Learn How To Become An Actor and Start Your Acting Career Today!

“Most people think a successful acting career is only about good acting.
They are dead wrong!”

Becoming an actor is one of the most sought after professions, yet also seems to be one of the most mystifying ones.

How do you define success? A person who achieves his or her goals.

How do you define famous? A person who is widely known.

This is where we will focus. Helping you succeed and become widely well known as an actor!

We’ll discuss

• The 3 Most Important People To Help You Achieve Fame and Success
• How To Contact Agents, Managers and Casting Directors
• How Do I Get An Agent?
• What Do I Send The Agents?

The 3 Most Important People To Help You Achieve Fame and Success

• Talent agent
• Talent manager
• Casting director

Let us first define the role of each of these important industry players.

The Differences Between A Talent Agent And A Talent Manager:

Agents. A talent agent’s main responsibility is to get you work (the auditions). Agents are regulated and governed, if you will, by a specific set of rules put out by the Screen Actor’s Guild union (SAG). You may hear the term ‘SAG Franchised.’ This is a good thing and simply means that the talent agent is working under the watchful eye of SAG’s rules.

Each day an agent receives breakdowns, which basically lists all the parts that are being cast on a given day. If you are right for any of the roles, your agent will send you out on that audition. One of the most important rules that SAG enforces is the commission agents receive from finding you work. This is most often 10% of the money you receive from work secured by an audition your agent sent you on. Make sense? So please understand that you should NEVER pay any up front fees to any agent.

Managers. Let me start by saying that this, my friends, is the area where most of the scams and confusion take place. There are plenty of wonderful and legit talent managers out there. Unfortunately, because managers are not governed by any talent union such as SAG, it leaves the door open for less than legitimate work ethics.

A talent manager’s main responsibility is to guide your career. Not necessarily to get you the auditions (although this could happen on occasion) but more appropriately to make sure your career as a whole is heading in the right direction. A manager can be looked at as your business partner. The two of you work together to make sure your career is going the way you’d like it to.

For example, if you receive an offer for a certain photo shoot or to make an appearance somewhere, this could all be discussed with your manager to see if it is in your best interest to accept the offers. Your manager will also gather all the job info for you and could act as your go-between.

Because a talent manager is not governed by any of the talent unions, their commissions from your work are a bit more than that of the talent agent. A manager usually commands between 15%-20% of commission. For this very reason, it may prove more beneficial to obtain the right agent first before finding management. The good rule of thumb here is to seek management when you begin to have a career for them to manage.

Important to note: Just like with a talent agent, you should NEVER pay a talent manager any up front fees.

Casting Directors. As a working actor, you will get to know the top casting directors personally and on a friendly basis. A casting director is hired by a television network (NBC, CBS, ABC…), movie studio (Dreamworks, Disney, Touchstone…) or production company to run the auditions and get all the actors on tape (your audition). When your agent sends you on an audition, you will be auditioning for the casting director. They will be ones in the room with you giving you notes, feedback and answering your questions. They are paid by the company who hires them so clearly you’ll never need to pay them any commission or up front fees.

How To Contact Agents, Managers and Casting Directors:

If you’ve never heard of the publication Ross Reports Television & Film, you are in for a big treat. Why? Because Ross Reports is the entertainment industry’s most accurate, up-to-date listings and contact info of agents, managers and casting directors. (The people you need to take your acting career to the next level.)

With Ross Reports, we’re talking hundreds of names, mailing addresses, phone numbers and email (when applicable) of all the industry professionals across the USA who can take your showbiz talent to the next level by getting you work.

Now that you know the role of the talent agent, manager and casting director, isn’t it time to get your face and name across their desk? Ross Reports Television & Film will help you do just that. With all the contact info you can handle…

Important Notice:

We’ve partnered with a company to offer you a copy of Ross Reports to use for 90-days risk free! In order to grab your copy of Ross Reports, you must click on this special link:

Ross Reports Television & Film magazine at BlueDolphin.com

How Do I Get An Agent?

One of the biggest questions an actor asks is “How do I get an agent?” Good question. Many answers.

• You could invite an agent, casting director or manager to a showcase you are performing in
• You can send them a note letting them know what’s been keeping you busy
• You can submit your headshot and/or reel to them.

In any event, you’ll need to know how to get in touch with the industry pros. Ross Reports will help you do just that, plus a ton more.

Aside from getting all the contact info of agents, managers and casting directors across the USA, you’ll also get the names, mailing address and email (when applicable) of the ‘big wigs’ at all the major networks (Yes, including NBC, ABC, CBS, MTV, VH1, Oxygen, HBO, Showtime…) so you can get in touch with the right people. And they even have a section of all the movies that are about to be shot so you can submit directly to the production company.

What Information Is Included With Each Ross Reports Listing?

Let’s take a closer look at real listing:

This clearly is one of the top agencies in both New York and Los Angeles. The designated agents section in Ross Reports lists about 20 agents, I obviously listed just a few so you can get the general idea.

The section directly under the designated agents section lists all the areas that the agency covers. Beginning with Actors/Actresses and moving alphabetically through children, comedians to voice-overs, you’ll see the specific categories of performers each talent agent specific deals with so you can properly target the exact ones.

The line (SAG-AFTRA-EQUITY) directly under the agency name simply means that they are franchised (governed) with the 3 major performer unions, Screen Actors Guild (SAG), American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and Actors Equity Association (EQUITY).

Go Grab Your Risk-Free Copy of Ross Reports Now!

We’ve partnered with Ross Reports Television & Film and they are currently giving away a 90-day risk free copy at 25% off the cover price. I suggest grabbing your copy now and use it for 90 full days risk free! If you can’t utilize all the contact info in 90 days, something is off.

Look, get your copy now, use it for 3 solid months and think about how many industry professionals you can get in touch with in that amount of time!

While your friends are beating their heads against the wall trying to figure out how to become an actor and achieve fame and success, you’ll have an outstanding marketing tool to use for 90 days! Sweet.

Don’t Forget:

We’ve partnered with a company to offer you a copy of Ross Reports to use for 90-days risk free! In order to grab your copy of Ross Reports, you must click on this special link:

Ross Reports Television & Film at BlueDolphin.com

So How Do I Use Ross Reports?

• Once you have your copy in hand, sit down in a quite place with pen and paper so you can make notes
• Find the agent listings in your town (or nearest town that you want to submit to)
• Find the movies being filmed in your area
• Get in touch with all the industry pros who are actively seeking your type!

Please Note: Most listings will say, “No phone calls, please.” This is the number one rule to follow. More often than not, it is a good idea to never call an agency directly if they are not expecting your call.

What Do I Send The Agents?

Once you have your list of all the agents, managers and casting directors you want to target, it’s time to get your stuff together for them and impress them with your showbiz talent. This can include

• An updated headshot and resume
• Cover letter
• A reel
• An invitation to a performance of yours.

Important to note: The goal at this point is only to pique their interest enough so they’ll want to meet you. If you can get an agent or manager interested enough through your mailing, you’ll be in great shape. This is what most actors seek; those all-important meetings with agents, managers or casting directors.

Aside from talent agents, managers and casting director listings, you’ll also get complete listings of:

• Television network studios and offices for NY and L.A.
• Los Angeles Prime Time Network Series (IE. Lost, Grey’s Anatomy)
• New York Primetime Network Series (IE. 30 Rock, SNL)
• Talk Shows in NY and LA (Ellen, Oprah, Leno, Letterman, Conan)
• Soap Operas in NY and L.A.
• Listings of Films in Preparation and Development
• Los Angeles and New York based talent Unions, Guilds and Associations (IE. SAG, AFTRA, AEA)
• TV and Film production studios in NY and L.A.
• TV and Film production companies in NY and L.A.

Please Remember:

We’ve partnered with a company to offer you a copy of Ross Reports to use for 90-days risk free! In order to grab your copy of Ross Reports, you must click on this special link:

Get Ross Reports Television & Film magazine here

Break a leg!

-Joshua Karson

1 Comment to Learn How To Become An Actor and Start Your Acting Career Today!

otabs on April 4th, 2009
1. 

   how do i start since i am a student at ucla and i am not yet through with my masters program

Leave a comment