Eight steps to having a successful career as an Actor

Ben Whitehair is an actor, web designer, and an entrepreneur living in Los Angeles. Ben has starred in films that have premiered at film festivals all across the country. You can check out his reel, headshots, contact information, and embarrassing baby pictures on his website benwhitehair.com or connect with him on twitter @BenWhitehair

This was an email I received that pretty much sums up how to make it out here.

It was authored by Marc Zicree.

Enjoy.

Making it in Hollywood is Simple…

Actors and writers and producers and directors – especially beginning ones – are often running around crazily to networking events big and small, attending Pitchfests and Industry Expos, feverishly sending out postcards and headshots, reading endless books on the Industry – many of which lay down so many self-contradictory theories and rules that they’re only left more lost and confused than when they started.

Making it in Hollywood is simple, which isn’t to say it’s easy.

But based on several decades in the business (and counting), it boils down to this:

Eight Steps to Being A Successful Actor

Feel free this pass this along, as I think it will be of use to anyone trying to make a dent in the Hollywood edifice. If they haven’t heard of me, you can mention I’ve written and produced hundreds of hours of network TV, had bestsellers in fiction and non-fiction, been nominated for the Humanitas, Hugo, Nebula, American Book Award, etc. (so maybe I have something of a clue as to how things work…)

Get clear on what you want to accomplish

Aim as high as you possibly can.

You don’t have to start at the bottom.

You can start at the top, if your work justifies you belong there.
Create something that shows the finest quality of what you can do.

It doesn’t have to be long, just good – one or two minutes is fine; most shorts and reels fail because the acting, writing and/or directing is poor – affliliate with those who have the skills you need.

Aim high.

Utilize low-cost HD cameras, Macs with Final Cut Pro and the Internet.

You never know who’s watching You Tube.
Get next to the person with the power to say yes

Get next to the person with the power to say yes, when he has an opening for what you’ve got (do your homework to determine who that is; read the trades and the Hollywood Creative Directory).

Most executives are lower level and only have the power to say no.

Target the people you want to work with and find out where they’re speaking, use mutual contacts (via family, friends, the web), do whatever it takes to get next to them.

Meeting them in person is better than the phone, the phone is better than email, email is better than letters.
Say something about yourself

Say something about yourself (your life or accomplishments) that interests them enough to check out your work.

Be authentic; if you like their work say something specific about what you like but don’t gush.

Speak from your vision and your heart.
Be mentored by someone who has succeeded specifically in what you’re trying to do

otherwise you’re flying blind (it’s telling that right now J.J. Abrams is being mentored by Spielberg).

Ideally, it’s more than one person.

To get those mentors, make a long list of who’s doing the work you admire and read up on them, on their tastes and enthusiasms, look for commonality between them and yourself (something specific; where you came from, hobbies, personal background).

Go where they’re speaking; interview them for a magazine or a website; hire them — do whatever it takes to get that specific blow by blow advice.

Ideally, they should be someone still in the game, because the specifics of the game change quickly (although some key basics remain the same.

In my own career, I make sure I have one or more mentors for each project I take on. Over the course of my career, in ways big and small I’ve been mentored by Rod Serling, Theodore Sturgeon, Richard Matheson, George Clayton Johnson, Harlan Ellison, Ray Bradbury, J.J. Abrams, Guillermo del Toro, directors and writers from Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Gallactica, Farscape, Star Trek – The Next Generation, many others.
Don’t Stop

Remember to take constructive criticism, make course corrections as need be (but disregard toxic or negative input, and people).

Nicholas Meyer, director of Wrath of Khan recently said to me that what makes for a successful career is “charm and persistence.”

I wholeheartedly agree.
Surround yourself with loving creative people who will allow you your dream.
Repeat as needed.

Whatever your path, I want to wish you the best of luck and encourage you to not wait but just go for it. It’s true that luck favors the bold and, trust me, it’s a singular joy when something that comes from your mind and heart reaches out to millions of people and stands the test of time.”

All good thoughts your way,

Marc Zicree

This article is reprinted with the kind permission of Playbills vs Paying Bills and Ben Whitehair.