how do i get into the acting business? (i mean movies)?

Question

(Now, i don't mean dirty porn stuff) I was just curious how some people start their carrers as an actor (not to be famous) and just to do it because it is fun, passionate, and something they truly love doing. I've taken some acting classes at like a college, but i think they are a waste of time and they don't help you bring out your real talent. So what do you have to do to get a paying gig? (I've heard that some ppl seek out acting coaches?)

Answer 1

Most people start in the theatre and they take classes to work on their craft. If you didn't find any value in the classes you took, then find some other classes to try. My advice is to start locally at theatres and take some different classes and branch out from there. You have to stay active in those things and keep working on yourself and your craft in order to get better.

If you want to find a legitimate agent to represent you for commercials, TV & film go to Sag.org. Use the dropdown menu on the right labeled 'resources' and choose 'agent information'. On the next screen, on the left choose 'Find a SAG franchised agent' and follow the directions. You can look up agents all over the US, but there are higher concentrations where the work is (Los Angeles, NY, IL, FL, GA etc.)

Then you can send them your headshot, resume, and a cover letter stating that you are seeking representation and wait to see if they call you in for an interview.

Once you have an agent, they will get you the auditions, but until then you can check out actorsaccess.com. You can also see if your state has a film alliance. Sometimes they post audition information for projects filming locally. For theatre, you can go to backstage.com or http://www.actorsequity.org/castingcall/... If you find the audition on the Equity site, you still may be able to go, as long as their not taking appointments from equity actor's only :-) On backstage.com you have to pay to get all of the info, but the initial search is free and you may be able to see enough info to find out the rest on your own without paying.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

For a long time now, the rule has been that if you want to be in movies, you have to go to Hollywood. But the times are a-changing. With the Internet and the explosion of digital media, it's becoming less and less necessary to live in L.A. to be in pictures.

...But not just yet. For the moment, at least, all of the major (and most minor) studios are in L.A. So Hollywood is still the center of serious movie craft.

But before you pack your bags, take warning: You wouldn't be the only person in L.A. wondering how to get into movies. (You're not even the only person to ask that question in Yahoo! Answers.) So before you commit to biting the Big Orange, make sure you *really* want to do this.

Explore your options where you are. If the acting department at your college doesn't have anything more to offer, look at their film department. Find out what they could use in the way of student actors. If there aren't any, start hunting around the local community theatres, and look for frustrated filmmakers looking for frustrated actors. Start putting together your own projects. There's YouTube, at the very least.

An excellent resource for understanding "the biz" is Samuel French bookstores. (They're on the web somewhere, sorry I don't have their address.) They have lots of books about film acting, both from the business end of things and the actual acting part of it.

Also, go to the Screen Actors Guild Website (www.sag.org) and find out which office covers the area where you're working. Then give them a call and see what resources are available for you.

The trouble with acting, both as a career and a craft, is that you can't really do it by yourself. Painters can paint all alone; a writer can write wherever a pen and paper are handy; a musician can work on his chops in his basement. But you can't very well stand in the middle of your living room and practice your acting. You need others.

So do some networking with others where you are. Get stuff onto video, even if nobody ever sees it. And if you do decide to go to L.A., get ready for a hard ride. Work on your acting. DON'T rely on your talent; work -- on -- your -- acting. I say this not to put you off. You sound like you're serious about acting, but then you turn around and ask how to get a paying gig. L.A. is stuffed sick with people who are asking that very same question.

Get prepared. And good luck.

Answer 3

good question, but search it on answers and you'll see 9 pages of people who have asked this..... BUT like me , you act for the passion of the craft and thats a good start. I'm an aspiring sctor/director/producer. Im 15, and im starting off by making videos on youtube. i reccomend to go to the college- NYFA in new york, its a renound college that wil definitly make you a better actor. Good luck and god bless, as I will need it to.

Answer 4

I paintings in industrial construction. The great factor you'll be able to do, as a formative years, is to get worried with drama golf equipment, voice courses, group theater and performing workshops. Acting is a bit of special than different careers when you consider that a few children do it as a profession, however except performing is your mum and dad' dream for you, and now not simply your dream for your self, you are not able to quite get in as a formative years. Aim to get as many reports as you'll be able to. And, the largest bit of recommendation I can provide you is: if you do not get major roles, and if you are continually solid as heritage roles, and men and women not ever praise you to your proficiency... you in all probability do not have the proficiency, and you should not pursue performing as a profession. It's a tough choice to make, when you consider that it in most cases comes after years of enjoy, however it is the great choice you'll be able to make for your self. I recognize plenty of men and women who went into performing for school, and now they are graduated with out jobs, and a few of them do not even get major roles in COMMUNITY theater, when you consider that men and women who do performing/making a song as a interest are greater than they're, proficiency-smart. Sometimes, the proficiency simply should be there. That's the recommendation I can provide you! Best of good fortune in gaining enjoy!

Answer 5

first ya move to L.A. then you bug tha hell out of all the agencies, and there all in a row there, i know i once lived there......you should have no problem finding something...just watch out for all the porn...you can very easaly get pull'd into that sort of stuff, yeah you may say no not me BUT!...money rules all, and when you see that big stack of green in your hand things start looking very nice........good luck!...you will do just fine....