I Never Planned on Being an Actor
While growing up, I had absolutely no plans on being an actor. Even as a college student, watching TV shows, commercials and films were my only connection with acting.
I actually studied music in college and stopped attending in order to perform as a full-time musician and songwriter. I toured for 7 years.
After 7 years, my brother decided he wanted to begin his psychotherapy
practice and gave me one years notice to figure out what I wanted to do
after my music career.
Physical Therapy
After spending over 300 hours volunteering in physical therapy
departments in a few hospitals and shadowing orthopedic
surgeons doing rounds, I decided, PT was the job I wanted.
Being able to learn about the human body and help others
felt great to me. And, after 7 years of touring, being home
with a steady job sounded wonderful.
Major Change
I went back to school and began taking all the classes I avoided
all my life. Biology, organic/inorganic chemistry, anatomy, statistics,
etc… These were just some of the prerequisites I needed for physical therapy school.
While in school full-time, I needed a part-time job to support myself.
I had 3 requirements.
1. It had to be a job that was fun
2. It had to be well paying since I didn’t have that much free time to work
3. The hours had to be flexible to accommodate my class schedule.
I Met an Actor
I was at a party and met an actor. He told me what he did. Mostly TV commercials and some commercial modeling work. What he did sounded fun and would be the perfect part-time job for me.
I did some research and found a local agent. I attended an open call and was told that since I didn’t have any acting experience, they were not interested in having me audition.
As I was about to leave, the agent said, “While you are here, why don’t you quickly read some copy for me.” I had no idea that copy meant the words to
a TV commercial. I asked if I could look it over and went into the hallway to
study the copy.
After doing the audition, she said that she liked my read and that I should get a headshot. I did not know what that meant either. Fortunately,
she gave me the names of a few photographers to contact.
My first few headshot sessions were a bit of a disaster. I had no idea what I was doing. Didn’t know what expressions should be used or how to prepare
for the session. It took me years to figure this out.
Mentoring Others
This is one of the reasons why I love mentoring others, in order to teach them step – by – step, how to find the right photographer, ask the necessary questions, prepare and practice getting the right expressions, techniques to use during the shoot and what to wear for the session. Having this information would have saved me years of guesswork and a lot of money. And, it would have helped me get more work at the beginning of my career.
I was truly amazed that I actually started getting more and more work. And, I was loving doing these jobs. Whether it was extra work on feature films or TV commercials, I was having such a great time.
Although I completed all of my prerequisites and could begin applying for physical therapy school, I found that that acting and commercial modeling
is the job I wanted to pursue.
I began studying with some great teachers. Then, I decided to spend one year working as a full-time actor and commercial model, just to test things out. I needed to see if I still loved the work, could get work and deal with the uncertainty of being a free-lance artist again.
Can’t Believe This
After 34 – plus years as a full-time actor and commercial model and more than 1, 270 bookings, I know I made the right choice.
It isn’t always easy. Like with any jobs, it can be very difficult. But, I have
been so fortunate to have worked in a profession that I love for more than
three decades.
You can watch another helpful video
Why I Choose Not to Live in New York
https://howtoactandmodel.com/why-i-chose-not-to-live-in-new-york-for-acting-and-modeling-jobs/
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Can’t wait to talk soon.
Aaron
About the Author: Aaron Marcus
Aaron Marcus has been a full-time actor and commercial model for over 36 years.
His new book, How to Become a Successful Actor and Model is an Amazon Best Seller.
Aaron has given his seminar: "Book the Job" over 800 times spanning 3 continents.
He also offers online workshops.
Aaron saves 5 days each month to give private on-line coaching sessions.
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