We have found 19,298 posts across 4 actor forums:
Getting auditions on Actors Access without a reel--doable? by justcurious3287 • last post Dec 27th
Would it be absolutely impossible to self-submit on Actors Access with just a headshot and no reel and land auditions?
Is it viable to get into voice acting without accepting commercial work? by Brandt-son-of-Thora • last post Dec 27th
"Commercial work" as in literally doing commercials, announcements, how-to videos, etc. "Viable" as in able to get paying character work from mid-size to big companies. I'm a theatre actor and I've always wanted to get into VO. But I have no interest whatsoever doing spots for car sales events and shitty products. I'm not looking to make a living doing this... It's an art, a passion, a hobby, however you want to put it. I have a day job and I'm not quitting it. My question is: Will I be able to get parts without commercial stuff on my resume? Will I be able to get an agent with the stipulation that I only want to do character work? Or do you have to "pay your dues" with commercials?
Headshot-Age Range-Character Type Post - Dec 26 by AutoModerator • last post Dec 26th
Use this thread to post your headshots for feedback, get info on your age range/type, find good headshot photographers, ask any questions you may have about headshots. If you are posting a DIY headshot for feedback, and not just a snapshot in order to get feedback on your age range/type/etc, it is advised that you do at least some basic research on what actor headshots look like--composition, framing, lighting. You will find a Google Image search for "actor headshots" to be very helpful for this. Non-professional shots are fine for age/typecasting; please keep in mind that one picture is a difficult way to go about this. Video of you moving and speaking would be ideal, but understandably more difficult to post. For what it's worth, the branding workshop at SAG-AFTRA recommends a five-year age range. That's inclusive, so for example 19-23, 25-29, 34-38, etc.
Is moving to New York a good idea? by mariabernal1 • last post Dec 26th
Im 18 years old and European and just graduated high school. I want to be an actress and filmmaker and I love everything about New York city. I live in a big city right now and I have a job in which I make roughly 700 euros monthly. Is moving to New York for a few months to gain off broadway theatre experience a good idea? I know its very stereotypical but from what I've heard Nyc is a great place for theatre experience. I only worry about the paper work to get a visa and the money for rent.Are there any New Yorkers or people with such experience that can give me some advice? The acting school I am interested in has a few acting courses some are 2 years long. Am I too young? I know its something I have to decide for myself but I feel like I have to be very sure about the overall idea before asking my parents, I am afraid they will think of me as a silly girl. Is finding a job in NYC hard? I appreciate any advice and help.
CALL TO ALL ACTORS: Read 'How to Stop Acting' by Harold Guskin by TheGullibleGuru • last post Dec 26th
It's a phenomenal book. Probably the best one on acting I've read to date. His practices were revered by many and I think it's a super relatable way to instantly shift the way you approach text and character.
When you just keep showing up... by xwolfeyesx • last post Dec 26th
Hi everyone, So first, a little background. I'm in AZ, so not a huge market... most of the theatre here isn't professional and largely panders to the 65+ crowd; so there will be about seven productions of Annie in one season.... cough.... BUT the landscape is slowly and steadily changing and in recent years there have been more actor/artist-focused theatres popping up. There is, however, a theatre that has been long-standing in this community that came up from grassroots and is now one of the most well-attended theatres we have. They do nothing but edgy, fun, new work that always has both actors and audience members turning out in droves. They also make a point of doing work that gives opportunity to P.o.C, women, and LGBTQ+. They hire new people regularly. I really want to work for them. I have been going to nearly every audition for the past four years, they have called me back once and haven't given me the time of day since. I have been an actor for eleven years (and am still taking classes consistently) my auditions are solid, and someone who works for the company told me (unprompted) that they are aware of me, my name comes up in conversation, it's just "about the right role at the right time." This person, however, is not one of their directors. .... I obviously can't ask them outright why they won't/haven't hired me, but I'll be damned if it doesn't bother the shit out of me. I can't help wondering if it's just starting to look sad that I keep showing up to auditions. If it even matters. I'm wondering if anyone here has ever found themselves in a similar situation and how you dealt with it. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks. ❤️
Beginner actor opinions? criticism by crawlingalien • last post Dec 25th
Is asking an acting teacher or fellow students for agent referrals frowned upon? by kangkodos17 • last post Dec 25th
I am really trying to get an agent, and I know it’s about connections. I’ve already sent out materials and haven’t heard back. Would it be weird if I asked fellow acting classmates if they want to refer me if they feel comfortable doing that? And do agents accept referrals from other actors? What about asking my acting teacher? Thanks!
How to stop coming to the room with set idea of how the scene goes? by tomibombadill • last post Dec 25th
Hey guys! ​ I am a 22 year old actor in London who's receiving great feedback from acting tutors who I have trust in during classes. ​ However, in a professional audition my nerves seem to get the better of me and I can never get through the first rounds of auditions. ​ Recently I got a feedback from one of these auditions and it said that I seemed to come with set ideas which resulted in me being a little less open and responsive. ​ Looking back, I can feel that I can get very tensed during these situations that matter and I fall into a trap of pushing things too much - force emotions out to "impress". It feels like I do this subconsciously on the day which is obviously not helpful. ​ Do you guys have any tips on how to NOT become stuck doing the scene the same way as in the past and try to keep exploring new possibilities and opportunities during the scene? What's the best way to practice this? ​ Because it's holiday season I can't ask my tutors for advice until the new term starts in January but I keep thinking about this all the time and would like to practice on my own during the break so I turned to Reddit for advice, haha! ​ Many thanks for your help guys! ​ EDIT: Forgot to specify, this is mostly about monologue work. I find it easier to be more spontaneous in a dialogue scene as I can react to my partner.
Voice lessons? by AprilJohnJazz • last post Dec 24th
I'm a *very* inexperienced actor, primarily interested in Shakespeare and other classic theatre and I have kind of a stupid question. A lot of my favorite actors (Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, Paul Robeson) have amazing voices, not just their delivery and enunciation, but the resonant quality and pitch and musicality. By comparison, my own voice is nasal and monotone. I'm wondering how much of that is just what you're born with and how much is training, and if a lot of it is training, what kind of training? Like, should I be taking singing lessons? Or something like Linklater? or what?
Cut the crap, let’s be honest. by stile03 • last post Dec 24th
Ok cutting all the crap about luck and how anyone can be a famous actor if they are in the right place at the right time( which I’m sure is partly true) but please in your honest opinion what about the famous actors made them so famous? How did brad Pitt go from serving tables to one of the most acclaimed actors In Hollywood? Or how did Johnny Depp pick up an acting twitch at 26 and become a world wide star at 30? I get it, everyone wants to believe their dreams are true and that they can just sit back and wait for an audition to come back as a yes. BUT what did these famous actors do/have to succeed so spectacularly? The best example I can think of is Adam driver, he isn’t particularly attractive nor was he a child star with connections in the biz, yet he is currently one of the biggest names in Hollywood, HOW DID HE DO IT...WHY IS HE SOOO SPECIAL?
Starting a career in the PNW by SaintShaffer • last post Dec 24th
Hi everyone, I'm about as new to Reddit as I am to acting: been around it forever but just now taking the plunge. I really want to open up a discussion about starting an acting career in Portland, OR. I grew up in LA, dreamt of a meaningful career as an actor since I was kid, have quite a few friends in the industry, but unfortunately my parents wanted me to be an engineer so now I'm making rotisserie chickens at Costco (don't get me wrong, it's a great job with benefits and opportunities). Cutting to the chase, my wife and I moved up here a few years ago and I still have this unshakable urge to really give acting a shot. I've found a couple good classes that I'm saving up for, but before I drop $400 on a six week intro course I'm curious about your thoughts and experiences. Where did you begin?
Casting question by ChrisPBacon989 • last post Dec 24th
What actor would you cast in a movie about the life of young guy in their 20s who is a serial killer. I was trying To think of an actor who hasn’t played these crazy characters before but would be great at it.
How am I doing? Good actor or not video by crawlingalien • last post Dec 24th
[https://youtu.be/Efod4nFGR\_w](https://youtu.be/Efod4nFGR_w) I just started out, in that video I'm acting out a scene as the jokers character
Apparently the voice actress (now 18yo) for Peppa Pig has been the same person since she was 5 years old! Solid gig! by cheebsbutts • last post Dec 24th
Is acting for me? by 1CantTh1nk0fAName • last post Dec 23rd
I’ve always been a fairly shy kid. I often keep to myself with a few friends close around me, but I was always willing to socialise with people around me. The issue is that the schools I’ve been to have been to have been run down and the vast majority were always getting themselves into trouble (drugs, gangs etc) so I’ve never really had a chance to get myself out there. I’m finishing secondary school in a few months and I plan on going to do 4 a levels. The thing is I don’t really know what to do after that. One thing that has come to my mind was acting. I’m very unsure on it because I’ve often been quite introverted but at the same time I’ve always wanted to do something noteworthy with my life. When I watch a tv serious or a movie, I’ve always thought how good it’d be to be apart of it which is where the idea of being an actor came to me. I’ve never done any proper acting. The most I’ve done is say a few lines in a few school plays. In drama lessons at school, we almost never did performances mainly because like I said, my school just wasn’t good so I didn’t get much of an opportunity then. I do feel like I’ve grown a bit more confident this year, but I don’t know if it’s enough to make acting a career. I’m still very unsure if it’s worth putting a lot of work into it. I’m only 16 so I have a decent amount of time ahead still to think about what I want to do of course. I’ve read that it’s very competitive and only the best do well for themselves, whereas most struggle financially. I am hard working and I hate giving up, I’m just undecided if it’s a route I want to go down. I’d much rather fail then wonder what if.
Looking for Voice Actors for a small indie game I'm developing. by Dommmmmmmmmmmmmmm • last post Dec 23rd
Hello All, As said in the title I'm looking for some voice actors for a small game I'm making. Disclaimer, "Voice Actor 1" one has a lot of profanity in the script as of now. Desired Voice Actor 1 - (Male) Has a macho, "douchey", and masculine voice or can replicate it to a tea. In other words, has a very aggressive "Chad" -like voice. Desired Voice Actor 2 - (Female) Normal, simple and clean voice. Preferably similar to that of a receptionist who loves their job. If you are interested please shoot me a dm or comment down below! , Thanks
filmmaker here: why are many actors limited by naturalistic acting? is this a style of acting that is commonly taught? Can we discuss? by pokeoutmyirises • last post Dec 23rd
Hi everyone! I am a filmmaker that posted in the past here. I got a lot of interesting comments and insightful ones! My question is as the title says. I often cast for my own projects or cast for other projects of friends (Nothing big, just a short filmmaker who is trying to build a career). * I've noticed that many actor applications will have the same major acting studios on their resume, and many of these actors (with the exception of a few) offer a very naturalistic approach to acting that I and many of my colleagues, find very limiting. * Semantics might be a problem, so let me define what I mean by this. It seems Stanislavsky favored a naturalistic approach to acting. So it seems from here, that acting begun to shift towards this philosophy as we say nowadays. * It seems a lot of actors with this training, approach the script as if they were themselves. The reactions are often muted and unexciting too watch. It's as if they are taught not to feel anything. It's not mechanical or robotic, but rather just very plain delivery , especially taking into consideration the context of the script(I'll expand on this later) * I've had a few discussion with acting colleagues who stated this is because theatrical acting is dead. I didn't understand this because Marlon Brando's and Robert Deniro's performance in Godfather was definitely theatrical. I would also say Shelly and Nicholson's performance in The Shining was theatrical as well. The New Joker was phenomenal performance as well. A few of the younger actors said that these older performances I mentioned were too theatrical, but stopped when I mentioned Joker. The older actors said these performances are classics and worth studying. I do agree that some really old films had terrible acting, but I wonder if there is some kind of generational gap here? I'm not that old lol. * in a recent short film I casted. I had to turn down many applicants. Instead, i ended up casting a few friends who were in a community theatre program and they delivered much more emotional performances needed for my scene. The cast were not formal actors, but just people who did a theatre program and wanted to help out a friend. I'm guessing this is because these friends weren't following a certain philosophy so they felt much more loose? These performances felt much more believable since it seemed they actually cared and felt, rather than being too calm. * I felt during the casting, many of these trained actors had a very limited emotional and character range. I saw their reels and sometimes would see the same actor apply to many of the other projects I've casted. Often, they played themselves or all the characters blended as one. When I asked them for both self-tapes and in-person auditions, I couldn't get them to bring significant changes to their performances. For example, I would tell an actor to do a sad scene the way they did it (usually it was very casual delivery), then I asked them to heighten it as if this person was important to them and you were never gonna see them again. Or for example, deliver it to me again, but as if you are asserting dominance/commanding your entire football team. The changes were barely noticeable, the camera definitely could not pick it up. The degree of difference after me giving them direction was very tiny. I thought it was nerves at first because of in-person auditions, but then I noticed the same thing with video auditions. * I also have a self-tape studio where I help professional actors (not just student) do their tapes for a show or feature film audition. Though many of these actors are quite strong, I would say it's sometimes too natural in contrast to the context of the script. Can we all argue, debate, unravel and talk about this for a second? Is there some kind of overall philosophy that major acting studios teach? Are actors aware that this super natural approach is limiting for a number of roles? Do actors nowadays not appreciate De Niro or Nicholson?
Keeping it Real... by ZacharyGoldman • last post Dec 23rd
Naturalism in Acting: How to Guide? Hi Everyone! My name is Zachary and about five minutes ago my sister introduced to me something called Reddit. A further two minutes later; I find myself writing to an acting group. This app is great! I just wanted to created a discussion on Naturalism. What is the key to being a very natural performer? This is something I have struggled with for a few year’s. As an actor I have a very extroverted personality, I enjoy playing complex characters with bold journeys, active impulses. In general, I get feedback to suppress these emotions more. Make them more internal and somewhat more believable? Stanislavski believe in having a jar of YOU and dropping little bits of character in to the concoction. Emma Watson mentions after filming Saving Mr. Banks, that she studies and explores the whole world of the character, makes discoveries and then completely drops it when filming begins. What is your advice, tips and potential exercises to create a performance to and audience where you are completely In YOUR same skin and body and yet transformed into a completely other person?