How to Become an Actor With No Experience in 2024 (2024)

How do you get acting work... when you

? And how do you get something on your resume... when you can't get acting work?

In this article, I'll show you how to blast through this common Catch 22 situation all new actors experience so you can start booking acting roles faster than you expect.

The quickest way to become an actor with no experience is to simply submit yourself to auditions online. After some time, a portion of those submissions will result in bookings and roles that you can put on your resume, which will make it easier to get more acting work in the future.

​I'll show you exactly how to do that in depth today.

There's no need to spend YEARS training and acting for free before you can start getting paid acting jobs – in fact, booking paid acting work – whether you're experienced or not – is simply a numbers game. Here's what you need to do:

1. Create a free profile on 2-3 casting websites. I recommend you start by visiting the three main casting websites (if you're not based in the USA, thesites might be different) – Actor's Access, Backstage, and Casting Networks. Make sure your profile is as up to date and professional-lookingas possible by includingsome photos and any credits or training you have. If you have nothing yet, don't worry,it's OK!
2. Create your three basic marketing materials.The three main things you'll need are a decent headshot (if you can afford it, I recommend hiring a professional headshot photographer, but if can't, any un-retouched photo of yourself that shows your face clearly will do for now), a professionally formatted acting resume (it's OK if you have no credits or training yet), and a demo reel (since you probably don't have enough footage to show yourself performing, just use your smartphone to record yourself performing 2-3 monologues). You absolutely need to have each of these three marketing materials – if you're missing one, you'll find it almost impossible to get auditions.
3. Submit yourself for lots of projects. Try to submit yourself to at least 10 projects every week (make sure to follow the submissions guidelines attached to each project). If you're just starting out, you should wind up getting about 1-2 auditionor self-tape invites eachmonth.
4. Some of those auditions will result in bookings.For brand new actors, you can expect to book 1 out of every 10-15 auditions you get, as long as your acting technique is good and you've got a good understanding of natural acting.

I know it can seem a bit disheartening to realize that if you're only getting 2 auditions a month and booking 1 out of every 10, it will take 5 months before you book your first job, but keep in mind that you can greatly improve those numbers by paying for better-quality marketing materials (like a professional headshot and

), getting some formal training, or even just submitting to more projects each month.

The acting industry does not require you to have any credentials – you actually don't need formal acting training at all! If a casting director likes your look and thinks your acting is decent (from the monologue you submit), they'll bring you in for an audition. If you do a good job and they think you're right for a part, it won't matter what's on your resume – they'll probably book you!

The key takeaway from this section is that there is no reason to wait for a long time like most actors do before they start submitting for legitimate projects. Thinking you're not ready yet is actually one of the biggest reasons you could stay stuck in your career!

Related: How to Stop Getting in Your Own Way

At the end of the day, the strategy to

from nothing is simple: Submit yourself for lots of projects, start booking some, and once you have about 3-5 credits on your resume, you can

who will submit you for major projects, and from there you can start booking bigger, breakout roles. Sure it takes some time, but if you love acting, you deserve to give yourself a shot!

If you want to dive deeper on getting auditions, I highly recommend listening to this short podcast episode (and if you enjoy it, consider subscribing for lots more episodes just like it!)

Now that you understand the strategy behind starting an acting career, I'd like to show you how to do it more effectively.

I've worked with thousands of actors over the years and have learned that most of the advice out there putsWAY too much emphasis on training and way too little emphasis on going out there and actually getting work. So with that in mind, here are my best tips on how to become an actor with no experience:

• First, define what "becoming an actor" means to you. Before you waste your time signing up for acting classes, paying for headshots, and endlessly posting on social media in hopes of "building a following," I recommend you figure out what you actually want as an actor.Do you want to act in major Hollywood films? Do you want to be on Broadway? Do you want to be a Series Regular in a television show? Don't say you want it all – pick one thing to focus on for the next 2-3 years (remember, 2-3 years is not very long in the grand scheme of things).Once you'reclear on what you actually want, it becomes WAY easier to figure out what to do.
  • Tip: If you want to build a career acting on screen in film and television, you should first get some experience in unpaid student productions, next work your way into television with small one-liner (co-star) roles, and then lastly focus on getting a major role in a movie.
  • Tip: If you want to build a career in theater, you should find a show you'd love to be in on Broadway and then find some smaller playhouses putting on that same production. Try to get a job in the small, localplayhouse first and then keep lookingfor bigger playhouses putting on the same show. You'llslowly "work your way up" to bigger and bigger theaters, establishing yourself as an expert in that particular character and show,until you finally get a role on Broadway.
    • Related: Types of Actors: Everything You Need to Know
• Figure out your Types. Knowing the kinds of characters the industry would realistically hire you as is super important if you want to book consistent acting work. Being "typecast" is actually a very good thing when you're first starting out because you'll get consistent work byplaying the same kinds of characters over and over again. Eventually once you're so busy with acting work that you want to break out of that Type, you can focus your efforton doing that. But that's a good problem to have! Most actors never book much work because they try to go against their Type from the get go. Remember, you have to first "give" by doing something you might not necessarily love, before you earn the right to "gain" by playing roles you truly love.
  • Related: A Shortcut to Find Your Type in 10 Minutes
• Create high-quality marketing materials. Once you're clear on the kind of work you want (theater, film, TV, etc.) and you know your Types, you should go spend some money on high-quality, professional headshots. These will usually cost anywhere from $300-800 for great ones, but the investment is absolutely worth it because pro headshots tell casting directors you're a serious actor. You should also make sure your resume is professionally formatted and as up-to-date as possible. Finally, if you can afford it, I highly recommend shooting 2-3 professional scenes for your reel because doing so will make it infinitely easier to get called in for auditions (and eventually get an agent).
• Submit yourself to at least 5-10 productions every single week. Most actors are afraid of this step, thinking they're not "ready yet." The fact is, you need to submit yourself consistently for a long period of time to have any hope of getting work as an actor –especially if you're just starting out and no one knows you yet. Use the online platforms mentioned earlier to submit yourself for projects that fit within your Type, and make sure to include a well-written cover letter for each submission. The more things you submit to, the more auditions and bookings you'll get – it's not magic, it's math.
• Start networking with casting directors. As you submit yourself, you can also start attending casting workshops and keeping in touch with some of the casting directors your meet there (and at auditions). Keep their contact info and stay in touch with them – once every 6-8 weeks you should simply send a friendly hello message via email or social media, congratulating them on something they recently did or letting them know you recently upgraded your marketing materials (headshot/reel) or booked something. Occasionally, if you notice they're casting something you want to audition for, you can email them directly to ask if they'd be open to you auditioning! since they already know you, chances are high that they'll say yes.
• Find an agent and start booking bigger projects. Once you have a few small credits on your resume and you've made connections with some casting directors and other people in the industry, you can begin the process of finding a great agent who will submit you consistently for higher-level productions, including Broadway shows, Network Television, and even feature films.

Notice the order of these steps! Most actors go WAY out of order, thinking they need to do their marketing materials first (before they figure out their Types). Some actors even think they need to find an agent before they can submit themselves, but that's totally wrong because no agent will want you if you've never booked a paid acting job before!

The above order is the simplest, most direct way to build an acting career with no experience.

Here are some straightforward, no-B.S. tips to ensure you stay on track and don't make any major mistakes.

I know there are lots of tips here, but don't get overwhelmed. Only implement the ones you feel comfortable with right now, and then bookmark these and come back to them for a refresher whenever you need!

• Don't waste your time on things that won't move the needle. Whenever deciding to do something that's going to eat up a significant portion of your time (like more than 2-3 hours a week), first ask yourself, "Will this really move the needle?" If you 10X'd it, meaning you took what you're about to do and did it 10X more effectively, would it actually make a significant difference in your acting career? If not, you probably shouldn'tspend time on it.
  • Example: Submissions – if you submitted yourself to 10X more projects, would it make a meaningful difference in how many bookings you got? YES, it's simple math! So you should definitely spend time submitting yourself.
  • Example: Shooting your own short film – if you shot an amazing short film that won an award at a film festival, would it make a meaningful difference in how many bookings you get? NO! You'd have one extra credit on your resume and a nice talking point with friends, but most casting directors care more about how right you are for their project, not whether you shot and directed your own film.
• You don't need an agent to get acting work.Many actors think that once they get an agent, they won't need to do any marketing/submitting anymore, but this couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, being lazy is the main reason actors get dropped! Agents want to represent actors who are hardworking. Submitting yourself online, networking with casting directors, and showing you canfindauditions without an agentwill actually make you MORE desirable to agents!
• Take 1-2 classes a week to further your training, but don't do more than that.Classes are great because they can help you improve your technique and learn how to deal with challenging situations that might arise in your career,but spending too much time in classes and too little time actually finding work and marketing yourself is a recipe for stagnation. You should aim for a 50/50 split, where half your time is spent on improving your technique and the other half is spent on submitting to auditions, lookingfor an agent, and networking with people in the industry.
• Only move to a big city when you can safely afford it. The facts are clear: actors based in bigger cities generally have more audition opportunities and are more likely to get invited to audition by casting directors. However, if you're not financially secure, it can be difficult to succeed because you'll always be worrying about money, which will impact your performancein auditions. For that reason, I highly recommend finding a good, flexible survival job or starting a side hustle to support yourself beforemoving to a major city.
• Formal education is unnecessary to get booked.What qualifications do you need to be an actor? Technically, none!Most articles online will recommend getting formalized acting training, and while it's nice to be a part of a group and get some additional training on your resume, formal education is very expensive and it won't help you get more acting work. For that reason, don't think of formal education as a critical step to building your acting career – only do it if you really want to.
• Keep your resume up to date. As you start to book roles, make sure to add them to your resume immediately because every additional credit added will make it easier to get more auditions in the future. I've met plenty of actors who have performed in lots of projects over the years but forgot to add them to their resume, and then couldn't even remember the project names to add them to their resume later on! And note that you don't need to actually have done the role yet – the second they book you, you can add it to your resume even if the project gets cancelled and never shoots!
• Joining a local theater is a great way to meet people and get experience. You can easily find community theaters by simply Googling or asking friends in acting classes. You'll learn how the industry works, make new connections, and get familiar with the process of stage and eventually screen acting. But be sure to only let this take up about 10-20% of your time each week – most of your time should be spent trying to find jobs to actively move your career forward.
• Read books to learn about the industry. In order to be successful at anything, you should know as much about it as possible. You can invest in books on Amazon, such as How to Be a Working Actor by Mari Lyn Henry, Ask an Agent by Margaret Emory, or even my own book Get Cast (Martin Bentsen). Books are extremely affordable and will show you the ropes of how the industry works and who's who. You can also check out my Acting Resources page for tons of in-depth guides like this one. Knowledge = power.
  • Related: Books for Actors:9 MUST READS
• Unless you love it, ignore social media. Way too many actors waste too much time on social media, believing lies like "casting directors cast based on the number of followers you have." While this might have some truth to it, it only really applies if you've got over 40,000followers, which can take YEARS to reach. Any amount of followersless than that is generallynot taken seriously. Casting directors care WAY more about how good your acting technique is and how right you are for the role, which is why networking and forging personal relationships with these people is way more beneficial than endlessly posting on social media and trying to grow a following.
• Take every rejection as a "close, but not perfect yet!" Don't get discouraged when you get rejected at an audition – it happens all the time! In fact, even the best of the best actors only book 1 out of every 4-5 auditions they go to – and that's the best of the best actors! Average actors will book 1 out of every 5-10 auditions, and for new actors with little to no experience, they'll usually book 1 out of every 10-20 auditions. Use rejection as an opportunity to find one small thing to improve, and if you keep improving over time, eventually your booking ratio will improve!
• You gotta be good to get anywhere. Remember – casting directors have keen eyes. If you're not a great actor and your acting looks unnatural or inauthentic, you'll NEVER book a role, no matter how many auditions you go to. In fact, if you do poorly in too many auditions, casting directors will start to remember you and avoid bringing you in again! That's why having a deep understanding of natural acting is so important. Record yourself on your smartphone and play it back, taking note of anything that looks unnatural or forced. Be strict with yourself because if you're not, you're only hurting your own career in the long run!
• Think long-term, not short-term. One of the biggest lessons I've personally learned in the past 10 years has been that you need to look long term and think YEARS, not months. For any project you're considering doing, ask yourself if you'd be willing to spend at least the next full year working on it. If the answer is no, find something else to spend your time on. Don't jump into anything thinking you'll only have to do it for a couple weeks or months – it always winds up taking longer than you expect.
• Special skills can be your shortcut to bigger acting roles. You should consider training at least onespecial skill every few months. Many casting directors are looking for actors with special skills like juggling, piano playing, etc., and having those skills under your belt will improve your chances of getting booked for higher level jobs wherefewer actors have that skill.
• Google yourself and be sure your profiles are all up to date. As you grow your acting career, casting directors and other industry professionals will start searching you online. Make sure whatever shows up on the first page of Google is professional and in line with you acting goals. For instance, if your LinkedIn profile says "systems analyst," and nothing about acting, a casting director will assume you're not serious about your acting career. Make sure every profile has your latest professional headshot and shows your expertise and interest in being an actor!
• Acting in commercials can be a quick way to make money and gain experience. If you learn how to submit yourself and audition for commercials, you can start build a resume and gaining on-set experience, while also paying the bills because commercials usually pay really well!Plus, casting directors are often looking for a wider range of actors with varying looks for commercials, so there are usually more opportunities to audition.
• Background work is another way to pay the bills. You can easily do background work to pay the bills and meet new people, even if you don't have any credits, experience, or training. Casting directors are always looking for background actors (also called "extras") for productions, and in some cases you can even get SAG Vouchers that can be used to join the union eventually. An important note: do NOTadd background work to your resume, as casting directors assume actors who do so have no idea what they're doing. You shouldonly list speaking roles on your resume (ensemble theater roles are fine too).
• Setting up an IMDB page can help, but is not mandatory.Casting directors will look you up as you begin applying to higher level roles, but at the very beginning you can safely ignore updating your IMDB page until you have at least 2 IMDB credits. At that point, you should pay for IMDB Pro and upload a professional headshot, actors bio, and reel so your page looks complete and you appear more established.

Three common things new actors waste their time on (that add almost zero value to them in the first 1-2 years) are:

• A Professional Website: When you're first starting out a website is overkill. If you have zero credits on your resume, yet you include a link to a super professional website whenever submitting, casting directors are going to think you're a joke who cares more about appearances than substance. In your first 1-2 years, I recommend sticking to the basics of submitting yourself and networking. Don't worry about a website until you have at least 5 credits on your resume.
• A Social Media Presence: Everyone says you gotta have a social presence these days, but casting directors generally don't care. Social media is being hyped by social media marketing companies who charge you to help you build a following – avoid these companies at all costs unless you've got plenty of cash to burn! Unless you love social media and want to spend lots of timeon it, you don't have to worry about it. Casting directors don't care about your social presence until you have over 40,000 real (not fake, spammy bot) followers, which can take YEARS to reach.
• A Personal Brand: Figuring out your brand and aesthetic is difficult when you're first starting. It's better to first find out your Type and then just start submitting. Focus your time and attention on getting more auditions and booking them, and only work to figure out your personal brand once you've got at least 5 credits on your resume, which is probably going be about a year from now if you currently have no experience.

We've covered a lot so far!! I hope you're not feeling overwhelmed. In this final section, I'd like to share with you some traits that most successful actors have in common. You should work to slowly develop these traits over your first 1-2 years acting:

• They watch TV with a critical eye. Instead of just watching movies, television, and commercials for the entertainment value, successful actors pay attention to the acting and see if they notice "indication" or other forms of bad acting. In most cases, good quality films will have acting so natural that you just lose yourself in the story – that's how you want your own acting to be!
• They practice for fun, whenever they can. Successful actors practice in front of the mirror, while showering, as they do chores around the house... basically whenever they can, they practice. Make it a habit to live and breathe your career – being an actor is something you should be willing to spend at least 10-12 hours a day doing!
• They constantly network with people in the industry. Whether meeting new people on set or through classes and workshops, successful actors keep in touch with the people they meet, knowing that 6-9 months from now, those people might be able to offer them opportunities. Try to keep track of the people you meet and reach out at least once every 6-8 weeks to say hello.
• They don't lose focus. Once every few months, successful actors check in with themselves and ask whether they're still clear on what they most want in their career. If they're starting to lose focus, they'll figure out how to get back on track by asking whether what they're doing is moving them towards their goals or not.
• They say yes to almost every role when starting out. Successful actors know that even the most basic, unpaid roles can give them experience in their first year (unless the role is something they morally oppose). After their first year, they start to get more targeted and specific andsay "no" to more and more things.
• They ensure they are financially secure. Acting can be expensive, between the classes you need to take, the headshots and reels you need to create, and the cost of living in a city with plenty of acting opportunities. Successful actors neverput themselves in a place where they need to dependon booking an acting job to make ends meet – that kind of desperation will ruin their audition performance!

Related: Skills for Acting You MUST Master

On a daily basis, actors attend classes, update their marketing materials, study and rehearse scripts, attend auditions, and work on set. If you want to become an actor with no experience, you'll need to jump in to this lifestyle and spend at least 50% of your time submitting to auditions from the get go.

But at the end of the day, if there's one thing I could most recommend to you on how to become an actor with no experience, it's this:

Once a month, do a "Focus Check," as I call it. Set a monthly reminder to ask yourself three simple questions, and make sure to answer them honestly:

1. What do I most want in my acting career over the next 3-6 months?
2. Is what I'm doing right now helping me get there as quickly as possible?
3. If not, what should I spend my time doing instead, and what should I stop doing?

These simple questions can help you keep focused and moving towards what you most want, instead of endlessly drifting like most actors do (for years).

Get focused, start submitting, and don't give up!

Knowing how to get auditions on your own is important, but it's just one small part of growing your acting career.

If you want to act full-time, your first major goal should be to get a legitimate, hardworking talent agent.

I highly recommend checking out this short podcast episode, where I share:

• The exact steps to getting a great, hardworking, and legitimate talent agent.
• How to shortcut the process significantly, especially for new actors.
• Tips to avoid scammers in the industry (there are a lot of them!)

Listen in using the player below, andbe sure to hit Subscribe(you can listen in onSpotify, Apple Podcasts,and more).

"How to become an actor in a movie?" If you want to get into movies, you first have to decide whether you care about getting a line or not. If you don't care about having a line, it's easier than you think! Just search Google for "Background Acting Roles" and plenty of opportunities will show up. You don't need any experience to work as a background actor.

If you want to get speaking roles in movies, it's much harder. Follow the advice in this guide and within 5-6 months, you'll probably book your first role in an independent film. But if you want to get to Hollywood, plan on it taking at least 3-4 years!

Again, follow the guidance in this article. I recommend creating profiles on casting websites, uploading your basic marketing materials, and submitting yourself as often as possible. Eventually, some of your submissions will turn to auditions, which will eventually turn into bookings!

Related: Acting Sides – Everything You Need to Know

If you enjoyed this article (How to Become an Actor With No Experience), you might be interested in some of these:​
​

• How Do You Start an Acting Career?
• ​Acting for Film: The Ultimate Guide
• Acting Resources: Everything You'll Need toBuild Your Career
• Pilot Season: All You Need to Know