If You Don’t Know Me By Now

There’s no shortage of acting coaches who claim to provide their clients with cutting-edge industry knowledge—and a lot of it—as part of their value proposition. But knowledge today, with the proliferation of social channels and cheap digital publishing, is easier to come by than ever before. 

Now that’s not to say industry tips aren’t useful at all. They certainly can be if distilled to their essence and made as actionable as possible. If you feel like you’re drowning in a deluge of hot tips, best practices, and insider intel, let me make your life easier and give you the spark notes: The only thing you need is other people.

Addiction recovery programs often teach that “it’s safest in the middle of the herd.” If you surround yourself with like-minded people and invest the time to really get to know them, you will build trust, credibility, and a reliable support network to help you grow. Being well-connected, in turn, makes you more attractive to others, and soon enough, your pro-relationship mindset will transform you into a magnet for connections and opportunities. Said another way, people will keep you in mind when something exciting comes up, because you’ve made an authentic and well-meaning effort to keep them in mind.

Memorizing which casting director likes you off-book or which agencies prefer a particular headshot photographer may seem like a clever hack to get you ahead. But people are fickle and their preferences change unpredictably over time—especially in this industry. Instead of burning hours trying to cram trivia about various industry insiders, spend your valuable time making genuine connections with other peers and performers, because your return on investment will be much higher.

A simple example: If a potential agent hates your headshots, but ten of her clients vouch for you, that agent will likely be convinced. While she may not sign you then and there, the agent will be inclined to take a meeting and get to know you—which is more than can be said if those ten clients didn’t vouch for you.

Cut Out Competitive Drama

I’ve known plenty of actors who’ve tended to avoid other actors in an effort to preserve their autonomy, maintain a cool distance, and establish what they thought was a competitive advantage. Guess what? Those actors saw their opportunities dry up and few are still acting at all.

The most important people to know in this business are—you guessed it—other actors. Because we work in an industry with more actors than jobs, we often let our primal insecurities drive our behavior and treat other actors as threats instead of allies. We often forget how the person next to us in the audition room or in class is down in the trenches with us, and has the potential to take our career to the next level—if we only let them. 

Long before Variety and Deadline break an important industry story, an actor who has bothered to make friends will probably hear it talked about in hushed tones among a group of other lower-level actors (NDAs be damned). This is true in political circles, where tight-knit groups of congressional staffers swap rumors before The Washington Post can confirm them. Or in a typical office environment, where Shelly from account receivables holds court around the water cooler, dishing about the company’s embarrassing losses and rumored layoffs. Why should creatives be any different? We may not work in cubicles or on Capitol Hill, but actors love to spill the latest industry tea and trade juicy bits about the biz. Most of us are social creatures who can’t resist hamming it up, so take advantage of our community’s natural inclination to talk and get connected. You may pick up some valuable intel (breakdowns password, anyone?)

There are of course less Machiavellian reasons to network with other performers. Actors on your level, often less senior in their career, will be the ones to provide the keys to the kingdom through shared learning resources, mutual connections, recently acquired advice, and opportunities for collaboration. And they’ll be the ones to offer you support when you, inevitably, at one point or another, fall flat on your ass.

Widen Your Circle

Although other actors should be your first relational priorities, especially if you have limited time to network, they aren’t the only ones worth knowing. Here are other types of industry roles, in order of importance, who we suggest cultivating authentic and well-intentioned relationships with. A wide circle that includes peers and actors at its core, along with other professionals on the periphery, will help establish you as a confident, well-informed, and magnetic presence in the industry.

• Casting directors. They are the ones who invite us to auditions and bring us in to meet the big deciders. Sure, you can make initial contact using various pay-to-play arrangements, but to make a real impact over time, you will need to build more credibility. So don’t get discouraged if you can’t tap into this sphere immediately—these are important, longer-term relationships to build.

• Producers and directors. They are at the top of the food chain and the ones who will ultimately decide if you get the job or not. We often don’t bother networking with this sphere because we have agents and casting directors to liaise for us. But why rely on a middle man when you can have some influence right at the source? Consider self-producing and bringing them on as paid collaborators. Reach out after seeing their work and let them know how much—and, more importantly, why—you enjoyed it. Remember, we’re not necessarily talking about Spielberg here, but there are plenty of accessible and successful directors and producers you can build fruitful relationships with.

• Writers. They are developing the creative material in the first place, so getting to know writers early in the process can have great advantages. You may offer to collaborate with them in their first stages of a project. Or self-produce one of their existing scripts. Or even commission them to write something carefully tailored to your strengths. Writers are imaginative and creative by nature, so think of some out-of-the-box ways to engage them. They’ll appreciate it.

• Agents and managers. They are an essential part of your team, and drawing on their Rolodex drastically increases your chances of booking consistent work. Keep in mind, however, that a rep will rarely give you the time of day if you have not made substantial inroads with the people above—the ones who will help you build a resume and vouch for you when it’s your time to take on representation.

The most important thing for up-and-coming actors to understand is that opportunities in this business will materialize almost exclusively from the network of people and connections they have cultivated over time. Knowledge alone is not power. Knowledge channeled into action is.