A friend of mine shared this clip of Ryan Gosling talking about actors empowering themselves and taking their careers in to their own hands. Yes, the clip is a little low quality, but his advice is spot on.
There are so many actors now days and even fewer jobs (especially, with all the stars moving to TV), that it really isn’t realistic to wait around for someone to put you in a project. I cannot tell you how many talented actors I have seen that move to LA and just sit around waiting for their agent to send them out, and they end up not working for years.
And honestly? It’s sad and frustrating to see. At the very least, they should be submitting themselves through Actors Access and LA Casting every day, and networking with people they already know and trying to meet new film creatives in their close circles. And to really step it up and take matters in to your own hands, writing/producing/creating your own projects.
I’ve come up with a sort of metaphor:
Your work should be like hot chocolate: the bulk of what you do should be the actual hot cocoa, consisting of writing/producing/creating your own projects, networking, submitting yourself, and marketing yourself. Then, agents are just like the whip cream on top; whatever they get you through your agents is an added plus and enhances the hot cocoa experience, however, not a necessity to have a delicious hot cocoa experience, because the hot cocoa is still exciting and sustainable on its own. And eventually there will come a time that that hot cocoa is high in demand, and the whip cream will be able to help enhance the flavor even more.
Okay, yes. Kind of a crazy metaphor. But what I’m really saying is take control and make things happen for yourself, so your career and success is not dependent on an outside force.
Don’t wait around. If this is your passion and dream, go at it full force!
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Excellent post and applicable to more than acting. The rum in the hot chocolate is your Oscar
Good advice!