Expert: Peter Messaline - 1/4/2010

Question
QUESTION: hi my name is madison chisholm and i am 12 years old. modelling and acting have become my dreams since i was like 10 or 9. it kinda started when my friend was taking modeling and acting classes at this place and i wanted to also but it cost like 6,ooo dollars a year so that was too much my parents said but then my aunt told me that u dont need classes because my cousin and her daughter started modeling and acting by just sending pictures in to agenencies and she modelled with like raven symone. well anyways ever since then whenever i watch tv like unlike my friends and stuff i dont watch it like as the show i sorta see it as like oh i wanna do that i wanna be on tv like miley cyrus and selena gomez. but then i got braces and my mom said i should wait till i get them off but that wont be for like a year and a half and i was getting real impatient so i did some research online and it seems like u can still act and model with braces so i was wondering how should i begin to fulfill my dream and start that career?

ANSWER: I am going to disappoint you with boring adult commonsense.

You were lucky not to be captured by the agency that charged $5,000.
Most child model and talent agencies make a lot of their money from fees and classes, instead of relying on taking a share of their clients' fees.

Your aunt is right to say that classes wouldn't be useful, but your cousin's experience is nothing to rely on. You only hear about the people who succeeded, not about the hundreds who try and fail. Using children, even as models but especially as actors, is sometimes necessary, but always a pain. Laws mean you can't use them for as long in a day, often you have to hire a tutor, and you are always dealing with the child's parent, who knows nothing about the business except to protect her son or daughter.

If you became a model/performer, it would mean a huge amount of your mother's time. I don't know how far you live from where TV and commercials are made, but every time you auditioned she would have to give up half a day to be with you. And you audition a lot more than you work.

It's good that you can watch TV like a performer instead of just as an audience member, but think how many child actors you see and realise that each piece of casting involved as many as two thousand people being seen in LA and NYC. Does that sound like bad odds? Add the ten thousand people who were suggested by their agents and didn't even get get an audition. And the thousands more who can't get an agent.

Wherever you live, being an actor or a model involves a lot of trying and waiting, and not much performing. There is plenty of work in LA and NYC, but there are thousands of people wanting each part. In smaller places there are fewer actors, but much less work.

You want to give yourself the best chance possible if you want to work in the business. I'd suggest waiting for your braces to be off. There are performers with braces, but there are also performers who are deaf. They don't get much work, it's just that you notice them when they do work.

Turn your star dreams into reality by finding out all you can about the job of being a model or an actress. Listen to all sorts of experts and make your own decision from the different stories they tell. Become the most knowledgeable fourteen year old performer in your area. Then knock them dead.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: ok first of all, my mom doesnt have a job so tat wont be a problem. also i am going to take drama next year, i wanted to this year but i couldnt cuz i was already on the cheer team and the practices were on the same day. and about the braces. . . idk if i can wait till i get my braces off i mean that will be in 2 years! and yes i understad the odds but i mean i dont mind i willl try my hardest to get myslef out there, and i live in lancaster wich is about 45 min or 1 hour away from LA. acting is my true passion and i have been lookinh up books and trying to do reaserch on acting and like i found thisbook online called actors in young holywood and it seems very interesting, like it tells all out the channels on tv that they hire young ppl for, so i mean it is gonna be hard for sure but its a challenge and i will do anything to make it or at least try my hardest.  

Answer
Anything could happen.
You could get a good agent who was willing to push you in LA,  
and he could put your name in front of a producer who really wanted you
the director and the other producers could agree to cast you instead of someone whose professional work they could see on tape.
And you could even walk into the yard and find a big bag of gold under the stoop.

Carry on with your research and read this article:
http://tinyurl.com/yz79lfj
the third section has good advice for actors with a lot of experience already.

Put this dream at the back of your desk and concentrate on taking the first steps in what can be an exciting career. Eventually.