Like professional athletics, the film industry is notoriously difficult to break into. Whether you seek to be a director, a screenwriter, an editor, composer, producer, or an actor, you are bound to face challenges. Hence, you need to train consistently and remain ahead of the game. Nevertheless, research has shown that a good percentage of actors from the industry are among the highest-paid celebrities in the world.
Therefore if you want to become a Hollywood star and live a fulfilling life, you are in the right place. Xavier Dean is one of those business moguls who have made massive waves in the acting streets.
But what does it take to make it in the filming and acting career?
It All Starts With Passion
Passion can go a long way in defining your success in acting. You can develop your passion-driven acting skills step by step while focusing on achieving your goals. If you check the life of some of the most successful actors in the industry, you will realize that some have turned down many opportunities to develop their acting craft.
Additionally, you will need to develop a unique passion for relationship building. You can use your storytelling abilities, self-deprecating humor, or your ability to entertain to build yourself into an authority in the industry. This passion could lead you into a lucrative career in the acting space.
Having passion will give you greater self-awareness and self-confidence to pursue your ambitions. It will also help you work your way out of your comfort zone and build your professional freedom. Other studies have shown that pursuing your passion can contribute to your overall happiness; whether in the acting space or any other industry.
Treat Your Acting Career With The Excellence It Deserves
Success does not just happen; you create it. Therefore, you need to make a deliberate decision and treat your acting with the same professional standards that will propel you to success. Whether undertaking that training or making that painful step, please do it.
It would also help if you mastered your roles and were ready to take new parts when they arise. Develop your self-awareness, motivation, empathy, and social skills as well.
In treating your career with excellence, be honest and always do the right thing. Learn to take high moral ground even when you feel conflicted.
Work With Mentors
The benefits of mentorship are vast, especially in the Hollywood acting industry. Why? Because Hollywood is a relationship-driven town. Working with a mentor will give you the momentum and empower you to identify your skills and knowledge gaps. Also, having a mentor will expose you to newer ways of thinking. It will expose revelatory ways and new problem-solving ideas within your acting. Mentoring will also help you develop a good relationship with ‘feedback’ in a productive way. Feedback is something that we all need to improve in our weaknesses.
Mentors can also help broaden your network and gain recognition. For example, Xavier studied diligently under the tutelage of Anthony Meindl, who has been very instrumental in shaping the careers of many notable stars in Hollywood.
Make A Short Film
Acting in short films can be instrumental in scaling you to the peak of your career. It is a pivotal way of learning the filmmaking process. Additionally, it will help you in your collaborative process as an actor.
Short film making is an opportunity to grow your network of creative friends. You will develop relationships, but you will also grow your craft as an actor. Additionally, working in short films will tremendously increase your work being seen by your online audience and also in the film festival. You may never know who is watching. As a result, you could easily gain ground in acting and even win awards. These awards can help you gain credibility and recognition.
Have Self Belief, Right Attitude & Desire For Success
Like any other industry, the acting industry is still faced with many challenges. These challenges include tax breaks that don’t help smaller film productions, runaway digital piracy, lack of equality, racial controversy, negativity, and media-driven criticism.
Therefore, these challenges can bring you down if not’ strong. It would be best if you had self-belief, had the right attitude, and were determined to succeed. You need to learn to take negative criticism and use it to work towards achieving your dreams and goals.
Often you might go through many setbacks and failures, but learn to use them as stepping stones to the next level of your success. Be resilient and understand that failure is part of success.
Set Your Eyes On The ‘Big Screen’
You need to have a big vision and focus on the stage with big names. Be consistent in your acting, and every day you will move a step closer to achieving your goals. This step will help you develop a stable framework to determine your performance standards.
It will also help if you have a sense of purpose and direction. That way, you will define your long-term and short-term goals.
Wrap Up
Do you want to make a name in the Hollywood space? Cultivate your passion, create short films, treat your career with the excellence it deserves, have a mentor, be determined to face your storms, and set your eyes on the ‘big screen.’