Acting Career Tips for Beginners

So you want to be an actor and are looking for acting career tips for beginners? You’ve come to the right place. Acting is fun and can be a rewarding career, but there are many challenges to becoming a working actor. It’s going to take persistence, training, and patience. Do you have what it takes?

The best acting career tips for beginners are: get the right acting training (and focus on your craft heavily to begin with), audition for any project you can to get experience, build your reel and connections to others starting out, and don’t worry about representation too soon. Many actors want an agent too soon. Become a great actor first, then seek out an agent.

We’re going to go in depth to each one of these tips.

Acting Career Tips for Beginners

Understanding the Basics of the Acting Industry

First of all, what kind of acting do you want to do? Thankfully there are so many options these days, and the truth is, many actors work in different mediums. Maybe you want to be a Broadway performer and also do voiceover. Maybe you’re all in on TV and film acting. Whatever kind you want to focus on, getting clarity soon can help make which training you choose easier.

But don’t discount working in different mediums. They can enhance eachother, and working in different mediums will make you more well-rounded and more employable.

Getting the Right Training

Most actors reading this need formal training. That means going to a dedicated acting school (or department of a university) and pursuing an actor major. Not only will this give you the time and resources to work on your craft, but it will foster connections in the industry which are vitally important.

That’s not to say that every classmate will become the next Spielberg, but it’s more about learning from and working with peers to improve your craft.

Along the way, you’ll want to supplement your acting career with workshops and regular acting classes. These are important to maintain your technique and keep the principles of acting fresh in your mind.

Never stop learning or honing your craft.

Building Your Portfolio

Once you have some training under your belt, even if it’s just for student productions, you’ll need a headshot, resume, and you should start thinking about your reel/clips.

If you’re still in school, don’t worry about professional headshots. Go to the photography department and see if a student (or even a teacher) will do your headshots for you. 

You’ll also need a resume. Don’t feel embarrassed if you don’t have many (or any) credits. You probably have more experience than you think you do – check out this article on how to make an acting resume for help.

If you’ve done student films so far, make sure to get a copy of the footage, and if it’s good enough, you may be able to use that to secure auditions for other projects.

No one expects you to have Oscar-worthy clips when you’re just starting out, so don’t overthink it.

Networking and Building Connections

The most important aspect of your acting career is the relationships you build throughout it. Have you noticed for big Hollywood films, somtimes directors use the same actors over and over? That’s because there are personal connections between the director and actors. They get along.

See who you already get along with and ask what they’re doing, artistically. Maybe you can collaborate on something. Make your own films, write your own musicals to perform, work on audition material together.

Another aspect to this is social media, which is, and I think, will be, more and more important in the future for networking and showing your acting work.

TikTok, Youtube, and whatever else is popular when you’re reading this article offer opportunities to actors seeking to build an audience on their own. This can lead to more connections and networking that wouldn’t have been possible.

Think about it. If you put out a sketch on TikTok, and a director for a show sees it and thinks it’s funny, they might call you in for an audition. This is in the realm of possibilities, so don’t discount it.

Beyond social media, you should be attending industry events, acting groups, workshops, and just be around people doing what you want to do.

Gaining Experience and Exposure

Once you feel solid in your technique, join Actors Access, Backstage, and Casting Networks. You can start submitting for all kinds of projects, and in the beginning, don’t be too picky. Part of auditioning is finding out where the industry sees you. Are you a shoe-in for commercials? Dark feature-length dramas? Musicals?

Start with small roles, and don’t expect to be paid. This is debatable to a lot of people, but when you’re just starting out, you need experience. Working for free is actually a good deal sometimes, because the competition is lower, and just because you work for free on a project doesn’t mean you always will. But if you’re expecting to jump into the highest paid acting work when starting out, is that realistic?

So look for small roles, community theater, student films, etc. to gain experience.

Managing Rejections and Building Resilience

If you want tp be an actor, get used to rejection. It’s part of booking work. You won’t get every role. There are many people wanting to act professionally. You have to work on your skills, and yes, invest in your skills.

Have something outside of acting that keeps you sane. A relationship, a job, a hobby, a pet, your family. Build your confidence in the gym or by practicing a musical instrument you love. Think about why you want to be an actor.

Conclusion

You may be wondering, is that it? I thought you’d tell me how to get an agent! Well guess what? You don’t need one. Not if you’re reading this article on acting career tips for beginners. Beginners don’t need and shouldn’t expect agents. Agents want actors who have connections already and have a track record for booking paid work.

You don’t need that pressure in your life yet. And if you do, there are other blog posts on this site that will answer that question.

Focus on your craft. Become good enough that people want to work with you and hire you.

If you want a career in acting, think long term not short term.

Many, many people see how hard acting is as a career choice and quit.

Is that you?

Be honest with yourself.

Are you okay being an actor without work for a while? And you willing to make the sacrifices you need to make?

If not, it’s okay. Just know that it isn’t easy. But it is possible.

Comment your questions or thoughts below.