How I Got My First Professional Acting Job

Hello everyone, and welcome to Life on That A-list! I thought I'd share some insight into how I broke into the professional acting world. I will say, though, that it all came down to the answer that everyone expects: luck. Also good looks, but I digress. . .

I had been trained in acting for awhile at this point. I had never done any work outside of theatre, so I was at a disadvantage compared to the competition of rising actors that had lists of commercials, TV appearances, and movie appearances. I was as green as you could imagine. Fortunately, I was being trained by the right people. My instructor at this point was a renowned theatre actor in the country, and his program was ranked as one of the best in the country.

Now, as I'e said before, I was born and raised in America, but got this work while abroad. No, I will not say the exact country, but let's just say that it is one that as much more refined definition of beauty compared to America, and those that fit this extremely limited definition are guaranteed fame. I just so happened to fit this definition.

Seriously, I did. Some of us are just born genetically blessed. It sounds bigoted, but there is no good way of talking about your looks without sounding conceited. I'm beautiful, plain and simple. You can hate me for it, but I don't care. Now, back to the point.

I was a walking goddess compared to these commoners, and everyone was asking me when my big break would come. Well, it came on a sunny March day when I was in the right place at the right time. My acting instructor had a lot of connections. That comes with the territory of already being a respected actor. As I was mindlessly chilling in his studio I was approached by a woman affiliated with a television network. She noticed me for my looks -- she even said so herself -- and began to pester me about my previous acting endeavors and what skills I had. I explained what I had done. Just theatre, nothing more, but that was enough for her. She said they were looking for someone for a new TV show that looked just like I did. If I was interested, there was a man I could pay a visit to see what he could do for me. She instructed me to tell him that I was sent by her in order for the best shot at this mystery role.

A friend kindly accompanied me to the man that had the power to change my life. This wasn't any television show I would be on, it was a television show for the most renowned television network in the country. Think the equivalent of ABC or NBC. If I landed this part I would be thrown into the eyes of the country's powerful entertainer workers and broadcasted to millions.

Fortunately, the casting director didn't seem to uptight about the casting. When I told him who I was sent by, he gave met the details for the show and signed me on the spot. I never even had to audition. It's not everyday your landing lead roles for your first TV appearance, add to that this was a top network. So, as you can see, this was all just luck. I was in the right place at the right time, and knew the right people.

The reason why I share this story isn't to brag and say "omg lead role top network!!!" It's meant to emphasize the importance of acting training and networking. When I hear about aspiring actors they are often dismissive of doing their school's or local community theatre. They say they don't want to be on stage, they want to be on film and television. Keep in mind it takes a lot of work to make it to the small screen or big screen. You need to be adequately trained and have a resume that proves you've learned the ways of acting. You need to have work on your resume (school and community theatre goes under work experience!) to prove you're going somewhere. So the next time you think twice about ditching theatre, do it! It could change your life. It changed mine.

But I'll continue to stress the necessity of luck. You can tell that my role came down to that. If I wasn't training with this certain instructor, hanging around his studio at this time, or running into the woman who recommended me I never would have gotten this role. So I don't think my skills had much to do with it, but my looks did. I'm not bothered by that, though. Work is work!