25 Steps How To Become An Actor With No Experience – The Ultimate Complete Guide


I can be an actor

Definitely, you can establish your career as an actor without experience, and if you’re wondering where do you start if you want to be an actor then this website is the starting point for you, many the famous actors and actresses became stars in Hollywood while they were working in totally different fields but what they did is they worked on themselves, they trained themselves and they had that kind of a passion along with believing in themselves, they became successful actors.

So if you believe you have that passion and believe in yourself, then you better:

  1. Bookmark this page.
  2. Follow the below steps in depth.
  3. Keep coming back to this page and complete each next guided step sequentially.

The below guide will assist you all the way to have your first acting role, try to improve yourself in every aspect of the below steps by reading the (in-depth details) of each individual point, afterword you come back to this page to proceed with the next step.

Table of Contents

STEPS TO BECOMING AN ACTOR WITH NO EXPERIENCE

Becoming an actor requires patience and hard work, so what you need to do is to have the gut of a long-time investment in yourself as no matter what your acting skills are you still need to improve them and reach a level where you’re ready to apply for your first role and put your first step into your acting career.

  1. (STEP-1) IMPROVE YOUR CRAFT
  2. (STEP-2) PRACTICE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
  3. (STEP-3) GET EDUCATED
  4. (STEP-4) BE PROFESSIONAL
  5. (STEP-5) BUILD YOUR CAREER

Below are the steps which you need to read carefully and exercise accordingly to make your dreams come true starting from no experience at all to becoming a professional actor in the medium.

Note: It’s better to bookmark this page in your browser and come back to it to work on all the guided steps one by one sequentially, each point has in-depth details on how to improve your acting skills so once you complete every in-depth point page, come back to this guide and study the next in-depth step.

(STEP-1) IMPROVE YOUR CRAFT

IMPROVE YOUR CRAFT
  1. Improve Your Memory As An Actor
  2. Work On Projecting Your Voice
  3. Work On Different Dialects
  4. Convey Your Emotions Into The Role

Improve Your Memory As An Actor: Having a good memory is the first thing you should work on to improve because it is not only necessary in auditioning for any potential acting roles but also so important as a professional actor, you have a limited time to be prepared before the director says “Action” you need to be prepared quickly even if you are reading the script a day prior to the shooting date, sometimes you need to memorize a long script for a long one-take shot or a scene that requires a certain emotion which the director will ask you to act in one go, also in auditions they might give you a long scene to memorize within 5 to 10 minutes before the auditioning. (Read more in-depth about improving your memory and how to achieve that)

Work On Projecting Your Voice: There are different reasons behind enhancing the way you pronounce your voice, for theatrical roles, you have to train yourself on how to breathe from your diaphragm to get the most depth and volume from your voice so the audience can connect with your character on stage, warm voices are easily believable in cinema or TV as well, the audience should connect to your character and shouldn’t feel that you are acting but they should believe in the character itself, and having a warm good voice performance is a key for achieving that. (Read more in-depth about working on projecting your voice and how to achieve that)

Work On Different Dialects: As an actor, you need to have a versatile tongue. improving your speaking skills in different accents will raise your credit as a successful actor and increase the chances of having more variety of roles that require a different accent in its character than your own mother tongue. (Read more in-depth about working on different dialects and how to achieve that)

Convey Your Emotions Into The Role: Emotions are what make the audience be involved in the story of the movie, perhaps this is what builds up a drama in a movie. A professional actor has an immediate transformation into his emotions while reading a script of a scene, he/she is able to get into the story and his character and transfer what he is reading into an act filled with emotions that satisfy the character in the story scene. My point is you need to improve your skills on how to get into the character’s story and present immediate emotions. (Read more in-depth about Convey Your Emotions Into The Role and how to achieve that)

(STEP-2) PRACTICE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE

PRACTICE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
  1. Work On Your Stage Skills At High School
  2. Attend Summer Camps Or Acting Workshops
  3. Practice Acting In Community Theater

Work On Your Stage Skills At High School: If you are still young, you still have the chance to join your school’s classes to gain a running practice over the years of your study and perhaps this is your easiest option to take at the beginning of your acting career, having good stage skills enhances your acting skills in front of the camera, being fit with energetic movement and body gesture, knowing how to move from one place to another in a scene act while acting is a key, having an attractive dancing gesture or poses add value to your own personal name as a professional actor, you need to build this from the beginning. (Read more in-depth about working on your stage skills and how to achieve that)

Attend Summer Camps Or Acting Workshops: This is a wonderful golden chance for anyone who needs to practice acting either at cost, free, or by getting paid for it, summer camps can offer you a lot of intensive learning materials within a short period of time of 2 to 3 weeks, you could be involved in multiple shows with different roles which can incredibly increase your self-confidence and your experience. (Read more in-depth about attending summer camps and how to achieve that)

Practice Acting In Community Theater: Establishing a connection with your local theaters would be an opening door for your career path, in addition to that checking for their running shows and trying to get a role in the play is a big move to success. Achieving that will open the door for you not only to gain more acting practice and experience but also to a wide community contact who are polishing and enhancing their acting craft just like yours and expedite your progress. (Read more in-depth about practicing acting in theaters and how to achieve that)

(STEP-3) GET EDUCATED

GET EDUCATED
  1. Read From Online Resources Like 2 Be An Actor
  2. Study At Fine Art (Performing Arts) & Acting University
  3. Take Private Acting Classes (Courses)
  4. Read Acting Books
  5. Hire An Acting Coach To Help You With Your Technique

Read From Online Resources: No career can be developed without education, you shouldn’t ever stop getting educated and improving your education no matter how old you are. The best and easiest method to improve your education is to read about topics online, one of the best resources I have created for you regarding developing your career as an actor is the 2 Be An Actor guidance website.

Study At Fine Art (Performing Arts) & Cinema University: This is a starting point if you really want to take your career path to a serious level, however, it is very common that you to become a famous actor without graduating from any acting school but applying and studying in a dedicated Fine Art & Acting University is still a good career-boosting option, you will get exposure to professional people and set up a network of colleagues and contacts, you will also benefit to building your resume as your teachers will always push you and motivate you to do more practical acting techniques and how to apply them on stage. (Do you need to study acting to be an actor? Learn more.)

Take Private Acting Classes (Courses): Private institutes also is a good approach to developing your acting path, what is good about private acting and cinema institute is they give more practical lessons than theoretical teachings. (Read more about how to find good acting courses)

Read Acting Books: There are many books out there to read about acting you can find online or at the book stores. (Check the 15 books every actor needs to read)

Hire An Acting Coach To Help You With Your Technique: An acting coach with good industry experience is a good choice especially when he has lots of network connections, so if you find a good one with a good reputation and a suitable price you could hit two birds by one stone. (Read more in-depth about hiring an acting coach and how to achieve that)

(STEP-4) BE PROFESSIONAL

BE PROFESSIONAL
  1. Build Your Brand
  2. Get Professional Headshots And Other Poses With A Professional Photographer
  3. Get Web Exposure Through Social Media And Acting Websites
  4. Network Extensively In the Acting And Film Industry
  5. Build Up An Active Actor’s Resume

Build Your Brand: To be a professional actor you should have a unique kind of behavior that projects your identity everywhere, the way you treat others, the type of energy that you emit to the surroundings, you need to build that thing up into your personality and stick with it all the way, remember, professionalism has certain elements that distinguish you out of the crowd. You need to take a step into investing in yourself and be professional. (Read more in-depth about building your brand and how to achieve that).

Get Professional Headshots And Other Poses With A Professional Photographer: Part of building your brand is taking clear and professional headshots along with other professional looks cause directors seek a specific look in their mind for a specific acting role and such photos help them find you when you are close to that look. (Read more in-depth about how to take stunning professional headshot photos)

Get Web Exposure Through Social Media And Acting Websites: This is your chance now to expose your name to the public through social media websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube.. etc using your own professional photos that you’ve taken for this purpose along with videos, developing your own personal website with a domain of your own branded name (if available) is a positive move to be more professional. (Read more in-depth about how to get exposure through social media and other platforms)

Network Extensively In the Acting And Film Industry: Take the initiative to approach others and show interest in meeting them, being part of a network could eventually lead you to potential job opportunities as well as getting valuable feedback about your work, always prevent not giving a negative impression about yourself with others as having a bad reputation will ruin your career. (Read 10 tips about building your connections and network the acting and film industry)

Build Up An Active Actpr’s Resume: Building your professional resume is a recurring action along the way of your career path, your resume should look professional and catchy filled with your previous acting roles, and should evolve over time. (Read more in-depth on how to build your professional acting resume and download your free actor’s resume template)

(STEP-5) BUILD YOUR CAREER

BUILD YOUR CAREER
  1. Stay Informed About The Industry
  2. Move To A Large City If Possible
  3. Apply For Auditions
  4. Look For Roles In Commercials
  5. Become An “Extra Actor” In Featured Movies
  6. Hire An Agent
  7. Get Into A Performer’s Union
  8. Consider Getting Your Equity Card If You Want To Do Theatre

Stay Informed About The Industry: At this stage, you are considering an acting career as your main goal in life, and having that being said you need to stay updated and informed about the industry, checking out famous industry websites like Backstage, Show Business Weekly and Hollywood reporter … etc as a daily habit or hobby should put you on top of the industry updates in addition to going to shows and acting seminars. (Check the 10 Tips For Networking In An Acting And Film Industry – Ultimate Guide).

Move To A Large City If Possible: If it’s possible, moving to a larger city can benefit you with many potential auditioning opportunities especially in cities that are famous for movies production and/or TV productions, for example, Austin, Los Angeles, Atlanta, or New York if you’re in the United States. (Learn more about moving to big cities, 13 best places to move to start an acting career with 13 tips and tricks)

Apply For Auditions: Prepare yourself for real auditions by looking online for some monologues from famous pieces and practice delivering them using your own acting style and voice never try to copy the original actor’s performance try to develop your own style of acting by adding your personality to it, remember to search a monologue that is close to the role you are auditioning for. (Read more in-depth about applying for auditions and how to act auditions for beginner actors)

Look For Roles In Commercials: Seeking and focusing on applying for commercials roles is a smart way to expedite your progress, acting in commercials is a small role but it will give you a wide audience exposure and get your face out to the public quickly. (Read more in-depth about applying for commercials and how to nail the role)

Become An “Extra Actor” In Featured Movies: After having a good exposure for yourself following the previous points it is fairly easy to find an extra cast acting role in featured movies, working with high tier staff provides you tons of benefits and experience along with good exposure, network expanding and list the extra role on your resume. (Read more in-depth about applying for extra actor roles in featured movies)

Hire An Agent: Work by hiring a professional agent to represent you in the industry and find you serious opportunities as the agent will help you negotiate deals for the roles you take on. (Read more in-depth about how to find and hire an agent)

Get Into A Performer’s Union: Joining organizations like AEA, ACTRA, AGVA or AGMA provides you lots of benefits and insurance while working as an actor, once you last for 1 year and worked under a union, you’re eligible to get into the Screen Actor’s Guild (SAG). (Read more in-depth about getting into a performance union)

Consider Getting Your Equity Card: The equity card is so useful if you are willing to go deep into a theatrical acting career though the equity card opens the door for a number of auditions that you wouldn’t be able to attend. (Read more in-depth about getting your equity card)

CONCLUSION

Becoming a successful actor is not an easy straightforward task, however, it’s not an impossible task either. You need to work on yourself, on your acting skills, increase your acting education, expand your network, and be professional, eventually, you will harvest the results of your ongoing hard work.

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firassameer

Firas Sameer, a movie director with several video productions for cinemas, festivals, TV commercials.. etc with several international awards and recognitions for his work.

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