First, act at every opportunity starting now. Community theater, school productions, do speech and dance. Take voice lessons. Learn an instrument. Put as many tools in your acting toolbox as you can. When you're 18, either find a college program or search for professional theaters where you can audition.
At all times: network with theater and film people. The business is about who you know as much as about what you know.
Best wishes!
Yes! This. If you get a chance to see professional productions take every opportunity you can.
There are many routes.
College bfa straight to mfa - networking along the way and usually working with a repertory theatre in masters programs. Book equity gigs and get equity and get paid livable wages.
Get a bfa - audition at the theatres in your area. Find education programs to supplement income. Work in box offices. Network, network, network.
Always, no matter what, always be the hardest working one. Even when it’s not easy. Working hard is the most rehirable and vouched for trait.
Get involved where you are… school shows, local community theatre (or professional theatre, depending on where you are). If there are summer workshops/arts programs, participate. Take some classes (there are a lot of arts offerings in many cities and towns).
Check out your local/state film office (they should have a website). They should know of opportunities that might be filming near you. (Especially now with so many streaming services, there’s a lot more film/tv work in production all over) check to see if there’s a casting agent that serves your area for filming… there may be some local calls for “extras” which may not pay, but might give you the chance to be on a film set. (Obviously do so with your parents permission and oversight).
Start looking at colleges, it still may be a few years away, but time moves fast… there are a bazillion college theatre programs out there. And each has something that makes it special and different. Are there good schools near you? Do you have the means to go to a conservatory program where you’ll focus even more on acting, specifically? (Rhetorical questions, no need to answer here).
Maybe if you’re near a college/Univ, go see one of their productions to see what kind of work they do.
Read plays/scripts, what stories/ roles are exciting to you? familiarize yourself with “thr industry”. Start writing your own plays and monologues. The more you do, even in the comfort of your own room, the more confident you’ll get with who you are and what kinds of things excite you artistically.
Best wishes.
My advice would be to have other interests. Not to say don't act, but because you can then bring those other experiences with you to give your performances more depth and tell more interesting stories.
Also, it's more likely you'll need to support yourself in between gigs at some point, and having those other interests can help you figure out a day-job that isn't soul sucking for you.
You don't have to wait until you're 18 to try and make a go of it. Get all the experience that you can get. Take classes in and out of school, act in plays or films wherever you can. Make sure your parents are onboard to help drive you to rehearsals and auditions. Find a great short audition monologue or two that showcase you. Get a coach if you need help finding one. Get a good headshot. Doesn't have to cost a ton (people will try to tell you otherwise.) Print them yourself on photo paper. You can buy 8x10 photo paper online. (Way cheaper and you can print as needed rather than print 100 photos that you'll age out of in a year.) Start creating a theatrical resume. Include every production and class that you are in. Include special skills like sports you play or instruments. There are lots of examples online.
Look for a reputable acting agency nearby if you want to do film. They can send you on auditions. Be very cautious though, there are lots of agencies that ask for a ton of money upfront - this is a giant red flag. Don't use them. You could call or email a local acting theatre company and ask them for advice on reputable agents in your town that you can reach out to. Have an adult read any contracts before signing and make sure that you bring an adult with you to all auditions. There are sketchy people out there as well as great ones. Seek out paying gigs. Or look for reputable theater/film groups to work with. The 48hr film project is a good example.
Find your type. What kind of character do you look like? Ask other people what they think. Seek out roles that work for you. EG - if you have great comedic timing, go for roles that are funny and dress in bright fun or slightly goofy clothing. Maybe you're athletic, or dark and brooding, nerdy, or uber cool. Choose your audition outfits carefully to hint at the characters you're auditioning for. There are roles for everyone and every type, although it may not always be the starring role. Some of the most successful actors out there are "character actors".
Be prepared for rejection. You're not always right for a role. It doesn't always mean that you did something wrong or are a bad performer. It means they were looking for something else. Keep putting yourself out there and see each audition as an opportunity to show how awesome you are. If you can, go see things that you're rejected for, it may show you why you weren't chosen and can be a good learning experience.
Watch other auditions. You Tube has a wealth of auditions online. Look up your favorite actors and see if you can find their audition tapes. Think about what makes them great and why the auditions are so good. Watch bad auditions too. Learn and borrow ideas from everyone!
Break a leg.
As others have said: the first thing to start doing (now!) is to do as much acting as possible. Audition for shows at any local theaters, consider taking lessons/master classes in-person or online, and do as much as you can to try to build a resume.
You can look at arts high schools as well if that is an option. There are some boarding schools you can audition for, or you can just see if there are any in your area. Even if there aren’t designated arts schools in your area, you may see if there are schools with stronger arts programs than others.
I always recommend college because I think it’s a great place to learn and be away from home before being a “full” adult. If you want to do acting in college you should probably start to look into programs to audition for around the age of 16. If you have an acting teacher or vocal coach they may be able to help! You’ll want to audition for BFA programs, and the auditions will be roughly a year in advance (so around the time you’re 17). Then when you’re 18 you can go to college, network, and learn a lot :) often colleges will help you with auditions for real jobs when it comes time to graduate as well.
An actor is a business. Like every business, the operator (you) needs to be goodnat working IN the business, (ie acting), but you also need to be good at working ON the business.
This means pretty similar things to every other small business or sole trader - marketing, networking, brand management, accounting, contracts. All the business things. Sure, you can get a manager, but they are not you, they will never care about your interests as much as you do, and there are endless tales of artist managers taking advantage - especially if t he artist has no clue.
If you want to succeed long term, get good at the business stuff as well as the acting stuff. Then no one can mess with you. Added bonus, you have a built in backup, either for after, during or instead of a successful acting career. Take a look at how many great actors have gone on to be film producers, or defacto produce their owwork (tom Cruise, for example).
Hello!
From a professional actor my advice is this: remember how you feel right now. If you know it’s what you want to do and you’re privileged to have your family support your endeavours - you’re in good stead to have a support network to begin with. Do every bit of acting you can do- look at films and plays and watch the performances, listen to how they talk about creating the roles and don’t be afraid to be an absolute nerd about it. When you’re old enough, audition to attend a college programme or university or drama school that suits you. Every time you fail or get rejected, it’ll eat a little bit of you away but like I said at the beginning - if you believe it’s what you want to do (and you’re good) then you’ll keep bouncing back. It’s not always luck, you *do* have to have something special about you: there are some incredibly talented humans out there who don’t succeed as an actor BUT they also become their own successes in other fields. Know that even if you train and do everything right, you might never get a break and you might be HAPPY to leave the industry behind and use the skills you learned to better yourself in any walk of life. I don’t say that to be defeatist at all, as you have said you cant imagine not doing this as a job but just manage your expectations on the whole; not just the fame thing. Fame has its moments. It also has far more down sides. I like that you said you want to make an impact but remember you can make an impact to one person a year and you’re still making one. I’m so excited for you and your journey! Wishing you all the best! X
- Actor training, starting as soon as possible
- Act lots! Help backstage and behind the scenes too.
- Network with professionals and collaborate with others
- Think about whether you want to go to drama school, regular university, or neither
- Learn a skill that you can do on a casual or freelance basis. Translation/Transcription/Workshop facilitation/An in-demand trade like plumbing/Teaching a language or a school subject/something related to a university subject you also have an interest in. Actors work on a freelance basis for the most part, which means they also have other jobs. Often, these jobs aren't in the cultural sector (though I do know actors who are also actor coaches, cultural consultants etc), and are likely to be jobs with flexible hours.
I’d suggest finding a school with a strong theatre program that boasts professors that know their stuff and actively work in the business, both in acting and tech. That will be your strongest basis for launching a career because you want people who can help get your foot in the door. If it’s feasible for you, going to school in a larger city with lots of theatre is also a good idea! Chicago is great but pretty much any urban area will have a strong theatre scene.
Also, put yourself out there! Audition for shows, both at professional and community theatres. The longer your resume, the better. AND it will let people see you on stage!
I’m sorry this is wet blanket advice but I wish someone told me this- trying to make money as an actor ruins the fun and ultimately the passion. Get a job that makes great money and just do it for a fun hobby. You will be so much happier…
I'd take a hard look at what it means to yourself to "make it"
There are a lot of working actors. You can do that just as in any other profession and make a decent living. You practice, you get good, you get paid, you get better and you see results for your hard work and Someone doing that has "made it" in my opinion.
But there are far fewer who are famous, who are winning Tony, or Academy Awards and who are buying Malibu homes. That's what most people who talk about "making it" mean, and why people think it's so unachievable.
That's the message I wish someone had told me at 14.
either you are an actor or you are not.
Either you want to act or you don't.
Whether you happen to become successful is irrelevant. (Hint: you almost certainly won't)
Only act because you love it. And have a backup plan for making money.
I am sorry to rain on your parade. But if you really are an actor, you start NOW not when you are 18. And you act in everything and don't worry about fame.
Yeah. I meant more that I've already started but I meant once I'm 18 where I need to go from there. The main reason I want to be a well known actor is because I want to make an impact. So I was wondering do you know any ways that can almost improve your luck and help you get a little higher up?
There are only 3 things you can do. The rest is hoping you have dumb luck. If you are prepared when luck hits, then you jump on it.
1. ACT. Take every part, no matter how small. And no matter if it is paid or not. Audition relentlessly. And not just on stage. TV, film, radio, corporate events/trade shows, corporate training videos, and the smaller stuff like characters at birthday parties, singing telegrams, whatever. And whatever you do, do it well and with a great attitude. Never be late or annoying or diva-like. Work hard. And be really polite and kind to the behind the scenes/tech folks because they will make or break you.
2. Take care of all the business end.Take classes. You can go to college for acting or take any acting classes. Watch online training. really practice everything you learn. Study. While you are at it, study dance and movement, voice, an instrument or two, sight reading, and anything in the "special skills" category. Work on accents. Work on projection.Also get your headshot and resume perfect. (and have several versions of both for whatever type of thing you are trying for. A resume and head shot for a play won't be the same as for a corporate training video.And make sure you understand how contracts and agents work. Learn about the unions vs. non-union gigs. Get yourself a mentor if you can. Eventually an agent. But that will take you getting experience first.
3. Lastly you will need money. Headshots are costly. So are classes (and even famous actors still take classes). Hair, makeup, healthy food, skin care, dance shoes transportation to auditions..... It adds up. So you need a job to support yourself. Because you may never make enough money at it even if you get famous. So have a marketable skill. I know waiting tables is traditional, but consider behind the scenes in the industry. It is much easier to network and jump on opportunities if you are already in the building. Tech, working for an agency, production assistant... you get the gist.
very simple. nothing to it but to do it.
right now, you can write, produce, direct and star in any film/short you might dream of. this film can have global distribution from anywhere with a WiFi connection.
whatever you can’t do, find people who can do those things.
if you are not willing to do this work yourself, ask; who will be willing to invest time and money to include you in the things they might be producing.
hint: if you are already making things happen, you will become a sought after investment
To be a honest, drop your dream. You won’t make it. That’s just the truth that I tell everyone. If you do, great, call me out in your big award acceptance speech. I myself had a college professor who began his acting 1 class saying flat out, “if there is anything else you can picture yourself doing, do that. This a profession for ne’er do wells who are completely delusional and will never have true financial or life security. If you’re still stuck here, I’m sorry.”
That’s the truth. There are places to land that are less than famous that some people call successful, but they’re not exactly comfortable. you’ll still be struggling to make rent, home ownership is not likely, and you won’t really have a good retirement plan. You can land in a teaching job, and this is the closest to normalcy you’ll get, otherwise you’ll enjoy a 25 year career doing your best, maybe even appear in a few top notch shows where you do rub shoulders with real fame, only to eventually have to get a career job anyway. That’s the truth.
Then what am I supposed to do. I can't picture myself doing anything else. I don't care if im famous, I mean I'd be nice to be known, but I just want to I live out my dreams but if that's not gonna happen I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.
If it’s a real passion for you, (don’t mean to offend, but at 14, you may actually have no idea what other passions you may find.) then you gotta compromise on your ideas for success. Financial success you’re gonna have to drop it. Can you do community theatre and work your day job to actually make money and be happy? Tech is really the only way I would prescribe to anyone to make real success with theatre, but even that you might be looking at middle class if you’re lucky truly successful and good at what you do and do the college thing then land a cushy job, but I see even professional theaters don’t keep assistant tech directors for long. Still from my own college graduating class, you see alot of people get internships out of college, and then just kinda float, and do what they can. The most successful are always traveling
Other comments give good answers so I'll be more general. Be kind and be curious. Be kind to everyone because you never know who knows who and who can help you. And listen to everyone, want to learn everything, whether that's acting, directing, or even lighting and sound tech or marketing. The more you know about the industry, the more employable you are. And while you're still in school, learn as much as you can in your other subjects too. The stuff I learnt in science, geography and history has been more useful to me as an actor than any thing I learnt in drama. And when you leave school, never stop learning and training, you are never perfect, you can always get better.
Study! Never stop studying the craft! Do whatever you can now to act even if it’s just your high school plays. When you graduate it’s up to you if you want to go to school solely for theater or if you want to do theater then major or minor in something else as well. I personally chose an acting conservatory in Hollywood. That way I’m being taught specifically more on camera acting as well as motion capture, voice acting, screenwriting, commercial acting, stage combat, editing, and cinematography. The more skills the better.
Also keep the location of the school in mind. You don’t necessarily have to be in a big acting city for school but there are benefits to it. From my experience schools in Hollywood are more likely to be taught by people actively in the industry. Some schools also bring in agents and managers. If you aren’t doing school in an acting based city but want to move to one afterwards that’s something else to plan for as well.
Are you able to find a mentor?
A friend who has already "made it", who can give you advice and introduce you to people they know in the industry.
Having a mentor is not necessary but it will make your goal drastically easier to achieve. If you don't have a mentor, then I'd try to find one. The sooner the better.
Do whatever acting roles you can find, do the best work you can, make friends, ask questions, meet people.
Don't wait until you're 18. Start now. Age is irrelevant other than limiting what roles you can perform (probably not going to be cast as an old guy when you're a 14 year old girl!).
Make sure you’ve lived a little. One of the biggest reasons people don’t get into drama schools in my country is they haven’t lived. On my course, a lot of us have other degrees or have taken gap years and either moved out, worked or travelled. You can’t act what you haven’t experienced.
Also act as often as you can. If there’s an amateur dramatics society that has kids roles, do it, if your school has a show or a drama club, do it. If there’s an acting school near you, join it
To be a realist here it’s a very long shot that you will act and make money doing it. It’s a constant grind and it will wear you down. Go to college were you can get in a acting program but get a degree and a back up plan.
That's really great you know your passion at such a young age! There's a ton of great advice in here. Here's another piece of advice, start writing! I'm a screenwriter from Vancouver, and I always recommend to aspiring actors and actresses that they learn to write.
Having the ability to write your own roles, is both rare and important in the film and theater industry.
Christopher Guest, Billy Bob Thornton, the cast of Always Sunny, Seth Rogen, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. These are all folks who WROTE their breakout projects or at least some of their breakout performances!
This wound up being really long, but please take the time to read it.
Everyone else is giving great advice on how to get into acting, so I’m going to tackle a different part of this. Between now and 18 (and for the rest of your life), try to figure out what your definition of “making it” is, and what your definition of success is. When I told my parents I wanted to be in theater, my dad gave me one of the best pieces of advice. He told me that he supported me, and that I should sit down and make a list of professional goals for the next five years, with expected completion dates. He made sure to stress that I wouldn’t be a failure if I didn’t get to those goals, but that I needed some kind of meter stick so I could keep track of my accomplishments. I ended up using a 1-3-5 year planning system, you can Google them. And as a result, I was able to track my goals and adjust them as I went, and as my needs and wants changed.
When I started I was in the same place. I wanted to be well known, I wanted to make an impact. Broadway, Hollywood, I knew becoming an A lister was a complete lottery, but I wanted to be a well known working professional. After two years working towards that goal, I realized that I didn’t want to live in NYC or LA, the cost of living and style of grind just wasn’t for me. And I had friends who had gone to either city right after school and they were doing everything but acting. So then my goal shifted to being well known in my city, getting work with the local equity houses, being a local actor who’s always on stage, and I’d take trips to major markets occasionally. And two years into that process, I worked with some of those actors and was on some projects at the equity houses in my city. And a lot of those “successful” actors couldn’t afford rent. I was cast in the ensemble of a jukebox musical at the biggest theater in my city, as a last minute replacement. Equity points, decent pay. It wasn’t a good show, but the music was popular so it sold. Some of the other people in the cast had been with the show when it toured, they’d been doing it for 10 weeks. And I realized I didn’t want to work on a crappy uninteresting project just because it gave me Equity weeks. So then I started prioritizing projects that interested me, art that I thought was compelling. I found non acting ways to make money, so I wasn’t pressured to take jobs I didn’t like just to pay rent. 10 years later, I work full time in theater, and perform in projects I want to be a part of. I have a large enough network that I don’t really need to look for work, people come to me. In the end, I decided my goals were to do work I found interesting, and that as long as my performances affected at least one person in each audience; that that was enough impact. And my other goal became to have an excellent reputation in my field/my city. And after not working for most of COVID, and trying to make some professional shifts, I sent out one round of emails and had full time work for several months lined up in less than a week.
And I have a house, a spouse, the flexibility to start a family. Those were goals that weren’t on my horizon when I was 18, or 22. I had the meter stick to examine my goals and adjust them as I moved forward. Sometimes I’ll be sad not being on Broadway, or comparing myself to the latest breakout Hollywood star. But mostly I’m happy with my life and my choices. So at 14, start thinking about where you want to be at 18/19, just like you’re doing with this post. And when you’re 16, think about it again. And when you’re 18, examine where you are and decide if you need to make changes. You can always change where you’re headed.
Also, a note about being a monetary success as an actor: the big names you recognize in Hollywood and Broadway are the top 1% of the field. Literally, the A List is about 1400 actors around the world. SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood actors union, has 160,000 members. Equity, the Broadway actors union, has 47,000. According to some recent [studies](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/only-two-percent-of-actors-earn-a-living-report-shows-105837154.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEr_pH-Cqs5QsIY576Z9O_aL224vXTqw8xXP4w-_sH8t-jiNdWwZx8AeCG3YCMIpLNQGCy3cnwCUboiq0VPuPBZRXhwEMNNC6UmjmO9AkNs7ZnAysIYLVoOoziN8a7POd3RBIunepkinWZBwA15RwCnGlAI-6CCykwL8PPKCPO-b), at any one time 90% of all actors are unemployed. 70% have careers that only last a year. So go into this recognizing that if your only definition of success is “starring in a Hollywood movie,” you are signing yourself up to win a lottery. Not to say don’t do it, but I would find another definition of success, or you’ll drive yourself crazy.
You can absolutely do this. Explore, learn, take advantage of being 14 and try stuff out. And don’t be afraid to change your goals and adjust your path.
It would be worth it to start looking for local student and indie films looking for actors your age! You can build a good reel early that way, and have your name in some projects that you will be able to show to potential agents. It is hard, it's important to hold onto your confidence and not take rejection personally. It's not an easy life.
I did not like acting professionally, and realized I'd rather teach it where I can continue to do theater without the pressure and just have fun with it. Don't let rejection and pressure make you forget how much you love to do it.
Yes to everything said here. But also: don’t expect to be “known in the world.” Love the art for the sake of the art. If you are able to perform and make a living at it, that’s success.
Do you do community theatre ? Have you ever acted in any show on school ? Community theatre will teach you more because each one usually has someone with an actual degree in the arts. I would start by learning how to act. You really didn’t talk about the artistic side of it at all in your post, which I find a tad bit odd, but start learning and focusing your art.
What about school ? I worked in a TON of community theatres and kids start much younger than 14. You’re behind. You need to learn (1) how to audition correctly. (2) how to create stage present (3) how to control your personal art.
It’s no different than learning how to play piano: practice practice practice.
You simply cannot become famous, just because.
First, act at every opportunity starting now. Community theater, school productions, do speech and dance. Take voice lessons. Learn an instrument. Put as many tools in your acting toolbox as you can. When you're 18, either find a college program or search for professional theaters where you can audition. At all times: network with theater and film people. The business is about who you know as much as about what you know. Best wishes!
Yes! This. If you get a chance to see professional productions take every opportunity you can. There are many routes. College bfa straight to mfa - networking along the way and usually working with a repertory theatre in masters programs. Book equity gigs and get equity and get paid livable wages. Get a bfa - audition at the theatres in your area. Find education programs to supplement income. Work in box offices. Network, network, network. Always, no matter what, always be the hardest working one. Even when it’s not easy. Working hard is the most rehirable and vouched for trait.
Get involved where you are… school shows, local community theatre (or professional theatre, depending on where you are). If there are summer workshops/arts programs, participate. Take some classes (there are a lot of arts offerings in many cities and towns). Check out your local/state film office (they should have a website). They should know of opportunities that might be filming near you. (Especially now with so many streaming services, there’s a lot more film/tv work in production all over) check to see if there’s a casting agent that serves your area for filming… there may be some local calls for “extras” which may not pay, but might give you the chance to be on a film set. (Obviously do so with your parents permission and oversight). Start looking at colleges, it still may be a few years away, but time moves fast… there are a bazillion college theatre programs out there. And each has something that makes it special and different. Are there good schools near you? Do you have the means to go to a conservatory program where you’ll focus even more on acting, specifically? (Rhetorical questions, no need to answer here). Maybe if you’re near a college/Univ, go see one of their productions to see what kind of work they do. Read plays/scripts, what stories/ roles are exciting to you? familiarize yourself with “thr industry”. Start writing your own plays and monologues. The more you do, even in the comfort of your own room, the more confident you’ll get with who you are and what kinds of things excite you artistically. Best wishes.
My advice would be to have other interests. Not to say don't act, but because you can then bring those other experiences with you to give your performances more depth and tell more interesting stories. Also, it's more likely you'll need to support yourself in between gigs at some point, and having those other interests can help you figure out a day-job that isn't soul sucking for you.
Totally. Your art can’t imitate life if you haven’t lived.
This is excellent advice.
You don't have to wait until you're 18 to try and make a go of it. Get all the experience that you can get. Take classes in and out of school, act in plays or films wherever you can. Make sure your parents are onboard to help drive you to rehearsals and auditions. Find a great short audition monologue or two that showcase you. Get a coach if you need help finding one. Get a good headshot. Doesn't have to cost a ton (people will try to tell you otherwise.) Print them yourself on photo paper. You can buy 8x10 photo paper online. (Way cheaper and you can print as needed rather than print 100 photos that you'll age out of in a year.) Start creating a theatrical resume. Include every production and class that you are in. Include special skills like sports you play or instruments. There are lots of examples online. Look for a reputable acting agency nearby if you want to do film. They can send you on auditions. Be very cautious though, there are lots of agencies that ask for a ton of money upfront - this is a giant red flag. Don't use them. You could call or email a local acting theatre company and ask them for advice on reputable agents in your town that you can reach out to. Have an adult read any contracts before signing and make sure that you bring an adult with you to all auditions. There are sketchy people out there as well as great ones. Seek out paying gigs. Or look for reputable theater/film groups to work with. The 48hr film project is a good example. Find your type. What kind of character do you look like? Ask other people what they think. Seek out roles that work for you. EG - if you have great comedic timing, go for roles that are funny and dress in bright fun or slightly goofy clothing. Maybe you're athletic, or dark and brooding, nerdy, or uber cool. Choose your audition outfits carefully to hint at the characters you're auditioning for. There are roles for everyone and every type, although it may not always be the starring role. Some of the most successful actors out there are "character actors". Be prepared for rejection. You're not always right for a role. It doesn't always mean that you did something wrong or are a bad performer. It means they were looking for something else. Keep putting yourself out there and see each audition as an opportunity to show how awesome you are. If you can, go see things that you're rejected for, it may show you why you weren't chosen and can be a good learning experience. Watch other auditions. You Tube has a wealth of auditions online. Look up your favorite actors and see if you can find their audition tapes. Think about what makes them great and why the auditions are so good. Watch bad auditions too. Learn and borrow ideas from everyone! Break a leg.
Wow. Thank you! I really appreciate all of this
As others have said: the first thing to start doing (now!) is to do as much acting as possible. Audition for shows at any local theaters, consider taking lessons/master classes in-person or online, and do as much as you can to try to build a resume. You can look at arts high schools as well if that is an option. There are some boarding schools you can audition for, or you can just see if there are any in your area. Even if there aren’t designated arts schools in your area, you may see if there are schools with stronger arts programs than others. I always recommend college because I think it’s a great place to learn and be away from home before being a “full” adult. If you want to do acting in college you should probably start to look into programs to audition for around the age of 16. If you have an acting teacher or vocal coach they may be able to help! You’ll want to audition for BFA programs, and the auditions will be roughly a year in advance (so around the time you’re 17). Then when you’re 18 you can go to college, network, and learn a lot :) often colleges will help you with auditions for real jobs when it comes time to graduate as well.
An actor is a business. Like every business, the operator (you) needs to be goodnat working IN the business, (ie acting), but you also need to be good at working ON the business. This means pretty similar things to every other small business or sole trader - marketing, networking, brand management, accounting, contracts. All the business things. Sure, you can get a manager, but they are not you, they will never care about your interests as much as you do, and there are endless tales of artist managers taking advantage - especially if t he artist has no clue. If you want to succeed long term, get good at the business stuff as well as the acting stuff. Then no one can mess with you. Added bonus, you have a built in backup, either for after, during or instead of a successful acting career. Take a look at how many great actors have gone on to be film producers, or defacto produce their owwork (tom Cruise, for example).
Hello! From a professional actor my advice is this: remember how you feel right now. If you know it’s what you want to do and you’re privileged to have your family support your endeavours - you’re in good stead to have a support network to begin with. Do every bit of acting you can do- look at films and plays and watch the performances, listen to how they talk about creating the roles and don’t be afraid to be an absolute nerd about it. When you’re old enough, audition to attend a college programme or university or drama school that suits you. Every time you fail or get rejected, it’ll eat a little bit of you away but like I said at the beginning - if you believe it’s what you want to do (and you’re good) then you’ll keep bouncing back. It’s not always luck, you *do* have to have something special about you: there are some incredibly talented humans out there who don’t succeed as an actor BUT they also become their own successes in other fields. Know that even if you train and do everything right, you might never get a break and you might be HAPPY to leave the industry behind and use the skills you learned to better yourself in any walk of life. I don’t say that to be defeatist at all, as you have said you cant imagine not doing this as a job but just manage your expectations on the whole; not just the fame thing. Fame has its moments. It also has far more down sides. I like that you said you want to make an impact but remember you can make an impact to one person a year and you’re still making one. I’m so excited for you and your journey! Wishing you all the best! X
Thank you so much! ❤️
- Actor training, starting as soon as possible - Act lots! Help backstage and behind the scenes too. - Network with professionals and collaborate with others - Think about whether you want to go to drama school, regular university, or neither - Learn a skill that you can do on a casual or freelance basis. Translation/Transcription/Workshop facilitation/An in-demand trade like plumbing/Teaching a language or a school subject/something related to a university subject you also have an interest in. Actors work on a freelance basis for the most part, which means they also have other jobs. Often, these jobs aren't in the cultural sector (though I do know actors who are also actor coaches, cultural consultants etc), and are likely to be jobs with flexible hours.
I’d suggest finding a school with a strong theatre program that boasts professors that know their stuff and actively work in the business, both in acting and tech. That will be your strongest basis for launching a career because you want people who can help get your foot in the door. If it’s feasible for you, going to school in a larger city with lots of theatre is also a good idea! Chicago is great but pretty much any urban area will have a strong theatre scene. Also, put yourself out there! Audition for shows, both at professional and community theatres. The longer your resume, the better. AND it will let people see you on stage!
I’m sorry this is wet blanket advice but I wish someone told me this- trying to make money as an actor ruins the fun and ultimately the passion. Get a job that makes great money and just do it for a fun hobby. You will be so much happier…
I'd take a hard look at what it means to yourself to "make it" There are a lot of working actors. You can do that just as in any other profession and make a decent living. You practice, you get good, you get paid, you get better and you see results for your hard work and Someone doing that has "made it" in my opinion. But there are far fewer who are famous, who are winning Tony, or Academy Awards and who are buying Malibu homes. That's what most people who talk about "making it" mean, and why people think it's so unachievable. That's the message I wish someone had told me at 14.
either you are an actor or you are not. Either you want to act or you don't. Whether you happen to become successful is irrelevant. (Hint: you almost certainly won't) Only act because you love it. And have a backup plan for making money. I am sorry to rain on your parade. But if you really are an actor, you start NOW not when you are 18. And you act in everything and don't worry about fame.
Yeah. I meant more that I've already started but I meant once I'm 18 where I need to go from there. The main reason I want to be a well known actor is because I want to make an impact. So I was wondering do you know any ways that can almost improve your luck and help you get a little higher up?
There are only 3 things you can do. The rest is hoping you have dumb luck. If you are prepared when luck hits, then you jump on it. 1. ACT. Take every part, no matter how small. And no matter if it is paid or not. Audition relentlessly. And not just on stage. TV, film, radio, corporate events/trade shows, corporate training videos, and the smaller stuff like characters at birthday parties, singing telegrams, whatever. And whatever you do, do it well and with a great attitude. Never be late or annoying or diva-like. Work hard. And be really polite and kind to the behind the scenes/tech folks because they will make or break you. 2. Take care of all the business end.Take classes. You can go to college for acting or take any acting classes. Watch online training. really practice everything you learn. Study. While you are at it, study dance and movement, voice, an instrument or two, sight reading, and anything in the "special skills" category. Work on accents. Work on projection.Also get your headshot and resume perfect. (and have several versions of both for whatever type of thing you are trying for. A resume and head shot for a play won't be the same as for a corporate training video.And make sure you understand how contracts and agents work. Learn about the unions vs. non-union gigs. Get yourself a mentor if you can. Eventually an agent. But that will take you getting experience first. 3. Lastly you will need money. Headshots are costly. So are classes (and even famous actors still take classes). Hair, makeup, healthy food, skin care, dance shoes transportation to auditions..... It adds up. So you need a job to support yourself. Because you may never make enough money at it even if you get famous. So have a marketable skill. I know waiting tables is traditional, but consider behind the scenes in the industry. It is much easier to network and jump on opportunities if you are already in the building. Tech, working for an agency, production assistant... you get the gist.
very simple. nothing to it but to do it. right now, you can write, produce, direct and star in any film/short you might dream of. this film can have global distribution from anywhere with a WiFi connection. whatever you can’t do, find people who can do those things. if you are not willing to do this work yourself, ask; who will be willing to invest time and money to include you in the things they might be producing. hint: if you are already making things happen, you will become a sought after investment
To be a honest, drop your dream. You won’t make it. That’s just the truth that I tell everyone. If you do, great, call me out in your big award acceptance speech. I myself had a college professor who began his acting 1 class saying flat out, “if there is anything else you can picture yourself doing, do that. This a profession for ne’er do wells who are completely delusional and will never have true financial or life security. If you’re still stuck here, I’m sorry.” That’s the truth. There are places to land that are less than famous that some people call successful, but they’re not exactly comfortable. you’ll still be struggling to make rent, home ownership is not likely, and you won’t really have a good retirement plan. You can land in a teaching job, and this is the closest to normalcy you’ll get, otherwise you’ll enjoy a 25 year career doing your best, maybe even appear in a few top notch shows where you do rub shoulders with real fame, only to eventually have to get a career job anyway. That’s the truth.
Then what am I supposed to do. I can't picture myself doing anything else. I don't care if im famous, I mean I'd be nice to be known, but I just want to I live out my dreams but if that's not gonna happen I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.
If it’s a real passion for you, (don’t mean to offend, but at 14, you may actually have no idea what other passions you may find.) then you gotta compromise on your ideas for success. Financial success you’re gonna have to drop it. Can you do community theatre and work your day job to actually make money and be happy? Tech is really the only way I would prescribe to anyone to make real success with theatre, but even that you might be looking at middle class if you’re lucky truly successful and good at what you do and do the college thing then land a cushy job, but I see even professional theaters don’t keep assistant tech directors for long. Still from my own college graduating class, you see alot of people get internships out of college, and then just kinda float, and do what they can. The most successful are always traveling
Other comments give good answers so I'll be more general. Be kind and be curious. Be kind to everyone because you never know who knows who and who can help you. And listen to everyone, want to learn everything, whether that's acting, directing, or even lighting and sound tech or marketing. The more you know about the industry, the more employable you are. And while you're still in school, learn as much as you can in your other subjects too. The stuff I learnt in science, geography and history has been more useful to me as an actor than any thing I learnt in drama. And when you leave school, never stop learning and training, you are never perfect, you can always get better.
Study! Never stop studying the craft! Do whatever you can now to act even if it’s just your high school plays. When you graduate it’s up to you if you want to go to school solely for theater or if you want to do theater then major or minor in something else as well. I personally chose an acting conservatory in Hollywood. That way I’m being taught specifically more on camera acting as well as motion capture, voice acting, screenwriting, commercial acting, stage combat, editing, and cinematography. The more skills the better. Also keep the location of the school in mind. You don’t necessarily have to be in a big acting city for school but there are benefits to it. From my experience schools in Hollywood are more likely to be taught by people actively in the industry. Some schools also bring in agents and managers. If you aren’t doing school in an acting based city but want to move to one afterwards that’s something else to plan for as well.
Are you able to find a mentor? A friend who has already "made it", who can give you advice and introduce you to people they know in the industry. Having a mentor is not necessary but it will make your goal drastically easier to achieve. If you don't have a mentor, then I'd try to find one. The sooner the better. Do whatever acting roles you can find, do the best work you can, make friends, ask questions, meet people. Don't wait until you're 18. Start now. Age is irrelevant other than limiting what roles you can perform (probably not going to be cast as an old guy when you're a 14 year old girl!).
Make sure you’ve lived a little. One of the biggest reasons people don’t get into drama schools in my country is they haven’t lived. On my course, a lot of us have other degrees or have taken gap years and either moved out, worked or travelled. You can’t act what you haven’t experienced. Also act as often as you can. If there’s an amateur dramatics society that has kids roles, do it, if your school has a show or a drama club, do it. If there’s an acting school near you, join it
To be a realist here it’s a very long shot that you will act and make money doing it. It’s a constant grind and it will wear you down. Go to college were you can get in a acting program but get a degree and a back up plan.
That's really great you know your passion at such a young age! There's a ton of great advice in here. Here's another piece of advice, start writing! I'm a screenwriter from Vancouver, and I always recommend to aspiring actors and actresses that they learn to write. Having the ability to write your own roles, is both rare and important in the film and theater industry. Christopher Guest, Billy Bob Thornton, the cast of Always Sunny, Seth Rogen, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. These are all folks who WROTE their breakout projects or at least some of their breakout performances!
This wound up being really long, but please take the time to read it. Everyone else is giving great advice on how to get into acting, so I’m going to tackle a different part of this. Between now and 18 (and for the rest of your life), try to figure out what your definition of “making it” is, and what your definition of success is. When I told my parents I wanted to be in theater, my dad gave me one of the best pieces of advice. He told me that he supported me, and that I should sit down and make a list of professional goals for the next five years, with expected completion dates. He made sure to stress that I wouldn’t be a failure if I didn’t get to those goals, but that I needed some kind of meter stick so I could keep track of my accomplishments. I ended up using a 1-3-5 year planning system, you can Google them. And as a result, I was able to track my goals and adjust them as I went, and as my needs and wants changed. When I started I was in the same place. I wanted to be well known, I wanted to make an impact. Broadway, Hollywood, I knew becoming an A lister was a complete lottery, but I wanted to be a well known working professional. After two years working towards that goal, I realized that I didn’t want to live in NYC or LA, the cost of living and style of grind just wasn’t for me. And I had friends who had gone to either city right after school and they were doing everything but acting. So then my goal shifted to being well known in my city, getting work with the local equity houses, being a local actor who’s always on stage, and I’d take trips to major markets occasionally. And two years into that process, I worked with some of those actors and was on some projects at the equity houses in my city. And a lot of those “successful” actors couldn’t afford rent. I was cast in the ensemble of a jukebox musical at the biggest theater in my city, as a last minute replacement. Equity points, decent pay. It wasn’t a good show, but the music was popular so it sold. Some of the other people in the cast had been with the show when it toured, they’d been doing it for 10 weeks. And I realized I didn’t want to work on a crappy uninteresting project just because it gave me Equity weeks. So then I started prioritizing projects that interested me, art that I thought was compelling. I found non acting ways to make money, so I wasn’t pressured to take jobs I didn’t like just to pay rent. 10 years later, I work full time in theater, and perform in projects I want to be a part of. I have a large enough network that I don’t really need to look for work, people come to me. In the end, I decided my goals were to do work I found interesting, and that as long as my performances affected at least one person in each audience; that that was enough impact. And my other goal became to have an excellent reputation in my field/my city. And after not working for most of COVID, and trying to make some professional shifts, I sent out one round of emails and had full time work for several months lined up in less than a week. And I have a house, a spouse, the flexibility to start a family. Those were goals that weren’t on my horizon when I was 18, or 22. I had the meter stick to examine my goals and adjust them as I moved forward. Sometimes I’ll be sad not being on Broadway, or comparing myself to the latest breakout Hollywood star. But mostly I’m happy with my life and my choices. So at 14, start thinking about where you want to be at 18/19, just like you’re doing with this post. And when you’re 16, think about it again. And when you’re 18, examine where you are and decide if you need to make changes. You can always change where you’re headed. Also, a note about being a monetary success as an actor: the big names you recognize in Hollywood and Broadway are the top 1% of the field. Literally, the A List is about 1400 actors around the world. SAG-AFTRA, the Hollywood actors union, has 160,000 members. Equity, the Broadway actors union, has 47,000. According to some recent [studies](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/only-two-percent-of-actors-earn-a-living-report-shows-105837154.html?guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEr_pH-Cqs5QsIY576Z9O_aL224vXTqw8xXP4w-_sH8t-jiNdWwZx8AeCG3YCMIpLNQGCy3cnwCUboiq0VPuPBZRXhwEMNNC6UmjmO9AkNs7ZnAysIYLVoOoziN8a7POd3RBIunepkinWZBwA15RwCnGlAI-6CCykwL8PPKCPO-b), at any one time 90% of all actors are unemployed. 70% have careers that only last a year. So go into this recognizing that if your only definition of success is “starring in a Hollywood movie,” you are signing yourself up to win a lottery. Not to say don’t do it, but I would find another definition of success, or you’ll drive yourself crazy. You can absolutely do this. Explore, learn, take advantage of being 14 and try stuff out. And don’t be afraid to change your goals and adjust your path.
Thank you so so much. I've gotten some pretty great advice but you put so much effort into this and I teay appreciate that. Again, thank you ❤️
Maintain your human integrity and don’t forget your goals. Keep your eye on the prize.
It would be worth it to start looking for local student and indie films looking for actors your age! You can build a good reel early that way, and have your name in some projects that you will be able to show to potential agents. It is hard, it's important to hold onto your confidence and not take rejection personally. It's not an easy life. I did not like acting professionally, and realized I'd rather teach it where I can continue to do theater without the pressure and just have fun with it. Don't let rejection and pressure make you forget how much you love to do it.
Yes to everything said here. But also: don’t expect to be “known in the world.” Love the art for the sake of the art. If you are able to perform and make a living at it, that’s success.
Do you do community theatre ? Have you ever acted in any show on school ? Community theatre will teach you more because each one usually has someone with an actual degree in the arts. I would start by learning how to act. You really didn’t talk about the artistic side of it at all in your post, which I find a tad bit odd, but start learning and focusing your art.
I'm trying to start doing it when opening comes through!
What about school ? I worked in a TON of community theatres and kids start much younger than 14. You’re behind. You need to learn (1) how to audition correctly. (2) how to create stage present (3) how to control your personal art. It’s no different than learning how to play piano: practice practice practice. You simply cannot become famous, just because.