Today is:    
Home    About Us    Contact Us   
  Actors  |  Acting Articles & Advice  |  Casting Calls & Auditions  |  Forums  |  Production Update  |  Resources  |  Video

Printable Version

Devise Your Acting Career Path
by Sarah Bennett

The moment you say that you are considering acting as your career, you see a lot of quizzical eyes and raised eyebrows. This is not without reason of course. In any other profession, you go to a school, get education, and on completion of which there would be a job you can step into. For example, if you want to become a doctor you have to go to a medical school, followed by a residence program and on successful completion you can become a doctor. Similarly, if you want to become an engineer, you need to go to an engineering school, follow it up with internships and projects and there would be an engineering job waiting for you.


In acting, the career path is not as clear as in the other professions. But there is no denying that there is a career for the discerning. You may get bogged down by the people around you because they think acting is not a serious career and that it is a career for a special kind of people.

The only problem in pursuing a career in acting is that most people don't know where to begin. For those of you who are ready to 'face the odds' as seen by your peers, here are a few ways by which you may get some clarity about acting as a career path.

Start at the beginning.
To begin with, you need an impressive acting resume. You may wonder who would give you opportunities as a beginner, but don't worry, there are ample acting jobs all around the place. In any job, you may have to start at the bottom and work your way up to the top. The same applies for a career in acting. You start with doing small acting jobs that sometimes don't even pay and slowly work your way up to bigger roles.

Work locally.
Now let's not move straight to Hollywood and try to get added to the already bustling crowd of actors, hoping to make it big there. It makes better sense to start with any large city in the United States close to your town. You may get acting roles in plays, theater, TV commercials and sometimes even feature films.

Earn acting experience.
Community theater and student films might not earn you great money, but it earns you a rich experience which you may use on your resume. If you are considering acting as a career out of greed for making big bucks and fame then you are in for a let down and may consider community theater a let down, too. You can make it big only if you see acting as your passion. This way you would act and keep acting in any role that comes your way and soon you would see that you are noticed by people who would recommend you to some bigger roles they have heard of.

Make your own big breaks.
While on plays and student films you may learn a lot of necessary traits required for becoming a successful actor. You will learn to be patient, sociable and a person who is fun to work with. Once your resume looks impressive enough with such roles you may consider trying for movie extras in the big budget movies. As an extra you get to learn and understand what really happens in the filmmaking process and you are also in the vicinity of producers, directors and talent agents who may just discover your talent and send your career rocketing up. Only remember that you should not disturb these busy people, you may want to get their attention by exhibiting your talent on the job and not by bragging or showing off.

Though there is some confusion on where to begin when you are considering acting as your career, once you've tackled this hurdle, you're in the game and you will find that you can easily overcome such teething trouble to become a successful actor.



Copyright © Sarah Bennett. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the author. Not to be reproduced or distributed.




Related Articles
 How Do You Build A Successful Acting Career?
 Seven Steps for a Successful Acting Career
 The Secret to Showbiz Success
 A Simple Tip for Acting Success
 Acting Success Tips
 Devise Your Acting Career Path
 Acting and Reality
 Preparing For The Beast
 Overcoming the Myth of Hollywood
 Are You Ready for Hollywood?
 The Actor's Sanity Test
 Aim For the Stars
 Become a Star
 An Interview with Talent Agent Angela Morris
 An Interview with Casting Director Judy Belshe

More Articles by Sarah Bennett
 How to Become an Actor
 Step by Step Guide to Becoming an Actor
 Building an Acting Résumé
 Creating the Perfect Acting Résumé
 Seven Steps for a Successful Acting Career
 Devise Your Acting Career Path

Reader Comments
No comments exist yet.
Be the first to post a comment on this page.

Post Your Comments      
(Message Rules)
Name:
Message:
Verification code:



Home  |  Articles
You Can Be a Movie Extra!
Want to appear in a movie or be seen on TV? All films and television shows need movie extras. Looks don't matter, education doesn't matter and your age doesn't matter. Anyone can be a movie extra. And producers and casting directors are searching for extras now.
www.moviex.com
 Acting Articles & Advice
 Become a Movie Extra - It's Easy
 How to Become an Actor
 First Steps to Becoming an Actor
 Getting Started in Film Acting
 Break into Showbiz
 Tips for the Beginning Actor
 About Talent Agents
 About Casting Directors
 Casting Calls Yell Be Discovered!
 The Casting Process Explained
 Where to Learn Film Acting
 Acting is a Talent
 Acting Tips Not Taught in Drama Class
 How to Write an Actor's Résumé
 Grab the Casting Directors' Attention
 How to Find a Talent Agent
 Meeting with a Talent Agent
 Audition Rejection - Don't Take It Personally
 Audition Basics
 More...
 TV Production / Casting Calls / Auditions
 24
 Bones
 Cold Case
 CSI
 CSI: Miami
 CSI: New York
 Desperate Housewives
 Ghost Whisperer
 Grey's Anatomy
 Heroes
 House, M.D.
 Lost
 Medium
 Numbers
 One Tree Hill
 Prison Break
 Supernatural
 The Office
 Ugly Betty
 More...
 Films In Development / Pre-Production
 Alien vs. Predator 2
 Batman Begins Sequel
 Dallas
 Harold and Kumar Go to Amsterdam
 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
 Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
 Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
 Jurassic Park IV
 Knight Rider
 The Punisher 2
 Scary Movie 5
 Sin City 2
 Sin City 3
 Star Trek XI
 Superman: Man of Steel
 Super Troopers 2
 Terminator 4
 Wolverine
 Wonder Woman
 More...
 Actors & Actresses in the Spotlight
 Adam Brody  Jeremy Piven  Mila Kunis
 Angelina Jolie  Jessica Alba  Mischa Barton
 Ashlee Simpson  Jessica Simpson  Rachel Bilson
 Ashton Kutcher  Johnny Depp  Scarlett Johansson
 Brad Pitt  Jude Law  Seann William Scott
 Brittany Murphy  Katherine Heigl  Shia LaBeouf
 Denzel Washington  Katie Holmes  Tobey Maguire
 Elisha Cuthbert  Lindsay Lohan  Tom Cruise
 Eva Longoria  Matt Damon  Vince Vaughn
 Hilary Duff  Matthew Perry  Will Ferrell

Actor Profiles  Acting Articles  Casting Calls & Auditions  Post Casting Notices  Crew Calls & Film Jobs  Production Update  Film Resources  Video Clips 
Copyright © 2008 Actingbiz.com. All Rights Reserved. Message Rules  Terms of Service  Privacy Policy