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Actors are lost. I speak with them daily, and this is my general consensus. Many casting directors and independent filmmakers are telling them they need a following. “Wait, to be an actor I now need to be an influencer too?!?” Their ‘anxious’ meter begins to rise, and combined with the fact they’re often already over-caffeinated, the scrolling obsession begins. “What is everyone else posting?” “Oh, I need a brand.” “Everyone else is getting collabs! I can too!!!” They begin to post. And sure, some of them understand branding. We represent most of the dual-hat-wearing talent in town, i.e., “I work at an ad agency, as a PA, shooter, you name it, but I act too.” It’s the nature of the arts; many of us have multiple passions, and I support everyone’s right to express those passions. Why would anyone ever feel otherwise? Create, yes. Suppress, no. Here’s the problem: many actors never fully committed to learning the craft of acting. And the truth is, in a commercial market like ours, you don’t have to. The agency signs talent all the time based on our clients’ wants and needs. And since many commercials don’t have speaking roles, if a person has a relaxed, likable presence on camera, that’s often all they need. But then someone says to me, “I want to be on a Netflix series.” That’s a whole other can of gummy worms. (I prefer the gummy ones.) If you’re an excellent actor, it might be time for you to start thinking about branding and how you’re presenting yourself on social platforms. If you’re not there yet, though, which I think many actors aren’t honest with themselves about, you should focus on the craft first and foremost. Below is a link to a clip. Before you click on it, I want you to ask yourself: If I were creating a 100 million dollar series, would I care more about bringing on an actor who does local brand deals and has managed to garner a half million followers, or about them being able to deliver this type of work every episode? And do you know what that requires for a producer at this level to believe you can execute this? A demo reel that demonstrates it. So, you can post and post and post, and smile for Crest collabs. Or, you can focus, connect with local filmmakers, and build a reel that features this quality of craftsmanship. My hope is that this helps some of you re-prioritize your creative life. Remember, anxiety is often a cover for another dominant emotion, and when it comes to actors, that’s often insecurity. If you do the work to learn and grow, and film something with this level of quality for your agent to pitch, I think you’ll find you sleep a little better at night.
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