New Actors: Focus on Building Your Resume, Not Picking and Choosing Projects

I had a conversation this last weekend with an actor friend of mine. We were updating each other on what was going on with our acting and he mentioned that he was submitting to auditions regularly now. He had gotten a couple auditions, but told me that he wasn’t sure if he would be doing one of them, as he didn’t really like the character and couldn’t see himself doing it.

I had a similar experience when I first starting to auditioning. I had a zoom meeting with a director that found me on Backstage and he was interested in putting me in one of his upcoming films. After the meeting, I started researching him and after watching some of his films on Prime, I had very little interest in doing any of his projects. Nothing about what I saw was good and I didn’t want to be in something that I deemed bad. After a conversation with one of my acting teachers, I changed my tune. He told me that he had done more bad projects in his 15 year career than he cared to remember and that an actor can be good in a bad project.

The focus of a new actor is to build a resume and career. Picking and choosing projects comes later. If you have no credits (or very few credits) and no reel footage, then you take what you can get.

Here are a few reasons why:

• Every audition is an opportunity to practice your craft. Even if you don’t get the role, you’re still getting experience in the audition room and learning how to interact with directors and casting directors.
• Every project is an opportunity to network. You never know who you’ll meet on a set. It could be the next big director, producer, or casting director.
• Every project is a chance to learn. Every director and actor you work with has something to teach you. Even if you don’t like the project, you can still learn from the experience.

But if you’re a new actor with no credits, don’t be afraid to take on bad projects. It’s all part of the learning process. And who knows, you might even surprise yourself and turn in a great performance. Remember, your goal is to build a resume and career.