Monday, July 20, 2009

Are You Ready To Audition?

To provide a counterpoint to my last post (and an uncomfortably intimate view of the debates that rage in my head), let me introduce a harsh check:

Are you an aspiring actor who feels like you should be getting cast more? Have you ever stopped to ask whether you deserve to be cast more? To find out, do the following:
  1. Pick out an actor whose career you would like to emulate.
  2. Search for their name on IMDB.
  3. Go to their earliest entry as an actor.
  4. Rent a copy of that film or television episode.
  5. Watch it.
  6. Ask yourself: Can you, given an evening's preparation, deliver a performance as good or better?
If you answered "Yes," then you're ready. Go out and audition, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You're just starting out, folks get that.

If you answered "No," then you're not ready. A film or tv show takes a significant financial risk every time it casts an unknown actor. If you can't deliver an entry-level professional performance then you don't deserve to be cast. Sorry.

But wait, there's hope. Take that same actor and read their IMDB biography. You'll probably find that they did theater for 10 years before being cast in that first role. If you haven't put in that much time doing theater you might still reach the same level of competence given time and effort.

Here's my homework:
Actor: Keanu Reeves
First Film: One Step Away (1985)
Could I do as well?: Yes. I think so.
Which means: I'm good enough to be auditioning for supporting roles in films with < $1 million budgets.

The Evidence:

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