I have a demo reel that has a wide variety of characters in it. It isn’t all over-the-top comedic skit stuff either. It’s mostly dramatic actually with some comedy mixed in. My problem is the casting directors, managers, agents, and producers I meet all have a different opinion of who I am as an actor: The goofy quirky guy, the WASP-y guy, the intellectual, the hippy, the fratboy, the jock, the tortured introvert, whatever. It’s weirding me out, because I feel like it’s my responsibility to pick and choose what “image” I want to present. I’m having a hard time doing this. Is it my responsibility to do that? I assumed before coming to Los Angeles a broad range would be an advantage. I’m not trying to say I can be everything. I know my limits. But should I cut out good scenes in my demo, just because it might not fit an image that I’m marketing myself as? Should I box in my personality some to fit an “image” in meetings and such?

Great questions. The chapter called “What Is My Type” is the longest in Self-Management for Actors, and there’s a reason for that. An actor knowing his type is one of the most important — and most difficult — factors in finding success in Los Angeles. After you have achieved a certain amount of success, you can blow off issues of type almost entirely and reinvent yourself as many times as the industry will allow it. But there is that “getting there” that requires that you know your type and market it correctly.

Yes, we know you can be any type. Of course! You’re an actor! It’s your job to be able to do or be just about anything, right? But that chameleon-like ability is not what gets you called in, when you’re competing with thousands and thousands of other actors for the same roles. What does get you called in? I mean, what gets you called in before you’re a known commodity? That’s effective marketing of your primary type. You want to become known as the go-to guy for the industry, when anyone has a need for your type.

For example, a dear friend of mine makes a nice living as “that creepy guy.” Is he creepy? Not even close! But he plays creepy and he knows that “the creepy guy” is what he’s going to be called in for. Every time. He has far more range than “just” this type, but has taken his primary type to the bank, allowing him to do more and more with every new role. Becoming known as a talented, professional actor somehow comes after getting attention as THE GUY to go to, when the industry needs your particular type.

My advice on determining and marketing your type could fill a book (actually, it already does fill a good part of a book), so I won’t go into as much detail as I could, but what I will do is suggest that you write your own breakdown.

What does that mean?

Write the breakdown for the character you were meant to play. You’ve read breakdowns at Actors Access enough to know how they read. There’s height, gender, ethnicity, physical build, characteristics, mannerisms, tendencies, all of that detail. Now, you write one up for yourself. I am NOT suggesting that you write up a breakdown of everything you could play. I’m asking you to write up the breakdown for who you are.

Are you the guy-next-door? Are you the badass snarky type? Are you the “every man” with a sinister undercurrent? Are you the leading man with a tragic flaw that no one learns until they’ve invested a great amount of time in getting to know you? Are you the wacky neighbor? Define your primary type.

Now, make sure your headshots sell you as that type. Make sure your demo reel includes material that showcases that type of work. Invest time and energy researching CDs who consistently cast that type of character and make sure you get on those CDs’ radar. You want to be one of the few people we think of, when the time comes to consider your type. Then, when we do bring you in, you wow us with your talent and ability. You book until you are given the leeway to stretch your range and prove to others all of the other things you are capable of. And by then, we’re your fans and we’ll go with you no matter what wacky thing you want to try, as an artist.

So, in a nutshell, yes, it is your responsibility to come up with your primary type and market yourself (including editing your demo reel — and that may mean losing some really great material that is off-type) accordingly. Certainly, if you have an agent or manager he or she will be helping you to craft that image. And, if you are absolutely certain that you can and should be marketing yourself as two different types (your primary type and damn-close-secondary type), then by all means, have a different headshot for each, have a differently-edited reel for each, and know which one you’re being called in to be, when you get those auditions.

As for general meetings, be yourself. No one wants you to try and fit a particular image when you are interviewing agents or doing generals with CDs. We want to get to know you. When we want to see you doing your thing, we’ll tell you that.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Good luck discerning your type! Let me know what it turns out to be!

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/000109.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.