It is no very big secret at all that many people within our society consider themselves to be actors. What most people do not realize is that a few of these people are actually very sincere in their intentions. If you are such a person, you should probably consider reading further. I'm going to pass along some very basic, yet important, advice that might assist you a great deal. While I can't promise that this advice will land you on a hit television show (no advice alone can as luck is often a large factor), I can tell you that it will help you stand out a little better, alongside the army of other people out there who consider themselves to be professional actors.
The very first thing that any aspiring actor should keep in mind is how very important it is to master the skill of cold reading. This is so incredibly important that I need to repeat it. MASTER THE SKILL OF COLD READING! Unless you are a well known Hollywood personality, you are going to have to cold read for every single part you desire. Once you get into an audition, your read is so much more important than the amount of money that you spent on your head shots. People who can read and then process what they have just read very quickly will be capable of mastering this skill well. Their mental gifts allow them to do very high quality reads. I happen to be blessed with reading as well as comprehension skills and this is why I found mastering my cold read skills to be so simple. I once had a theater professor tell me that my cold read for a Tina Howe play, was better than a good portion of the many well polished final performances he had seen. At first he accused me of having not only previously seen the script but actually having played the role before. I had to assure him that this was not the case. This was because I have the luck to be blessed with such reading comprehension skills. If you are somebody who suffers in this area, do not stress out. You simply have to take it slow and practice as much as possible. Quicker reading skills can be found through practice.
Some aspiring "up and comers" forget another very important key to finding success within this field at any level. YOU HAVE TO BE FLEXIBLE! There is simply no way around this. We've all probably met aspiring performers who are not afraid to say something along the lines of: "I only do comedy never anything serious", or maybe: "I only do serious roles and never low brow comedic ones". This type of attitude will kill any chance you might of had a career dead in it's tracks! If you've never been paid well for a certain type of role, then how the heck do you know what type of jobs work best for you? I realize that some professional actors tend to get type casted. If you search the library of their work, you'll typically find, that they too, have been very flexible in the past. It is very important to consider the very high paid Hollywood "A-list" type of actor. Occasionally these people will play a similar role a few times, however, they reached their height of success by being very flexible! This is why the studios not only want them but pay them what often seems like ungodly amounts of money.
It is so very important for all aspiring actors to not forget how very important some of the good ol' fashioned performing techniques can be. If you are just starting out, alot of these techniques will seem very odd to you. You need to kill that attitude right now because I'll tell you a little secret. A GOOD PORTION OF ACTORS ARE ODD PEOPLE! Why do you think so many people consider some of the "A-listers" as being so eccentric? This is a nice way of saying that they seem strange. Their job requires them to practice techniques and routines that often look out of place to any outsider. Some actors live and die by a technique called "method acting". This is were you actually become the character (even at home in your personal life). I've given this a try and it wasn't for me. It wasn't the best way for me to get the results that I wanted, but it might work very well for you. All actors are quite different. One thing that always worked for me was to lay down on a sofa, that rested back stage, and to close my eyes while I allowed my mind to clear. I would imagine that I was actually in the process of "becoming the character". This might seem strange to some but consider the results of a performer that takes his method acting home, especially if he is playing a violent or sociopathic personality. A few very famous actors that are well known for playing violent characters in films, have suffered huge expenses within their personal lives because of method acting. However all techniques should always be kept within a certain degree of logic as well security.
The last important piece of advice that I can offer is to not waste time or money on any scams that are out there. You should be well aware of the simple fact that there are many other people in your city that also want to be actors. There are VERY large numbers of people in your area that desire such a career goal as much as you do! Con artists who want to make a quick and easy profit are very aware of this situation and they will prey on you. There are many so called "modeling agencies" that want to sell you very costly head shots and "special advantage kits" or "special advantage programs" that are suppose to help you succeed as either an actor or model. The old saying: "A fool and his money soon part" comes into mind when I see such adds within any directory. These are simply people who want your money and have no intentions of helping you get work. The world already has prominent people who's job is to help actors get work, THEY'RE CALLED AGENTS! This should always be kept firmly in mind as being ripped off will waste enough time and money to set you apart from your intentional career goals.
Remember everything that has been discussed here as it is all very important for anybody who would like to professionally act. Keep in mind that the market is indeed an overcrowded one, so becoming accustomed to rejection will serve you quite well. Any famous Hollywood celebrity will typically have many tales of unending rejection from the beginning or their careers.
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