So, you want to break into the film and theatre industry? It's a tough industry to break into, but definitely within your reach if you work hard and stay disciplined at it. Here’s some tried and tested ways your favourite actors have ‘made it’:
Advertisements
A huge number of actors who have starred in blockbuster movies had a humble beginning where they said a couple of lines in an advert. So, whilst you’re reaching for the stars and the big movie roles, remember you can use adverts to climb the acting ladder and add them to your showreel.
Here are a few of our favourite adverts, try not to cringe too hard!
Haggling
According to an interview with Golden Globe winning actress Jodie Foster, she haggled so many people to get roles that she wasn’t initially casted in. In the Vanity Fair interview, she described that she had to ‘beat down the door’ to land the role of Clarice Starling in the hit movie ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.
Apply for Screen Stars of Tomorrow
Screen Stars of Tomorrow is a really good way to get your foot in the door. Although the submission deadline for this year was in June, you can still put your submission in next year or the following. But what is it? The Screen Stars of Tomorrow basically cherry picks 15 actors and 15 directors, writers and producers under the age of 30 to feature in a standalone issue of their magazine: Screen International.
Previous ‘Stars of Tomorrow’ include Benedict Cumberbatch, Emily Blunt and John Boyega, so they mean business!
Open auditions
Open auditions can be useful for breaking into the film and/or theatre industry. Remember the Star Wars open audition, where anyone could audition to be in the next Star Wars film- that was pretty cool. A lot of theatres will host open auditions too.
Here are some open audition links to get you started:
Written by Maddy Abela | Insta: @happydazexox