To become an actor, train in a good acting class, get headshots that look exactly like you, set up profiles on legitimate casting sites, and audition for small projects to build experience and footage. Agents, the union and bigger roles come later. For this page we read the answers of 13 casting directors in our library, plus SAS founder Kym Jackson's classes on starting out.
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In her class 10 Steps To Becoming An Actor, Kym Jackson sets the steps in a deliberate order: learn to act, get headshots, create online casting profiles, build a resume, then collect footage of you acting.
The order mirrors how casting works. A casting director sees your photo first, then clicks through to your resume and training, then wants proof you can act. Representation, regular auditions and the union come once those foundations exist. Chasing an agent with nothing to show usually wastes a first impression.
Everyone starts with an empty resume, and nobody in casting expects credits from a beginner. A first resume lists training, theatre (school and community shows count) and special skills. Kym notes that languages and accents in particular widen the roles you can go for.
Experience then comes from small projects. Casting director Lou Mitchell told us unpaid short films are real work, because you are cast, directed and on a set. Chris Roe's advice: build skills before you need them (languages, riding, stage combat), because one day a role will ask for them.
You don't need a degree to work as a screen actor, but you do need training, and it never really stops. Jess Orcsik told us ongoing classes are simply part of being a working actor in Los Angeles.
Kym's view is that a foundational class (often Meisner or Stanislavski based) is the strongest start, because it teaches listening and presence before you lean on dialogue. After that come scene study, on-camera classes and improv, with sitcom, commercial and casting director workshops added as your goals sharpen.
Search for classes within about a 40 minute trip, check the fees, then research the teacher: have they worked in the industry, and are recent students booking? Audit at least three classes before committing, and pick a room where at least half the students are better than you. Our acting classes by city page is a good place to start.
On how long to stay, our experts split. Jess Orcsik likes moving every three months or so to collect methods, while Kym suggests staying until you can predict what the teacher will say. Both agree that once you are one of the strongest actors in the room, it is time to move on. Ben Whitehair told us that feeling like a beginner again usually means you found a good class.
Yes, but simpler ones than most beginners expect. A headshot runs from the top of your head to just below the armpits and should look exactly like you on an ordinary day. Your resume can be one page of training, theatre and skills.
For footage, Kym suggests filming a two-person scene on your phone against a plain backdrop with even light, looking at a reader just off camera. Industry people can tell within 10 to 15 seconds whether you can act, so short is fine.
Before you have an agent, auditions come from self-submitting on legitimate casting sites, where student, independent and low budget projects post roles. Kym recommends taking those small auditions early, because auditioning is its own skill. See casting sites for actors.
Be ready when one lands. Casting director Kahleen Crawford has seen actors lose chances because they couldn't turn a self-tape around quickly. And there is room for newcomers: casting director John Frank Levey estimated about a quarter of the actors he sees are new talent.
We asked casting directors what experienced actors do differently in the audition room. Of the 10 answers we read, six came back to ease: comfort in the room, relaxed enough to play. Seth Yanklewitz, Josh Einsohn and Anya Colloff all singled out hearing a note and genuinely changing the next take.
Others pointed to preparation. Deirdre Bowen said the best actors treat the audition as seriously as the job, Gayle Pillsbury described a specificity that pulls her into the character's world, and Risa Bramon Garcia called it arriving ready to shoot. Scot Boland reminded us even experienced actors get nervous.
No. Everyone we asked agreed. Kym's answer is simply "never", because every age and type of person appears on screen. Anthony Brandon Wong told us about students of his who started in their 40s and 50s after other careers and are now working.
Ben Whitehair added that people your age who have acted for decades rarely take student films or small co-star roles, so there can be less competition at the entry level. Bonnie J Wallace and Karen Workman said the same for teenagers. More in you are not too old.
Research anyone you learn from or pay with a quick IMDb and Google search. Be wary of sites that copy breakdowns from legitimate platforms or charge you to audition. Jess Orcsik told us a teacher charging fees to introduce you to agents is not common, and that real meetings happen in offices during the day.
Take an acting class, get natural headshots, put your training and skills on a one-page resume, and self-submit for student and independent projects on legitimate casting sites. Those small jobs give you experience and footage.
No. None of our experts named a degree as a requirement. What they stressed was ongoing training, which working actors keep up throughout their careers.
No. Every age is cast on screen, and our experts know actors who started in their 40s and 50s and now work regularly.
There is no fixed timeline. Most actors spend their first years training, building materials and auditioning for small projects before representation and bigger roles follow.
Not at first. Beginners usually self-submit on casting sites, and an agent becomes useful once you have training, headshots and some footage to show.
No. Be cautious of anyone charging you to audition or to be introduced to agents. Legitimate casting does not work that way.
Kym's free class: the ten steps, in order, from first class to first booking. Free, just pop in your email.
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