Expert: Peter Messaline - 11/23/2009

Question
okay,
my name is ariel and i am sixteen years old. i live in the bahamas but the thing is ...... i want international stardom like taylor lautner or robin pattinson. i am a girl and a natural bahamian beauty. i know i need an agent but i dont know how to get one!!! i read about the instantcast scam so there is no way i'm trusting that site again but i was wondering if you could please help me find an agent and fast!! please or maybe you could be my agent? i really need one and i really need the fame in order to jolt my family out of its current state. we are not rich at all. pppppppppplllllllllllllleeeeeaassssssee help me! and et me know about auditions and help me find an agent?
thanks
ariel


Answer
First thing is, keep your dreams, hold on to your desire to improve your family's state.
Don't let difficulties and disappointments take that ambition away from you.

Second thing is, you are trying to be a stunning success in a business where the competition for work of any sort is murderous.
How many international stars are there? Multiply that by a thousand and at a guess that's how many people worldwide who make A LOT of money from acting.
One estimate is that there are 100,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild, the US film and TV union, and around fifty stars. Another survey says these people share 44,000 acting jobs in a year. The longest job is a few weeks and their average hourly wage is around $30 an hour. The income of 85% of SAG actors is less than $5,000.

A more important fact is that alongside the SAG actors there are many more non-union actors making much less money in film and TV. To join SAG and get some protection and better fees, you only have to have worked on three SAG films by buying permits. You can see that there are many thousands of people trying to get work who never get three important jobs.

A reputable agent will take you on if there is a good chance of  paying his costs with ten per cent of your acting fees. Agents in LA won't take you on until you are already a SAG member with a fat résumé. There are working actors who never get signed on to an agent.

What you have to do now is to look around where you live. Are there theatres? Is there a college with a film course? Small independent producers and all theatres need all the unpaid help they can get. They may advertise in a free local newspaper or on a noticeboard in a store. You may not get casting, but you will get a chance to be around and get trusted, and then perhaps get cast. You need to get as much of a résumé as possible, to be able to move forward.

At sixteen, you wouldn't be likely to be cast in mainstream film and TV for a couple of years yet. The laws governing minors' work are too much of a pain. And your odds of being auditioned without training are very low. Most actors nowadays went to college and also take extra private classes.

Honestly, I think you should decide what you actually want, and focus on that.  If you want some sort of regular income, acting and modelling, are a pathetic route. If that's your target, you need to find another way. Enjoy what small acting you can do, but look elsewhere for the money.
Who do you know, even a little bit through a friend or relative, who hires people?  You won't make high wages to start with, while you're at school, but it's a start. Take your drive and impress the hell out of your friend's realtor mother, or the aunt who runs a cafe, or whoever can offer a chance to move up to real money.

And hold on to that ambition and aim for high targets.