The actor’s tools of the trade

Tips for Actors:

1. Shoot new headshots and commercial shots at least once a year. Repetition is good, but casting directors get tired of seeing the same old photos.

2. Actors’ photos should look like them. We disappoint casting directors when we don’t look like our photos.

3. Know in which category we and our photos fit: Lead actor or character actor.

The lead actor is usually extremely handsome/beautiful/charismatic such as Robert Redford, Tom Selleck, Mel Gibson, Brad Pitt, Denzel Washington, Al Pacino, Gwyneth Paltro, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts, Michellle Pfeiffer, Sophia Loren, and Ann Margaret.

In the character actor category are Whoopi Goldberg, Shelly Winters, Olympia Dukakis, Martin Short, Danny Devito, Karl Malden and many others.

Crossovers (actors who play leads and characters) include Barbara Streisand, Angela Bassett, Emma Thompson, Robert Deniro, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Dreyfuss, Lawrence Fishburne, and Brian Dennehy, to name a few.

4.Keep extra clothes in your car for last minute auditions.

5.Keep different headshots attached to resumes in your car.

6.Follow Your Dreams