How to Become an Actor

The boy in a costume of the pirate swings a sabre

So you want to become an actor? A word of advice: There are certainly easier ways to get rich. Or get famous. If you want to become an actor, it should only be because nothing excites you quite so much as the prospect submerging your own personality into an imaginary character's in the interests of connecting with an audience. If that's your passion, then here's how you should start.

Opportunities In Your Community

Before you put all your worldly goods in a storage unit and move to the places where the real action is, try to get some acting experience in the place where you live. If nothing else, it will look good on your resume.

Community theaters are great places to start out, and most of them hold auditions that are open to the public when they cast their upcoming shows. If you live in an area with a college and that college has a film department, drop on by and

leave a photo and a resume on file so that student film directors will have access to it when they're casting for class projects.

Headshots

If it's a film career you're interested in, the sad truth is most directors don't cast on talent: They cast by type. If you look right for the part, you already have a foot and half your body through the door. The first thing a casting director will see are your headshots so make sure to get good ones, showcasing you at your versatile best. Most headshot packages from reputable photographers will include a theatrical headshot and a commercial headshot, as well as some pix in different ensembles and makeup. A good headshot can make you or break you in the acting world, so make sure to pick an experienced photographer here even if it costs more.

New York Or Los Angeles?

If the occasional community theater gig will satisfy your acting "jones", you can act from anywhere. But if you have your eye set on plum film or television roles, you have to be where the work is - and that means New York or Los Angeles. That's where the agents and casting directors are, even if the film or TV show ends up being shot on another location. No, you don't have to move to either of those places but you do have to plan on checking in there on a regular basis.

Try to get some acting experience in the place where you live