We have found 19,320 posts across 4 actor forums:
How to cope with being cast as something you didn't want to be? by Rose_flowerx • last post Jan 20th
Hello I am a uni student, I really need some advice. Recently, my class have been cast for the play "twelfth night" and I was really hoping for Olivia or Viola. Instead, I got Maria. I was so upset with this casting choice and instantly burst into tears. I felt it was really unfair. This is where I sound awful because I don't think the actors who got the parts I wanted really deserved them at all. I spoke to my lecturer about it and she said I was the only one who would bring joy to the character, make her come to life. She seemed certain in her choice, and of course I couldn't ask her to switch parts because that wouldn't be fair to someone else, and I was not coming across as a brat, I talked to her in a very calm way, without looking like a drama queen. She was very kind, but of course, i can't help but feel like she was just trying to soften the blow. I don't really know much about the character Maria, I know the professional thing to do is move on, put your heart into the character and do my best, but I'm struggling to start liking her character because of the disappointment I feel. I feel so angry and upset, so any advice would be great. I really don't want to come off as a whiny brat, or be icy with any of my peers. I really want to do my best, but I can't help the way I feel. So my question is, has anyone here played Maria? did you enjoy it? or how do you cope when your cast as someone you really didn't hope to be?
Is voice acting your first job? When is it too late? by End_me_4242564 • last post Jan 20th
Hi, I'm a 22 years old Brazilian and currently studying Computer Science. I'm passionate about voice acting - although I have 0 experience with it - and I'd like to know if voice acting is your first job, and if it isn't, why did you pursue it? Is it worth trying? When is too late? I like my course but I'm not very at it, also I don't like to search anything about it on my free time, while I'm always looking for news about voice acting and voice actors, specially the Japanese one. The reason I don't drop my course is because it took a lot of effort from both me and my mom so I could enter in the best university of my State, but I just don't feel doing it for the rest of my life. Should I graduate ( around 2022 ) and with the money of my futute job pay for a private theater college? Or will it be too late? I've been researching some voice acting courses to have the real experience with it and see if I like doing it or just admire the people who does but because of the pandemic there aren't many voice acting classes/ courses accepting new students... Any suggestions or questions, the comments are your friends. Thanks for reading!
how should i invest my time & money wisely during 2021 and beyond?! by rob2349 • last post Jan 20th
now that the U.S. and major markets have seen persistent lock downs and restrictions etcetc.... for the "foreseeable future" what would be the best way for a newbie early 20s actor to get a jump start into the industry? if things were normal, id invest in a conservatory (graduated college not BFA), or even consider a masters or abroad program.. but things are mainly virtual.. im in south florida and im not too sure how the market is, but some self tape places in miami are starting up again but nothing too good..... would anyone invest in an online conservatory and if so where? im mainly interested in film/tv and really really want to invest in my craft, not just buy my way in or waste money or get a quick fix either.... no one knows the future, but advice is keeping me sane right now when i feel i cant do much but online intro stuff.. i mean, what do i do!!!!
Hello voice actors! I need a very easy job done by antoniopendleton • last post Jan 19th
I’m a music producer and I’ve been looking for someone to do my tag for forever now and I realized that Reddit would be a great place to come. I preferably need a female with a higher voice and you’d be saying “godspeed”. There’s some room for creativity to do what you want but I kinda have an idea and example in mind. I understand this is paid work only so I’ll stay true to that but as it’s literally just one word and will take you a couple minutes, it won’t be a great opportunity for money but I can try to make up for it by pushing your name out to other producers because there’s actually a pretty big market and need for this. If you’re interested please dm me on Instagram @gxdspeedd
I'm living with regret and now I think its too late. by Ireadthiswrongsorry • last post Jan 19th
I'm 25, working at getting my associates, working as much as I can to save money, and regret not pursuing acting. Since high school, I've wanted to be an actor. My parents were going through a divorce and movies saved me during that rough patch. I grew an appreciation towards acting and film. Its something I'd love to do. When I brought it up to my parents and family, I was mocked and said its an impossible career. Now living in the real world and settling, I hate it. I see all of these people I know moving to LA and I feel trapped. I wish I went through with it. I'm so depressed and tired anymore. I live in philly and I don't know where to start for finding an agent and getting gigs. I've only done a small independent film and local commercials.
How I Made $5,000.00 My First 3 Months as a Voice Actor by Ello_eff • last post Jan 19th
I posted this about a month ago and a bunch of you seemed to get some value from it. I get a lot of questions on here about what I have done to be successful after people see my voices profile ( [www.voices.com/actors/elloeff](https://www.voices.com/actors/elloeff) ) I wrote an article for Medium that goes over the things that I find most important to being successful! Hopefully it helps you on your journey :) [https://www.codystewartvo.com/blog/how-i-made-5000](https://www.codystewartvo.com/blog/how-i-made-5000)
How do you walk away from this? Chasing acting has been a nightmare for me and I just want to remove the desire from my body so I can have a quality life by legion8975 • last post Jan 19th
This industry is toxic, it’s unfair, it’s not based on merit, I’ve just had a really horrible time chasing this with my life and I just want the desire to go away. I’ve gotten just enough in return to keep chasing the carrot dangled in front of my face, and it’s at the cost of my sanity and stomach. I hate everything about this industry and being an actor. I’ve seen bad people succeed, good people struggle, I’ve taken so many risks that have not really paid off but gave me just enough breadcrumbs to keep chasing, because maybe I’m just so close to finally getting to a better place with it... but nope. I just want to be done once and for all and it’s like my brain is just fixated on it. I don’t know how to break away from this in a healthy manner but I have to, I can’t live like this anymore. Nothing is worth feeling this way. I don’t know. Sounds so simple like you can just snap your finger and walk away, I just feel resentful that these desires were put inside me in the first place, fucking torturous bullshit. How do you truly remove this tumor and move on with your life? I want to have control over my life, I want to be respected and valued, have my hard work and passion actually equate to something and not just constantly feel like I’m being fucked with ripped apart exploited abd unappreciated. I hate this. I would never ever advise anybody to be an actor after my experience, never ever. I just wish I had my life back.
Looking for a voice actress for a role of a teenager by BKInteractive • last post Jan 19th
Hey there! I'm working on a short film and I'm looking for a voice actress! The character says only 5 lines and I could pay you 5$ via PayPal! DM me if interested :)
Is social media a requirement by EagleEU • last post Jan 19th
Do i need to have social media? Like instagram twitter etc..? I despise social media. Im a good looking guy dont get me wrong, and camera loves me but i hate the whole concept about it. I know before actors didnt need social media, for example Robert Pattinson never had any social media. So is it a necessity today?
My Advice to Beginner Actors (2 years in) by throwawayacct145223 • last post Jan 19th
Hey beginners of r/acting, I was you 2 years ago. Here's a chaotic and incomplete itinerary of what l learned in my first couple years acting. If you’re starting out, I hope this helps. If you’ve been at it a while, I hope this still helps. If you’re Robert De Niro, you probably know this and some, also I loved you in Dirty Grandpa fuck what the critics say. This is a throwaway. But for context, I signed this fall with a solid agent in a major N.A market. No union credits yet, but now getting opportunities to audition for major shows. Deffs not an expert, I could get dropped tomorrow, so take everything I say with a grain of salt, but I wanted to share what has worked for me in the hopes of helping someone else. So here goes: First off: Acting is 2% acting and 98% percent getting the fuck out of your own way. ACTING = PLAYING PRETEND I play pretend all the time. As a kid I pretended to be superheroes and soldiers. Whatever I felt like being. Acting is just like that except you’ve gone through puberty and more trauma. And if you think you don’t have it in you to play pretend anymore? Think about your last masterfully executed lie. I spent an entire dinner convincing my girlfriend's aunt that I loved her coconut squares because she baked them to welcome me. She bought it. Shit, I convinced myself that I liked coconut squares. She felt very good about her cooking and I felt like a good dude. Obviously, though I fucking hate coconut squares, they taste like dirt. But unless you’re the most biblically honest person on the planet, you put on a facade for people sometimes. If you can convince someone you like a coconut square, you can convince a sleepy casting assistant that you spotted a criminal. So why is acting so hard? Because we want it to be. Who's ‘we’? ‘We’ are the critics. We are the collection of repressed motherfuckers that want to stop everyone from being happy. Critical parents, people who gave up their dreams to pursue ‘safe jobs’. We are the people who sneer at LARPers as they gallivant around the park. And unless you grew up in a rent-controlled loft with avant-garde artistic parents, chances are you grew up surrounded by judgemental fucks, and, worse yet, have some of this voice inside you. ‘We’ are also acting coaches and academics who want to justify why you should pay them money, or why they have a Ph.D. Nobody needs a Ph.D in acting, thats like having a Ph.D in riding a bike. All they are going to do is sell you on their own intellectual superiority and debilitate you into paying them more money. (THIS OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT APPLY TO ALL COACHES AND UNIVERSITY FACULTY, BUT IF YOU'RE AN INSTRUCTOR AND YOU AREN’T AWARE THAT THIS IS A PROBLEM, THEN YOU ARE THE PROBLEM). So what does the critical voice sound like: * Acting is a stupid career choice/why am I an actor * You suck * You look like shit on camera * I wonder what everyone in the class is thinking right now * I hope the instructor likes this * That was a dumb impulse * Fuck i want to stop waiting tables/walking dogs/etc * I'm only going to be good with X more years with Y coach Your critic freezes you, it wants you to fuck up. What it wants more than anything is for you to get into your own head and out of the moment. But luckily, it doesn’t have to win. Easy ways to beat the critic are: * Use grounding practices like rubbing your pocket lining, or pressing down into your toes * Make eye contact with your scene partner * Don’t pre plan your performance. Know your sides, know generally what your actions are, then improvise and adapt to feedback. That leaves you open to the moment rather than replicating a movie in your mind. Your scene partner is the only thing you need to pay attention to, they have the answers. * Get to a place where you believe you are enough * Therapy, group sessions, self help books, whatever. This is an industry that has long been fueled by people’s insecurities. But honestly one of the greatest superpowers is loving yourself for who you are, no matter what size, shape, colour, what your voice sounds like, or where you’re from. If you own yourself, that will resonate. If you feel that there is even one part of you you should be ashamed of (which i promise you there isn’t, that will translate). * no coach, casting director or lover can give you worth or take your worth. that comes from you. * dont compare yourself to other actors. they were the first them. youre the first you. * Mediate * Cant stress this enough, doesn’t matter what type of meditation. It allows you to focus on the scene, quiet your critic, and block out intrusive thoughts. If you only do one thing to practice other than learning your lines, practice meditating. It is a superpower. * Don’t stress the outcome * Thinking about what you want out of the performance will guarantee a bad performance. So don’t think about impressing the teacher, or agent, or casting director. Just focus on doing your best in the moment. If you do your best, great. If you fail, let it go, and know that your best is coming very very soon. This is a game of averages. If you let yourself hinge success or failure on any particular performance, you are putting waaaaaaaaay too much pressure on yourself. * Rejection is great. I was rejected by a shitload of agents before landing one of the better agents in my city. Success is a diamond mined from a pit of failures. Failure means you're one step closer. Would it really be worth anything if you got what you wanted right away? If mt. doom were a 5-minute uber ride from the shire? Fuck no. Embrace that grind man. * Find good friends * Your mindset is the product of the people you spend your time with. If the people around you make you feel bad about yourself, tell them. If they wont change, find new friends. Same goes for family. You deserve respect and encouragement and to pursue your dream and become even more yourself every day. I can't stress this enough. Find people who believe in you, and who you believe in. then, anything is possible. * Not all actor friends are created equal. Jealousy is normal sometimes, buried feelings of resentment are not. “Faster alone, further together”. The same goes for you. If you can’t celebrate someone elses success, get ready for a pretty sad party when you book your first big gig. * Notice your own judgemental behaviours * What we think about others we think about ourselves. Mentally shitting on your classmates performance? Youre increasing your own insecurity. Mentally shitting on the lady in a purple jumpsuit at the mall? Jacking up your own insecurity. Is a feedback loop/cycle. Accept others, accept yourself. * I had to learn to check my own ego a lot. Thinking of classmates as either better or worse than me. Fuck it, everyone is trying their best and learns at different rates. There is a place out there for everyone. Accepting that makes you less fragile. You don't go into existential despair every time you fuck up a line. * Your ego will tell you that everything is about you. Its not. Its about the work. Its about the script, what the writers want, whatever, you're a small piece of a bigger operation. And that's great thing. * at the same time, don't beat yourself up for having shallow aspirations sometimes. Yeah, we love the craft, but it would be dope to be on conan. one doesn't negate the other. not saying that your primary goal should be to chase celebrity, cause there's better ways, but more that its not shameful to fantasize about it sometimes. * perhaps most important: fuck the critics. they're just jealous you're out here living your life. let them sit on the sidelines and talk shit. Another reason we make acting hard is because we make the mistake of thinking that acting is about thinking, when really acting is about listening and reacting. You can’t think your way into being a good actor. If your a person with a tendency to intellectualize things, this is especially true for you. This isn’t Kant or Nietzche. You can’t philosophize the optimal reaction to finding out your wife cheated on you, you can just react how you would react. You brain doesn’t have the answers (and, arguably, it never did). Your instincts have the answers. But what about theory and technique? Fuck technique and theory. At least in a strict sense. Take what tips work for you and move on. Acting is riding a bike. You don’t need to debate the physics of how exactly it works, just **feel** what works. If your acting class is 5 minutes of acting, and 45 minutes of talking, get out of that class. It would be like a biking class where you fall of the bike once and they explain to you the theory of balance when you just need to get back on the fucking bike. If a coach is selling a strict technique that they claim is better/different than all other techniques, they are a fraud, and probably have operated off of luck and cult of personality. Love yourself, trust yourself, trust your instincts, trust your ability to take feedback, listen to your gut when you think feedback is wrong, and protect your self love and vision with all your might. Most importantly, don’t let anyone deprive you of your common sense. Because in terms of the 98% ‘getting in our own way’ thing, our common sense is our first line of defense. You have everything you need already, go get it. But what about that 2% acting? Am I about to sell you my technique? No. Acting is doing. Learn to identify what your objective is (the thing you **want**), then don’t overthink it. Learn to identify actions (sometimes called tactics). The things you **do** to get what you **want** (persuade, interrogate, charm). Then literally do those things to the person in front of you. Seriously do it. It wont be the same every time, and will depend on the person you are doing it to, thats cool. Acting is just doing, really doing. Once thats happening, it will start a ping pong of genuine actions and reactions that will be an absolute treat to watch. In terms of training, ive done a variety, on-camera, Meisner etc.. A screenwriting class helped me understand the writers POV as well. Most of my growth has been through improv. Improv is not as intimidating as it sounds, and it a really silly way to get good at playing the who/what/where, quickly visualizing given circumstances without getting stupidly academic about it. I advanced more in 5 months of doing lots of improv than a year of ‘serious’ acting classes. Thats just my experience, but maybe it’ll help you too. If I haven’t mentioned it yet. Acting is a fundamentally silly affair. We're playing pretend. **Playing.** This doesn’t mean to goof around when playing serious topics, but more that the craft itself is rooted in freedom and play and exploration and childishness. Don’t let anybody take that away from you. Other than that, learn your lines well so you don’t have to picture the page when you recite them. Try singing them, or repeating them monotone as your exercise. Idk. Just try to have them down so that you are free to be loose in the moment. If you do forget a line, don’t sweat it, just ask line and keep crushing it. Most importantly, I have no fucking idea. I just have whats worked for me. Everyone has their own way of learning, all I know for sure is that getting out of your own way is the first barrier that everyone i know faces. Learning to act is really about letting go of the things that are preventing you from acting. \-- Anyways. Just go do, we all have everything we need. Great notes lie ahead of us, but that doesn’t mean we're not great already. You are one email away from that agent, job, whatever. Reddit doesn’t have the answers. You do Go film a self-tape, watch people in public, film a tik tok, sign up for class if you like the teachers vibe, quit a class thats holding you back, nap, journal, go to therapy, dance, sing, take a shower, do silly voices, meditate, sit in the sun. Play. rejoice in the fact that you are using your time on this earth to follow your heart. you fucking rock and i love you. Im gonna take my own advice and go to the beach instead of spellchecking this feel free to hit me with any questions or if anyone would like me to re-do this with more clarity Peace
Seeking Actresses to Consult on my Novel by wpmason • last post Jan 19th
I hope this is acceptable here. I’m writing a book about an actress, and I just think it’d be really helpful to hear from some of you to really wrap my head around some of the issues the character is going to encounter. Long story short, she is a struggling actress on the verge of “aging out” of consideration as a starlet. She even contemplates giving up on the industry all together. When a seemingly last chance at a leading role in a feature film is presented to her, she has to navigate the decision making process surrounding performing nude scenes and all the baggage that goes along with that. So, yes, this consultation will be heavily focused on sex, nudity, gender politics, and similar uncomfortable topics of discussion. That’s why I’m asking for volunteers. If you’re not comforting getting into all that, then I wish you well all the same. But if you are willing to discuss it, then I’d really like to have a back and forth conversation (preferably in chat or DMs where there won’t be any outside shaming or interjections), so just reach out however you feel most comfortable. Thanks.
Why did you want to become an actor? by StrobeRogers • last post Jan 19th
I was in a callback zoom and they asked us this. The other actor had this beautiful speech about talking about mental health. I said it was just something that called to me.
Mods should make a pinned post that is a message board for every agency/offer to afford. This would really help out a lot of new actors, including myself. by UltraConstructor • last post Jan 19th
YouTube channel influence on success by actordownunder • last post Jan 19th
Hey guys! Do you think that having a large YouTube channel (500k subscribers +) would negatively effect your chances of making it big in Hollywood? The reason I think it might is because you might start to get type cast because of your internet persona. Also another reason is because i can not think of one actor that had success both on YouTube and in film and television, and there surely has to be a reason for that right?
What's the Place to Read Pilot Scripts by nancysong74 • last post Jan 19th
Hey Guys! I heard on an episode of Audrey Helps Actors podcast that there is a place where pilot scripts might be available to view...something along the lines of ShowFx? Anyway, I was wondering if there's anything remotely similar to that website at all. Thanks for the help!
Is My Agent Pitching Me? by nancysong74 • last post Jan 19th
Recently, I asked for a talent submission report. I noticed that she submitted me for a lot of small actor roles, but I wasn't called in for those parts. I notice that the only roles I get called in far are the ones where I fit the ethnicity or if I have a special skill that's needed. The parts where it's open ethnicity actor roles in TV within my age range I don't even have a chance at. I have a reel on my Actor's Access account, slateshots for my headshots, and constantly training. In other words, I'm doing everything I can to be competitive. My agent has said that although I have my package prepared, it might still be difficult to get me auditions because I have no professional credits. We have a very good relationship, and she is excited for me and my work. From what I hear, she would write a small blurb for me when she submits -- but I have a feeling that is as far as she would go to pitch me. I want to ask her *if every time she's not hearing back from something she has submitted me to, is she emailing or calling the CD to push for me.* So my question is: **How do I phrase that politely without sounding rude or blaming her? How can I bring it up in a conversation or in email?** Thanks for all the answers in advance!
Will a low budget ($1-2.5m) movie hire international actors? by throwawayacccccccoun • last post Jan 18th
Let’s say it’s an LA prod, and they have that small budget. Will they hire actors from diff countries? And will they process a visa for you, or they’re already assuming you have one already, considering that you’re submitting to them from whatever country you’re from.
Why Does Voices Dot Com Require Payment? by thedarksamurai96 • last post Jan 18th
I admit that I'm still pretty new on [voices.com](https://voices.com), but I just don't understand why they require you to pay, (and on top of that, pay so ***much****)* just to have access to the jobs posted on there. It doesn't make sense! And that's just for the premium membership--- don't even get me started on the Platinum membership lol. It's not like voice actors get paid a whole lot, to begin with so why do they expect you to just have wads of cash to work out every month just for access to jobs you'll probably get rejected from anyway? It kind of reminds me of LinkedIn except with Linkedin they actually allow you to search for jobs and apply with a free account. Voices makes you rely on people finding your profile (it seems), and relying on them to want to reach out to you, but the odds of that happening are obviously very slim. Again, maybe there's something I'm missing here but this doesn't really make sense to me.