After all the studying, marketing, cajoling and stressing, finally getting to act on camera is as much fun as the law will allow.It’s a tricky hill to climb to get there, and two of the most important things that’ll make it happen are a good reel and a good résumé. Herein lies the ultimate rub: how do you build either one of them if casting directors prefer people who already have them?
Student films. You don’t need much experience to audition for and book roles in them, and when you do you’ll build credits, learn the technical aspects of acting in front of a camera and get footage for your reel. One of the best film schools in the country – USC – is here in L.A., along with three of the most underrated film schools: UCLA, LMU and Chapman University. Most of their scripts are really inspired, and with the increased technology and lower costs of HD and Red cameras come lots of student films with great roles for you. So what could possibly go wrong?
Well, for one thing, the scene used for your audition may seem brilliant, but after you get the role you may find out the entire script to be an unintentional bait and switch – a real cinematic disaster.
The key when stuck doing one of these debacles (be a professional and don’t back out) is to realize that these filmmakers are students; they’re learning as they go, so they make take a little longer to set up shots, or the set may seem pretty amateur. If it’s a real shitstorm, you gotta just literally sit yourself down on the ground, relax, breathe, count to ten and realize many actors would kill to beat you out for this role no matter how bad it might seem, and you’re here in Hollywood doing what you always wanted to do: make a movie. And by all means, be pleasant.
Years ago, my mentor/acting teacher Stuart K. Robinson was a young actor who booked a part in an awful student film. The shoot took place on the beach and was an utter mess, with two student co-directors who couldn’t even work their camera. Rather than pitch a fit, Stuart stayed calm and used his shooting experience to help them get the camera rolling. Two years later, Stuart walked into an audition, and seated on a couch were the two filmmakers, who were now directing commercials together. They lit up when they saw Stuart, and they cast him, as the guy in the Kool Aid suit. Anyone could have gotten that role, but because they remembered Stuart’s generosity and professionalism, they chose him. He shot a bunch of Kool Aid spots with them and made about $250,000.
Pretty sweet upside, right? Right. Embrace film students and their films. They’re a key stepping-stone. You may even catch on with the next “it” director, who casts you in everything he shoots as his career goes gangbusters. Go to actorsaccess.com, set up a profile, and start submitting yourself for these movies. Your reel is counting on it, your résumé is counting on it, your whole damn country is counting on it.
