ACTOR BRANDING: WHY YOU NEED "A LOOK" IN HOLLYWOOD.
WHY YOU NEED "A LOOK" TO BREAK INTO HOLLYWOOD
The first thing you must understand is that both film and television are visual art forms.
People watch them.
Let me repeat that: people watch them.
The primary sense used to experience a film is vision.
Sound is supplementary to the picture.
Therefore, to succeed in television and film you need to understand one principle and that is "How you look is isn't just important, it is the most important factor."
Why?
How we dress, how we present, how we cultivate our unique personal style and personal appearance is the primary way that we telegraph ourselves to the world around us.
The universal language that says "This is who I am."
Therefore, if your personal appearance is best described as generic or non-specific, a visual art form generally does not have any immediate use for you.
The career begins in television.
Some facts about television casting:
A) TV casting has the greatest demand for new talent.
B) TV provides the best entry level jobs where you can demonstrate professionalism.
C) TV casting is fast-paced and casting directors use efficient workflows.
D) TV casting offices are seeking specific LOOKS to embody character descriptions provided by the screenwriters.
Television and film have high demand for talent that have unique, specific and vivid looks. By populating an imaginary world with highly specific looks, the fictional world becomes detailed and realistic.
Therefore, to break into television you must have a look that the casting offices need frequently, on a regular basis.
Being needed on a regular basis is directly related to the market saturation for your particular look. Even if there are a significant number of roles written for your look, if there are thousands of candidates, casting will have little demand for you.
Therefore, it is of great importance to develop a unique personal look that few others have so that casting offices will have a reason to call upon you when your look is appropriate.
This is especially true of newcomers.
If you are uncertain as to what type of look you might aspire to, watch at least several seasons of prime time procedural dramas such as LAW & ORDER or NCIS. Although formulaic, these shows also make heavy use of recurring archetypes. Keep your eye out for recurring character archetypes who exist on the fringes of society or have defects rather than on bland or non-specific characters such as "the girl next door" or "average American."
At the world famous Groundlings school in Los Angeles, they teach the students "Choose to lose". In other words, "Choose to be a loser." This principle will serve you well when imagining a new look for your acting brand.
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