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11 Habits Of The
Successful actor
By Bob Fraser
(Acting Magazine Contributor,
Author/Distributor of
YouMustAct
CD Rom Technology)
Find more info on this author at
www.YouMustAct.com
Here are 11 bottom line
(absolutely necessary) habitual
behaviors that every "pro" actor
must possess.
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YOU MUST BE ON TIME
If you can't get anywhere on
time now, you'd better learn how
before you attempt the “real
world” of an
acting career.
On a big film the money is going
out the door at about 50 grand
every 20 minutes. On a network
TV show the rate is only
slightly less. If you are an
actor who is ten minutes late
for a job that pays five hundred
bucks – you will be heartily
disliked by the producer and
everybody that works for the
producer. People will scream at
you. If you are late for an
audition, the casting director
will worry that you won't get to
the job on time.
Because the reality is this: if
you're late for a job, that
casting director will also have
people screaming at
her. Understand?
NEVER BE LATE.
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO WORK A
LONG DAY
There is no such thing as an eight-hour day in an
acting
career. In forty years, I've
had about 23 eight-hour days.
And two of those were because
somebody died. If you cannot
work a long day, you are
unsuited for success as an actor
in professional show business.
IT'S LO-O-NG HOURS.
YOU MUST BE AN EARLY RISER
I know it's nice to laze around
in bed when you've got a day
off, but this is a habit no
actor can afford. Grasp the
idea that if you want to be in
the movie or television
business, you must be the kind
of person who can get up at five
in the morning. All the time.
Period. If you work in the
theatre, your early rising will
fall about 10 AM – because you
work into the night. But if you
plan on working in “the
industry” or "the business,"
you'd do well to make early
rising a life-long habit.
WAKE UP THE ROOSTER.
YOU MUST BE A PLEASANT PERSON
UNDER THESE
CIRCUMSTANCES
Early starts and long hours mean
that you will be spending (on
average) about half your life
with co-workers. If you are a
pain in the a@# – you will be
heartily disliked by other
people who are also working 12
hour days. Word will get
around. It will be harder to
get work.
BE NICE.
YOU MUST LOVE THE WORK
You have to keep your “creative
juices” flowing during the
entire 12 hours. If you don't
love
acting, being 'on' for 12
hours is impossible. Don't
forget why you are doing this.
LOVE.
YOU MUST BE WELL-GROOMED AND
CLEAN
You are not the part. Even the
guys who play bikers and bums
wear deodorant. The teeth are
clean. The breath is pleasant.
Etc. I know this seems
nit-picky, but a co-worker who
literally “stinks” will get a
reputation and lose
opportunities because of it.
I've seen it happen. And when
it comes to casting agents, who
see hundreds of actors in a week
– well, odors are their number
one pet peeve – and heavy
perfume or cologne both fall
into this category. CLEANLINESS
IS IMPORTANT.
YOU MUST NOT COMPLAIN (WITH
ONE PROVISO)
Those actors on sets who
complain about the
dressing
rooms, the food, the director,
the co-star, the costume people,
the hours, the script, or pretty
much anything to do with the
production – are labeled as
"complainers" or a@#h*%s – and
they are rarely appreciated or
tolerated for very long.
Actors near the bottom of the
ladder who think it's “smart” to
gripe about every little
screw-up, are putting a
bulls-eye on their butts. Don't
become one of those actors or
you will find yourself near the
bottom of the ladder for a long,
long time.
Nobody reaches out to
complainers. Nobody, including
you, even likes
complainers. Besides,
complaining about circumstances
doesn't work. If you want to be
thought of as someone
NICE – DON'T
COMPLAIN.
(The proviso to this is that you
must never let anyone abuse or
berate you – in those cases,
complain to the authorities –
loudly and often).
YOU MUST NOT SPREAD RUMORS
Rumor-mongering is the first
sign of someone who isn't really
interested in the job at hand –
someone so bored or so shallow
that they must talk about other
people, instead of concentrating
on the
acting job at hand. When
you hear someone say, "Oh, I
worked with (fill in the name of
a movie star), he's a pig." –
excuse yourself and go somewhere
else. You do not want to
be around this sort of person.
93.3 percent of all rumors are
false. The other 6.7% are
probably none of your business.
Again, actors who are
rumor-mongers are labeled and
eventually work dries up. Talk
business, talk philosophy, talk
about the weather – but avoid
the temptation to talk about
other people (except in the most
glowing terms).
Watch the stars when they are
asked about other performers.
Have you ever heard a star say,
"She's an idiot." No, they are
always upbeat, positive,
complimentary – because they
know the rumor mill is a two way
street. If avoiding this sort
of thing is good behavior for
stars (and most behave this way)
then what's stopping you from
adopting the same habit?
NO RUMORS.
DRUGS, DRINKING, AND SCREWING
AROUND
I'm sure you know what people
think of people who are more
interested in sin than cinema.
You will be labeled. People
will not forget. Work will be
harder to get.
JUST SAY "NO THANK YOU."
JEALOUSY AND BAD FEELINGS
Jealousy is one of the main
causes of actors "messing up" on
one of these crucial behaviors
listed above. Jealousy leads to
bad decisions. Bad decisions
lead to bad results. And
jealousy allows you to blame
others for your results. You
will begin to believe that
things aren't fair. You will
begin to look for “reasons” for
your lack of progress. They
will, no doubt, be well argued
reasons – but an excuse by any
other name... is still an
excuse.
Jealousy is a bad path – it's a
step on the wrong ladder– you're
on the wrong street – you're a
stranger in a strange land –
GET A MAP.
The same goes for other
"negative" emotional reactions.
Self blame. Frustration.
Fear. Anxiety. Worry.
This is business. "There's no
crying in baseball."
Besides, wallowing in your
emotional reaction slows down
your forward progress toward
your acting success.
GIVE GOOD VALUE FOR THE
DOLLAR
When you habitually give 110% of
your energy to your
acting work
– you will get more
acting
work.
It's a mortal lock.
By Bob Fraser
(Acting Magazine Contributor,
Author/Distributor of
YouMustAct
CD Rom
Technology)
Find more info on this
author at
www.YouMustAct.com
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