I have always said that the most visible form of Cinema, Television or any form of filmed content is acting - reason, 90% of film-professionals want to be actors; but is getting a role that can change the fortune of an actor that easy? Read on.
There was a huge stigma attached to film industry w.r.t. Indian perspective till the 90's - however over the past two decades that stigma has eroded and today aspiring actors hail from not only film families or political families; but also, business families or corporate families - ready to invest or pump in the money required to launch them!
In such a scenario, how does one get a role; I remember a director friend casting; he told me, a female actor was nonchalant enough to say that she was ready for the couch - really? Not sure was the actor serious or was she just goofing along - point is, for every single role in the market, there are scores of girls & guys willing for the infamous thing in casting that goes by 'casting couch' - so how does an actor break in, keeping her or his moral-values intact.
The best part is, opportunities for actors have grown 100X times than what they were in the 90's - the demand is much more than what it was ever before - the key is to be smart enough to get cast!
I will recount my personal experience; I am yet to formally announce casting for my upcoming web-series, to be telecast on an American channel - word of mouth is already out and I am getting emails from prospective actors. An Indo-British actor, XYZ (privacy protected), really impressed me, she introduced that she is a trained actor from India & UK; is very active on social media has 100,000 followers on twitter & 57,000 likes on her FB page - since I am doing a web-series, she can assure the web-series a huge visibility through her social media platform.
Film-making, more so acting, is all about visibility - are you visible when people 'google' you?
Does 'google' throw-up your images on your name? Start working towards it now.
I was very impressed! If I cast her, I get a marketing person complementary together with an actress - whether we work together, will depend on the availability during the shooting sched - but she's already made an impression, if not the web-series, may be a future film.
Can you, as an actor, make an impression? Start working towards it, now.
Point is the competition - actors with money, actors taking the couch, actors with contacts, actors with progeny - will always be there; think out of the box on how to counter these and make an impression. There's a famous saying, acting is about the impression you make on audiences; casting, about the impression you make on directors, producers & casting directors.
