Hey guys. I wanted to share a little of my journey with all you new and aspiring actors. I'm hoping I can inspire and help you along your journey. Alright, here we go. In order to to be an actor, I believe you have to be crazy. You must have a true passion for the craft. Please do not do it for money because you will not make any right away, of course there are some exceptions to this rule. You embark on this journey because you love the craft. In this business you actually have to look forward to the disappointments and get accusomted to hearing the word NO. And then you learn not to take any of it personally because it's just business. Oh, patience and faith you'll need a little of that!
Ok let's get back to being crazy. You have to take a two hour bus ride from Philly to NY for a 5 min audition a few times out of the week. You have to walk away from a full time job (with great benefits) to pursue your dreams. At times you have to sacrifice shopping sprees and vacations with your friends. And of course you have to move 3,000 miles to Hollywood away from your family and friends to be closer to your dreams. These are some of the crazy things I did to make my dreams a reality.
With that being said, the universe will respond and open doors for you. It's called the Law of Attraction. When I understood the law of attraction after reading the Secret, I knew I was on to something. For every action, there is a reaction. I promised myself that everyday I would do something that would help my dreams manifest. After countless bus rides back and forth from Philly to NY, I decided to move to Brooklyn so I could be closer to my acting environment, I was only there for a few months before booking a contract role on the soap operaOne Life to Live. One Life to Live was the start of my career and gave me confidence that I could book again. See how it works, God made a move in my career because I was bold enough to make the move to NY.
I wanted to share a few pointers that has helped me along my journey.
- Commit to the craft, it will pay you back
- Loose your pride. I won't serve you
- Humble yourself. This will serve you
- Surround yourself with other actors, directors, casting directors, etc.
- Surround yourself with positive people and fellow dream chasers, you will need them on this journey
- Know your type and the roles you wanna play. Get head shots to represent that
- Professionalism is key and it will take you far
- Find an acting class. Study! Study! Study!
- Network. Networking is just as important as being in class and going on auditions
- Image: Make sure you are always clean cut. Know your type and dress the part for every audition you go on.
- Be pleasant and easy to work with, It's easy to replace you
- Know your brand. Don't do anything your uncomfortable with
- Don't compare yourself with anyone else. Everyone's journey is different and unique. When you truly understand this, you know there's enough room for all of us
- Be patient. A great career won't happen over night
