(Originally published on
the web as "The Hard Work
Part")
All right. I'm going to get in
the pulpit this time and
'preach.' I get hundreds of
letters a week and most of
them are lovely. Many people
write to say thanks and those
letters are great to get.
However, I also get letters
from actors who think that I'm
the answer to their problems.
They know I can help them. If
only I would. Here's a typical
letter (I've changed the name
and location.)
Dear Bob,
Unfortunately, I cannot
buy your book right now. Maybe
later. I have my own expenses.
Can you tell me about all the
acting schools. Where are the
good ones? How much do they
cost, etc. I live in Timbuktu
and I'm not sure there are any
good acting schools or even
any in Timbuktu. If you could
just help me find a good
school to learn acting, I
might even end up in Hollywood
and we'll meet. Ha ha.
Signed, Jill
(Two interesting things about
this letter. First, although
she can't buy my book – which
actually contains the
information she is seeking –
she expects me to use my time
to do her leg-work. Secondly,
she thinks this request will
result in her ending up in
Hollywood – somehow.)
Dear Jill,
I'm sure there are some fine
acting schools in Timbuktu.
Since you are sending me an
email, I assume you have a
working knowledge of the
internet. A quick trip to
Google and a search for
theatrical training, acting
training, acting school +
Timbuktu, will get you a lot
of results.
You have brought up two
important things in your
letter that I feel I must
address. First that 'later' is
an actual time – a real place.
Second that I can help you to
achieve your dream by doing
your homework for you.
Jill, it has been my
observation (over a 40 year
career) that, 'later' rarely
happens when it comes to our
dreams. Dreams come true by
taking action. That’s why the
title of my book is You
Must Act!
If I were to add one word to
the title, that word would be
'NOW.'
Getting right to the crux of
the "help" idea –
No one else can do this for
you.
No one else is going to “help”
you to accomplish your goals.
No one else is going to make
your dream a reality for you.
The bottom line is (and always
will be) this:
Jill, if you don’t do it
– it won’t get done.
So, no, I won’t look up acting
schools for you. You do it.
If you really want to know
what it takes to actually
accomplish your dream of
acting professionally – do
what it takes to find out.
If you continue to believe
that someone else is going to
come along and take the steps
needed to get you to the top –
well, at Disneyland that used
to be an e-ticket fantasy
ride.
If you believe you can’t be an
actor without someone's
helping hand – you’ve put
aside the best tool you have
(your brain) – because you
aren’t THINKING it
through.
The reason I tell people to THINK things through
is because of this truth:
There is always a way. You
know that's the truth. Since
the beginning of human history
the one thing we have always
known is that there is always
a way.
It’s up to you to figure out
what that ‘way’ is.
Whatever you do, don’t wait
for ‘later.’
Much Success
Bob Fraser
The main reason I am passing
along this letter and my
answer is because I get a lot
of mail with this sort of
request for 'help.'
"Can you look at my
headshots and pick out the
best one?"
"Can you send me the
names of some agents who
would help me?"
"Will you read my
screenplay idea and give me
your opinion?"
"Can you get my pictures
to J. Lo? I want to work
with her."
"Should I move to New
York or Hollywood?"
"I have an idea for a
show I can star in. Can you
get it to the right people?
We can split the profits."
"I'm from Iceland. Do I
have a chance to become an
actor?"
"Do I need a manager? If
so, could you tell me who
the good ones are? I don't
want to get scammed."
One of the first (and most
important) things I talk about
in my book is the necessity of
doing the legwork (or
homework) yourself.
As long as you live in a world
where someone else is going to
do the work it takes to get to
the top in the acting business
for you – well, you are not
going to move forward – and
you will probably get hurt
financially or otherwise.
In fact, it is precisely this
mindset that scammers are
looking for. When a scammer
meets an actor who believes it
is possible for someone else
to make it happen – he knows
he's landed a sucker.
It is this belief in a
one-step process (or a
short-cut, or a secret
process, or an easier way)
that gets most actors in
trouble.
When you think all you have to
do is 'convince' an agent to
represent you and you'll be on
your way – you are just asking
for trouble. The kind of agent
that can be 'convinced' is
generally a scam artist. Real
agents make their own
decisions based on their
assessment of how much money
you can make as an actor. If
you aren't making any money,
don't expect a legitimate
agent to be very interested.
When you focus all your energy
on getting into the union –
you are going to be
unpleasantly surprised at the
results. 93.6% of members of
SAG earn less than 243 dollars
a year. (This is one of my
made up statistics - but I'll
bet it's close.) Can you live
on $243 a year? No. It won't
even cover your dues. Will it
be different for you when you
get into the union? Not if you
think getting into the union
is a step you must take to be
successful.
It isn't.
If you concentrate on
succeeding, you will get into
the unions as a matter of
course.
If you move to Hollywood or
New York (or Toronto, London,
Mumbai, Sydney, etc.) without
a solid plan of action – in
the hopes that you will
somehow meet someone who can
help you achieve your dream –
you are going to end up an
unhappy camper. Again,
scammers are looking for
uninformed pigeons all the
time. They will spot you, trap
you and take your money.
They're good at it. They've
been doing it for years.
The absolute truth is that
there are
MANY STEPS
(and a lot of them are
difficult) that
YOUMUST TAKE ON YOUR OWN
– if you ever expect to make
your goal of becoming a
professional actor a reality.
Here are just a few:
You must learn how to get a
good picture. This is not a
matter of finding a good
photographer – it's a matter
of learning what you must do
to make a great picture
happen, no matter who the
photographer is.
You must learn the 'culture'
of show business and work
within that reality. Most
actors think this will
"just come naturally" and
find themselves, five years
later, still working at a
crummy job and trying to 'make
it' in their spare time.
You must take care of yourself
– yourself.
90% of actors don't have a
sugar daddy or a family who
will take care of them as they
pursue their dreams. Somehow,
successful actors make it a
point to 'take care of
business' by themselves. If
you need a 'keeper' to get the
basics taken care of – then
your prospects for a
professional acting career are
dim.
You must make a lot of
decisions. You will have to
decide the budget for your
business. You will have to
decide whether your new
'friends' are for real or out
for your money. You will have
to learn the 'map of the
territory.' You must decide
what niche will make you the
happiest – and I'm just
skimming the surface.
If you think that you will get
where you want to go by
finding other people who will
help you – well, you will not
move forward in any meaningful
way as long as you believe
that.
This idea, that you have to
find other people to help you,
is a –
MAJOR MISTAKE.
That mindset is one of the
main reasons I wrote my book,
You Must Act!
Not to plug the book too
outrageously, but if you want
to know what
ALL the REAL STEPS
you must take to have a
professional acting career –
read my book.
Also, read the biographies of
successful actors. Almost
every one has the elements
(steps) that lead to a career
in the business.
And you should read David
Mamet's book – and K. Callen's
books – and Stanislavski – and
Michael Shurtleff, Allan
Miller, Lee Strasberg – well,
it's a very long reading list.
(Not to mention Michael
Caine's video acting classes.)
In other words, there is lot
of homework for you to do. A
dream without work to make it
happen, remains a dream. You
can't spend a dime of the
money you make in dreams.
Is it easy to do it all this
work on your own? NO.
Is there a shortcut? NO.
You have to do it. Agents,
managers, connections, etc –
are people who come along
after you have started
succeeding – on your
own.
There are three elements you
must have in order to be
successful on your own:
You must be willing to learn =
INFORMATION
You must be willing to work
hard = HARD WORK
You must not give up =
TENACITY
You don't need an agent, a
manager, a teacher, a
photographer, a friend, a
lover, a consultant, a coach
or sugar daddy to take the
steps necessary to get you to
your destination.
In fact, if you wait for
somebody else to do things for
you, you will be waiting a
long time. Like forever.
If you want to be a
professional actor – you must
get the information, do the
hard work and be willing to
keep at it for a while.
