Are You Lying to Yourself?

A couple of weeks ago I had a conversation with my own life/career coach who challenged me to stop “beating around the bush” with you and really challenge you to either get serious about your career or “go home.”

So my question to you is this: Are you lying to yourself about how serious and committed you are to your career? Truth be told, I have no doubt that you think you want to be an actor. However, when it comes to the actual work involved in pursuing your career, I’m going to challenge you to be honest with yourself about how much you really want this.

Why do I say this? Because based on what I’ve experienced in working with my coaching clients over the past five years, as well as the five years I spent as a Hollywood agent, ninety-percent of them [actors] say they want this, but only ten-percent of them actually get down to business and do the work they need to do to make things happen.

If you are someone who calls yourself an actor but has nothing to show for it, here are just a few ways you may be sabotaging your career:

1) You don’t market yourself on a daily basis
2) You don’t take any acting classes
3) You don’t network with other actors
4) You don’t attend any industry events
5) You don’t go on any auditions
6) You don’t read the trades
7) You don’t have current headshots
8) You don’t have a professionally formatted resume
9) You don’t use Facebook

If you want to succeed in this business, you need to get serious about your career … Otherwise, go home and do something else with your life.

Now I’m sure I really ticked some of you off by that last sentence. But let’s get real: you HAVE to be doing all of the things I’ve listed above if you expect to have any success in this business. Here’s why:

1) Sending out headshots every couple of weeks isn’t going to cut it in this business. You need to be marketing yourself on a daily basis, otherwise you’re living in a dream world if you think one headshot submission is going to get you the audition or the job.

2) In order to be honing your craft, you need to be in class on a regular basis. It may take you a while to find the right class for you (i.e. the one you “click” with), but even celebrities go back to class on a regular basis just to tune up their skills.

3) Taking class will also enable you to network with other actors, and quite honestly, this business is less about how talented you are and more about whom you know.

4) Along those lines, you need to be attending industry events (like Actor Fest) on a regular basis. Join organizations like Women in Film so you can get out there and meet people. Again, this business is all about whom you know!

5) Go on auditions! I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen actors pass on audition, thinking that they should just be offered the part. However, unless you’re a very well known actor, or one with celebrity status, you need to be auditioning on a regular basis. Not only does it give you the chance to showcase your talent but you also never know what other projects a casting director is working on, for which you may be right.

6) The next thing you need to do is read the trades on a regular basis, because this is where you’ll be able to find our what projects are coming up, what shows have been canceled and the like. Reading the trades is the best way for you to know what’s really happening in the industry.

7) My next question for you is this: How current are your headshots? Honestly, there’s nothing that ticks a casting director off more than an actor who walks into an audition looking nothing like their picture!

8) Your next responsibility is to make sure that your resume is formatted to industry standards, and that you have one resume for theatre and one for film and television. The thing to remember here is that a professionally done resume makes you look like the professional that you profess to be, not an amateur with stars in their eyes.

9) Finally, get on Facebook and utilize it to let people know what you’re up to! Thank God for social media, as it’s a great way to connect with other industry professionals that you can’t meet in person. Casting Directors, Studio and Network executives, agents and managers are all on Facebook, so do yourself a favor and start utilizing this great tool!


Food for Thought: Pursuing a career in the entertainment industry involves a lot of hard work. Remember, this is a business and as such, you need to treat it that way. So, unless your commitment level is 200%, I would encourage you to be honest with yourself about how much you really want to do this. Honestly, it’s okay to quit this business if your heart really isn’t in it. I can’t tell you the number of actors I’ve worked with who, once they were honest with themselves, discovered that the happiness and fulfillment they thought they would get from being an actor was just not there, and so they left the business to pursue different careers and they couldn’t be happier!

Remember: Life is short, so make every moment of yours count!


P.S. Based on all of the requests I’ve received asking for help with the marketing piece of pursuing an acting career, I’ve decided to put together a very affordable program ($9.97/month) to help you, so stay tuned because I’ll be telling you more about it in the very near future!

Copyright © 2010 Sharon Moist, The Industry Coach. All Rights Reserved.