Expert: Taylor Sheppard - 3/27/2008

Question
Hi there. I'm 24 and I'm thinking about pursuing an acting  career in motion pictures. I dont have any experience nor education. And I'm not thinking about getting acting lessons. I'm a very confident person though humble at the same time. So my questions would be: Should I get an agent right away? or should i post my resume on several sites and look for auditions myself? Last question is: should i join SAG right away or should first get some experience and credits without joining an union?

And one more thing: If I would get the part for a certain role, but I'm not a SAG member, could I then join SAG quickly to get that role? I'm just thinking the casting crew could tell "Join SAG and you'll get the part" or something like this.

Any help is appreciated. Thank You in advance.

Answer
Michael,

Sorry if the answer seemed harsh, but do you honestly think that you are the only "special" chosen one? My favorite quote: "Of course you're special...just like everyone else!"

Tell you what. Take a trip out to Southern California and just walk around and count how many pretty people there are. When you get to a thousand you can stop! It won't take long. I guarantee you will be blown away!

You see, you had better have knowledge of how to hit a mark running, what the difference between an ECU, a CU, a medium shot and a full body shot is and how it affects your acting. The editors will want to kill you if they have to piece together different shots and you are moving out of frame or are doing something different in each take. Chances are, that wouldn't happen because after a few takes the director would probably call casting and ask that they hurry and get the second guy they considered because "he (you) are just not working out!" Can you imagine the humiliation of getting fired like that? It has happened, and for even smaller things. What you are dealing with is MILLIONS of dollars spent on a show. Each minute of filming costs thousands of dollars! They are paying for raw film, which in 1987 was about a dollar a frame, without anything on it! That doesn't include actor's salaries, wardrobe and their salaries, location fees, teamsters who truck everything around, lighting rental, grips salaries, catering, licenses, the purchase of the script, etc, etc. Literally thousands of bucks. Do you suppose they will use someone who doesn't know what to do?

Many casting directors only use a few choice actors because they KNOW these people are pros who will make them look good -and they will get hired to cast the next feature. Otherwise they can go back to doing sales or whatever it was they did before they trained (interned) to be a casting person. Ever heard of the CSA? Casting Society of America...they are the group that you belong to as a real casting director.

One thing I learned when I was young and slightly arrogant, as you seem to be, is that I had a problem taking direction. I would research and work on my role until I figured my character down to the smallest detail. I had the strongest of convictions about what he was, how he would react to things in life (things that weren't even in the script) and just how he would go about what he did.

Well, the director had other visions. When that happens, your ego has to take a back seat to everything! That may be hard to do. The director is right...it's his name on the film! If you disagree strongly, you can do what some big names have done in the past and ask they release you from the contract. Maybe they will. Or maybe it will be like "Boxing Helena" where the actor wanted the hell out and there were legal repercussions afterward.

What I am getting at is you need to take a few classes. That will open your eyes to what you do know and what you need to learn. When you go to an audition, you can't be hoping they will cut you slack because you are green. Just as an agent isn't your therapist, the casting people don't owe you a break. If you are lucky, they will be friendly, sometimes they aren't. They sure won't cut you slack.
Once they see you, they have a permanent attitude about your talent and that first impression can mean you never getting in to see them again. Even though I am in Texas, a sizable state, there are maybe 5 casting directors that I see. I can't afford to make a bad impression.

One of the 5 knew me as an extra for years and for one bad audition. I almost NEVER get to see her. I think the last time was 4 years ago.
While I recommend doing some extra roles to learn about the process, if you do it too long, the casting people get to see you as "just an extra". This casting director was an extras casting person until she worked her way up. (Be really careful in life with people, you never know what they may be someday!)

You DON'T want to join SAG in a "right to work" state. If you do, you will not be allowed to work non-union shows. Right now, the business has moved to independent features who get picked up by major studios if they are worthwhile. In California, you pretty much have to have a SAG card just to get an agent. Either that, or have someone sponsor you. Get the eligibility, sit on it, if you get a role that requires it, then join.

As to an agent: the agent will submit you to he auditions if you fit the specs. They are connected to the casting agents who send them "breakdowns" for parts. The crap on the Internet for "auditions" are a ripoff. They may ask for extras in different places like Craigslist for student films, but legit productions don't work like that. Agents don't take fees upfront. They take it off the back end.

Be really careful how you come off to people in the business. If they feel you are cocky, there MISSION will be to see you don't make it. I had the pleasure of meeting Clint Eastwood while working on a movie of his some years back. The man IS the epitamy of humble. No attitude! It isn't unusual to see him sit down for a card game with extras. That's because he worked his way up and knows he could have just as easily been an extra forever and never made it, working some crappy job. Money and fame do not define who you are. That is just as fake as the rubber plants in the background!

Hope this helps...

Taylor



Michael,

I really enjoyed your email. I laughed until it hurt!
I am thinking of sharing it with my acting friends for their enjoyment.

Seriously, with your attitude and lack of knowledge, I can't help you, and neither can you. I don't mean to be mean, but unless you can adjust your ego, I can't be a party to the course you are taking. The only thing that puzzles me is why you would bother asking any of us here for help. You know what you are doing. Personally, I would hate to work with anyone on set like you. It would be misery and a lot of expensive production time wasted.
But that would only be if you accidentally got a part.

I'll give you a couple hints: SAG isn't applied for, you have to do a SAG eligible role to get offered a SAG membership. I know people who haven't gotten that in 15 years of work!

An agent want either experience, a damn good look and/or education credits to make up for lack of credits. They can't afford to be embarrassed by a "Ham Actor" who will make them look bad. The phrase: "tried and true" means you can show you can do the job.
My agent recently let go 100 actors who didn't bother with auditions or keeping up with their end of the business -including keeping up their training! She said that the ones she kept were worth her time to promote, the rest weren't serious. Some were long-time actors with our agency!

Seriously, before you fly an airplane, you might want to go to flight school so you know what the little dials and gauges on the cockpit wall mean...

Good luck!

Taylor