimes thinking outside the box, are you a professional bartender? Anyhow, having a powerful resume, even if it's just one, you know, that doesn't list any or many acting experiences, that is crucial. Number 3, Acting classes. Look, you, you need training. All actors need training. There are very, very, very few exceptions of actors who are working a lot and have never taken classes. Yes, there are very few. So make sure that you know what is the right class for you. Make sure that the instructor is someone who has the right information. But even more importantly, Knows how to share it with you. I walked out of a class one time because the instructor had great information. I had studied with some of his disciples, but when he came to teach a master class, I walked out because I thought the guy was a creep. I thought he was nasty. He was belittling people, making fun of people. That's not how I want to learn with people. Or sign up for a private mentor. It's something that I do. I save 5 days every month to work with people privately. Once again, you'll get all that information in the links in the description, but this is a time period to get started with that. 4, read books. Make sure you are really having a strong understanding of acting techniques, understanding the industry, Number 5, get an agent. Make sure it's an agent that is right for you. And once again, keep in mind there are lots of agents out there and some are better suited for you than others. And you need to learn how to prepare before your agent meeting, before you talk with the agent. You need to be doing some research about the agent so that your meeting goes as well as it possibly can. And just keep this in mind too, that if for whatever reason the agent doesn't work out, there are plenty of really good agents out there. Number 6, marketing yourself. You need to learn how to market yourself. I'm— I've always been very proactive. I have lots of agents in different markets. However, I still like being proactive. I don't like just waiting for things to happen with agents. Most of the time, if I book something on my own, I'll still send it through an agent for a whole variety of reasons. A couple— I don't want to deal with any issues that might come up personally. I want an agent to handle that for me. If there are negotiations that need to take place, I don't want to do negotiations. That's not my job. I'm an actor. I want my agent to do it. And also, the agent might be able to get me more money than me because the agent will know very specifically what's the proper amount that I should be getting paid. Maybe the agent can ask for more money. So those are the 6. Look, if you found this helpful, subscribe and click the notification bell so you always know when I upload a new video. If you like it, give it a thumbs up. That's always very helpful. And please let us know What is your checklist for 2026? What things are you working on? Love to hear it. Share it in the, in the comments below. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya.
