October 29th, 2020

The Classic Catch 22 of an Actor's Career

I was recently doing a consultation with an actor and we were discussing a few key factors that could be holding her career back, including her headshot, training, and experience.
 
The conversation quickly turned to her reel and resume.
 
"I have my training listed on my resume, but how do I make my resume more full? I'm worried casting directors won't take me seriously because my resume is so short and I don't have a reel yet."
 
Have you ever wondered that?
 
It's like a photographer who needs a portfolio of work to be able to get any clients. Clients won't want to hire you if they don't know what your work looks like... so how do you build a portfolio?
 
Shoot for free.
 
But when it comes to actors, you can go act in student films for free, but what if the director never sends you your footage? Or what if you finally get the footage and it's terrible quality?
 
Well, that's the classic Actor's Catch 22: How do you get called in for good roles without a reel? And how do you get a good reel if you can't even get called in for good roles?
 
Well, there are definitely a few solutions, but I want to get your take first:

Pretend you have ZERO footage for your reel:


What are at least 2 things you could do to increase your chances of getting called in for a paid acting job without a reel?


Leave a comment below!


Oh – and if you want some ideas, you'll want to watch this video. Don't watch the video before leaving your comment, That's cheating!