The TOP 10 Actor Mistakes

After 30 years of working with 1000’s of actors and being a working actor myself these are the TOP 10 PROBLEMS–where I see all actors fail DON’T WORRY I have solutions as well!!!

#1 Don’t know your SELL

So many actors’ out there don’t know “their sell”. How do you expect to get paid as an actor if you don’t know what you are selling?  You must be able to articulate your marketability.

What set’s you apart from the crowd? What role’s are you best suited for?

Solution: Make a list of 5 adjectives that would describe you and your marketability.

For instance:

Ballsy

Funny

Sexy

Nerdy

Dumpy

Make a list of 5 specific characters you could play:

For instance:

The nosey PTA mom

The gang kid that is trying to make a better life

The “mean girl”

The nerdy computer geek

The guy that lives in his mom’s basement and eats chips and pizza all day

With just a little work you now have a way of talking about yourself in an agent interview, with a headshot photographer. Knowing what your sell is will help you with all your marketing decisions.

 

 

#2 No determination or passion

• You have been meaning to get new headshots for the last 6 months.
• You have been meaning to sign up for that acting class
• You have tried everything and nothing is working!!

Solution: Go back to what made you want to be an actor in the first place. Take some time in your life to daydream. Articulate what you want your life/career to look like. Then institute the TIME VS.TASK way. 30 minutes today on that headshot dilemma you don’t have to solve the whole problem in one sitting. So call 3 photographers and see what they have to offer.

 

#3 No talent or Craft when you need it.

Solution: Make a wish list of classes, starting with classes that you need. So if you have a bad on-camera audition, go sign up for the class and fix that. Michael Chekhov said it took 20 years to become a good actor. Take that to heart and always be working on your craft.

Still need that support sign up here for a free support call with Valorie:

 

#4 Waiting for Permission

Fear/waiting for someone to give you permission to act. Nothing happening in my career—“If I only had an agent”, everything would be great.

Solution: What if you had to make a living as an actor? What if it was non-negotiable? Don’t wait for an invitation—GET IN THE GAME !!!!

Confused?? Sign up to speak with Valorie and get some clarity for free!!

 

#5 No Money

You want to take that acting class, no money! You want new headshots, no money!! You want to hire a career coach (hint, hint), no money!!!

Solution: You have to PAY to PLAY. How can you start a business without capital?? You can’t so figure it out. You are going to let money get in the way of you and your dreams?? NO, make a MONEY PLAN, get  a BUDGET.

 

#6 No knowledge of the industry.

I want to be on this show or in that movie, but I don’t know who cast it? If you don’t know the players how are you going to win the game??

Solution: Make a “hit-list” of 10 names and GO AFTER THEM.  Hit that list every 6-8 weeks. The objective is to get at least 5 casting directors that know you and love your work, and you will work all of the time.

#7 YOUR ISSUES

Problem: You have got some “issues” that are getting in the way of your career. Bad roommate, bad boyfriend, a mess in your apartment… you get the drift.

Solution: Toleration excersise: Make a list of 100 tolerations in your life ( the broken light switch in the bedroom, your messy bathroom, your unorganized closet ) and work at removing 1 toleration at a time from the list. You have to write 100 and you can’t add to the list.

 

#8 Playing in the wrong ballpark, WHAT ??!!##**

You are working with an agent no one has ever heard of. You are doing improv with a crappy not so funny group. You are stuck doing theatre in Los Angeles. You have headshots from the 99 dollar place and they look like it.

Solution: Now some of the things you are doing might be in the right ballpark but some are not. Make a list of the people you REALLY want to work with and go after them, STOP playing a side game, because you think you can’t get in the main game.

 

#9:No Support.

You have all these big ideas and big plans and things are sort of hobbling along at best. You have all the good intentions, but nothing get’s done.

 

Solution: Get help, from a professional preferably. If you want to get somewhere, get someone to help you that has already been there.

 

#10 NO plan.

You don’t know where you want to end up, and even if you do, you don’t know how you are going to do it. Every business has to have a business plan to succeed at least to have a jumping off point.

Solution: Get a map, a plan a series of action steps that you can do daily to get the career of your dreams. Write a business plan, give yourself daily sales actions to take.

You can also come to our 5th Annual Summer Games where you will put a plan to action, not just talk but doing!!! From Brand to Pitch July 23rd LA!! http://www.theaftgames.com

I will be talking a lot about the Business Plan for actors and what that looks like. KEEP GOING ACTOR’S there is a lot of work out there right now for the taking!!!