How To Become An Actor

How To Become an Actor

Sometimes when you pick a career, you are doing much more than just that, sometimes it’s a decision that will impact your life for always.  One of these amazing careers is the wonderful world of acting. As a matter of fact, there is nothing quite like it. There are plenty of jobs in entertainment, but this is the only one in which, even if just for a little while, you get to become someone else. Whether you choose to bring a new person to life behind a camera or on a stage, you are creating a new life, an no matter how many other people play the same part, your take will be completely original, all your own. And this is what makes being an actor so wonderful. In this article we will try to explain the basics of how to become an actor.

How does someone go about getting started in this amazing career you may ask? The first thing is to be sure this is something you want more than anything else, because this is a demanding career that requires much focus and determination. It’s a career that is emotionally and physically draining and at some points, like when you audition and get rejected, can lead to feelings of deep depression. You must be a strong person of great preserverance to make it in this career, being able to take many let down to only get back up and try again. If you decide that you can do all of these things, that you can be strong and determined, then and only then should you proceed and think about how to become an actor.

From here, the journey is yours to begin. For some, going to school and learning the methods such as those of Stanislavski and Strausberg will help. Actors that use such methods for their acting are known as method actors. School is a great way to learn different styles of acting also and to read many different plays. Some colleges even offer cold reading classes to get people ready for auditions where, with no preparation, an actor must read from a script. These classes make it easier to get into a script they have never seen before. For others, they may choose to go out into the audition world without schooling to make it. This method is more difficult for untrained actors but is not impossible. In order to do this, you must be very focused and determined to make it. Reading as many scripts as possible is recommended in order to expand your knowledge and decrease the chance of getting a cold reading from a play that is unknown by the actor.  If you really want to learn on how to become an actor then it also would probably be to your advantage to read up on the Stanislavski method, as it is the most widely used, and may even venture to find other method acting books.

In the audition there are many things that will contribute to a better chance of getting the part. First of all you should try to look at all characters and pick the one that best fits you, not the one that is necessarily the lead or the biggest. You will find that even small parts can be quite enjoyable to play if you fit the character, and you will have a much better chance at obtaining a role this way. Secondly, make sure you dress in the proper attire for the audition, you want to look professional.

Next be sure to be speak up to where you will be heard and play the part as if it were an opening night performance, it should captivate the directors and make them feel they must cast you, this again, is why you need to fit the part you pick to play. You have to be that character, not just act, but live the role as truthfully as possible. After you have done your very best, the judges may criticize you, they may put you down or make you feel as though you have no idea what you are doing. The best thing to do now is to politely smile and tell them thank you no matter what happens because being rude will ensure you do not get a role.

The conclusion is that if you want to know how to become an actor you must want it wholeheartedly, you must live for it, because not only is it a career, it is a lifestyle choice. You must do everything in your power to get the roles you desire, and be truthful to yourself and your acting, live the scene.  Whatever you do, you must not act; you must become the character and live that life as truthfully as possible. If you are destined to become an actor, it will be so, but the only way to know is to try.