THE CASTING PECKING ORDER
New actors listen up! When a show is being cast most casting directors have a SYSTEM for going through the Breakdowns.
Typically they start with Series Regular roles. First they send out direct OFFERS to the actors that Producers want to GIVE the parts to.
The Agents and Managers who represent those actors look at their actor’s commitments, their schedules, the money, and see if the actor wants to take the role.
As the offers are being/have been dealt with casting moves to the next stage and they call in the actors they ALREADY KNOW.
Next, they call in actors who ALREADY have Guest Star credits.
Then they look at actors who ALREADY have Costar credits.
And finally casting will see brand new people – who as you can see are at the bottom of the pecking order. (I can talk about the exceptions here but I don’t want that to throw you off.)
Getting working on TV can take 3-6 years. That’s usually how long it can take for casting to get to know you. When I say “get to know you” I mean you walk into the room and they know your WORK.
I want Actors to be realistic and understand that you don’t just land in Los Angeles and get on a TV series. That is utterly naïve.
There are fabulous actors and I mean FABULOUS actors who have been here for years grinding away, paying their dues, getting known in the casting community and they work on many projects, yet they are still unknown and still not Series Regulars on a TV series… YET! 😀
If you look at their resumes they have tons of Costars, Guest stars and even some great film credits. They spend their years training, and networking, and following through on opportunities. They are committed. They show up.
Sometimes an actor gets lucky and books a neat role in a great tv show or a movie and they think “they’ve made it.” But they really haven’t. It’s just one tic on a long list of tics that makes a career.
I spoke to an Agent this morning who represents an actor who has been a Series Regular on 3 different series and she’s having a hard time getting him in on pilots this year! So the name of this game is patience, and CONSISTENT PERSISTENCE as I always say. There are things you can do that UP your odds, that make a stronger impact, that are more directly and specifically focused on creating the results you want, that get you in more audition rooms, get you better agents, there are things WITHIN YOUR CONTROL. There are ways to specifically market your type, there are great publicity and marketing things you can do to get more heat on you. And of course that can get you further ahead of others faster. I always say the more you know and understand about how this business really works the better you’re going to do. You can take my course the Hollywood Winners Circle Academy if you want to learn how to do all of that.
But know you have to be doing this acting thing because you LOVE acting. Plain and simple. Not because you want to get rich or famous because most likely NEITHER one of those things are gonna happen.
Instead, you do this acting thing because you love the CRAFT of acting. You love creating characters, you love the expressing the emotions, you love telling the stories, you love working with the crew and set because when you’re there… you feel alive – and that you are living your purpose.
Most actors make their living doing something other than acting because you have to have a secondary form of income that brings in the bacon. A flexible schedule that generates enough income. I suggest finding something else you love that you enjoy doing to earn money. And know it doesn’t all have to come from one source you should have multiple streams of income that come from different sources. It all adds up.
And save. I can’t stress this ENOUGH. Put $100 away every single month in a savings account NO MATTER WHAT because in 30 years that money will matter. If you don’t do anything else I say DO THIS. You will thank me for it.
And while you are working hard getting traction with Costars and Guest stars be very busy doing your OWN content – or SAG Low Budget Films, Funky films, Shorts- all of which could go to Film Festivals and garner some heat on an actor.
Actors, you can have a fantastic creative career working with amazing people, writing scripts, selling projects, casting yourself in projects, collaborating with others on their amazing projects, making great friends and living a creative life. And if you get lucky you may even get rich and famous…
…but that’s simply the icing on an already delicious cake!
