Sometimes agents, managers, and perhaps CDs seem to want to hear that the actor is a fresh face, especially if they have few or no credits. This actor was told by an agent to lie and say she’d only been in LA for six months, although she’d really been here for a couple of years. To be honest, I’ve been here about five years, but often catch myself saying, “I’ve been here about a year and a half,” to avoid the embarrassment of having few credits. I guess it would make actors’ jobs easier if the industry grasped how hard and how long it takes to build credits. No wonder actors lie on resumés! I do stand-up, and I used to have a joke in my act: “I don’t mean to brag, but I’m an actor. I’ve been in LA for eight years and I’ve ALREADY booked a USC student film.”

Ooh, that’s a good one! I’ve asked actors who have only a few credits on their resumés how long they’ve been in town, so I know you’re making some valid points. In fact, I’ve heard the whole, “Get ’em fresh off the bus,” phrase in casting circles. We really do want to grab the most talented actors who are new to town first, because it makes us look really smart to have taken a risk on a winner. I love being a part of an actor’s “first LA audition,” which happens quite a bit, actually, since I frequently bring in actors whose work I don’t know. There is definitely some hype involved in being new to town, especially if you’ve arrived and secured representation right away.

But should you lie?

I don’t think so. Obviously, if an actor has only two or three credits in as many years in LA, there’s a bigger problem than the number of years spent in town. Actors must get some credits, and if that means holding off on joining the union while doing a ton of nonunion work to build a resumé and demo reel, so be it. If that ship has sailed, then it may mean doing quite a bit of local theatre and student films while auditioning for union projects. The point is, there must be some obvious progression of work in the industry within an actor’s local market over time.

I don’t think the industry doesn’t “grasp how hard and how long it takes to build credits,” as you suggested. I think we all know, simply from doing our jobs, how much of an investment we put into our career paths before seeing a return over time. Heck, I’ve cast 17 films in my young casting career, but only a few are on IMDb yet and only four of them have actually screened in public. Another four haven’t shot yet and the rest are still in various stages of post-production. Does that mean I haven’t been building credits as a casting director since February 2003? According to some, yes! I was rejected from the Casting Society of America earlier this year, due to my “lack of credits.” I was humiliated! But then I just kept on casting. I know I’m in this for the long haul. I don’t need outside validation in order to do what I’m passionate about doing. And, if I do need validation, I just take a look at the fact that three of the four films I’ve cast that have screened publicly did so at major film festivals, and to much commendation.

So, how does that translate to an actor’s situation?

Your goal should be to build relationships and pursue work. Certainly, with many years in LA, the relationships should be in really great shape. I comforted myself over the CSA thing by reminding myself that many CDs whose work I admire are not members and that the CSA has nothing to do with whether or not a producer hires me to cast a film! So, yeah, it may look like you’ve been in town long enough to have made more progress to some, but at the end of the day, does it matter to the person who has the power to hire you whether you’re new to town or not? No way! We want to cast the right person for the role at the right time. Nothing else matters, after that.

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000327.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.