ACTING FAQ

11 Habits Of Highly Effective Actors
by
Bob Fraser
Author of You Must Act!
http://www.youmustact.com

I recently read an excellent article called 5 Tips for Actors. When I say
excellent, I mean really good ... really good advice. (Due to a senior moment, I
do not know who to give credit to for this great article. I'm sure someone will
tell me. I'll give credit in the Hollywood How-To Newsletter, for sure.) Anyway,
these five tips were all crucial advice to anyone who wants a career as an
actor.
They were all steps that must be taken. They will work.

However, even if you take these five excellent tips and put them to work
immediately, if you really want to get somewhere in this business (with any
pursuit really) you MUST have or develop some work habits.

These are bottom line (absolutely necessary) habitual behaviors that every actor
must possess.

You must be on time.

If you can't get anywhere on time now, you'd better learn how before you attempt
the 'real world' of show business. On a big film the money is going out the door
at about 30 grand every 20 minutes. On a network TV show the rate is only
slightly less. If you are ten minutes late for a job that pays a five hundred
bucks - you will be heartily disliked by the producer and everybody that works
for him. People will scream at you. If you are late for an audition, the casting
director will worry that you won't get to the job on time. If you're late for a
job, that casting director will also have people screaming at her. Understand?
NEVER BE LATE.

You must be able to work a long day.

There is no such thing as an eight-hour day in show business. In forty years,
I've had about 23 eight-hour days. And two of those were because somebody died.
If you cannot work a long day, you are unsuited for success in show business.
IT'S LO-O-NG HOURS.

You must be an early riser.

I know it's nice to laze around in bed when you've got a day off, but this is a
habit you cannot afford. Grasp the idea that if you want to be in the movie or
television business, you must be the kind of person who can get up at 5 in the
morning. All the time. Period. If you work in the theatre, your early rising
will
fall about 10 AM – because you work into the night. But if you plan on working
in
'the industry' you'd do well to make early rising a life-long habit. WAKE UP THE
ROOSTER.

You must be a pleasant person under these circumstances.

Early starts and long hours means that you will be spending (on average) about
half your life with co-workers. If you are a pain in the a@# – you will be
heartily disliked by other people who are also working 12 hour days.* Word will
get around. It will be harder to get work. BE NICE.

You must love the work.

You have to keep your 'creative juices' flowing during the entire 12 hours. If
you don't love doing this kind of work, being 'on' for 12 hours is impossible.
Don't forget why you are doing this. LOVE

You must be well groomed and clean.

You are not the part. Even the guys who play bikers and bums wear deodorant. The
teeth are clean. The breath is pleasant. Etc. I know this seems nit-picky, but a
co-worker who literally 'stinks' will get a reputation and lose opportunities
because of it. I've seen it happen. And when it comes to casting people, who
see
hundreds of actors in a day or two - well, that's their number one pet peeve.
Far
and away. CLEANLINESS IS IMPORTANT.

You must not complain (with one proviso.)

Those actors on sets who complain about the dressing rooms, the food, the
director, the co-star, the costume people, the lack of work, the hours, the
script, or pretty much anything – are labeled as "complainers" or a@#h*%s and
they are rarely appreciated or tolerated for very long. Besides, complaining
about circumstances doesn't work. People near the bottom of the ladder who think
it's 'smart' to gripe about every little screw-up, are putting a bullseye on
their butts. Don't become one of those people or you will find yourself near the
bottom of the ladder for a long long time. Nobody reaches out to complainers.
Nobody, including you, even likes complainers. If you want to be thought of as
someone NICE -- DON'T COMPLAIN.

(The proviso to this is that you must never let anyone abuse or berate you -- in
those cases, complain to the authorities -- loud and often.)

You must not spread rumors.

Rumor-mongering is the first sign of someone who isn't really interested in the
job at hand -- someone so bored or so shallow that they must talk about other
people. When you hear someone say, "Oh, I worked with (fill in the name of a
movie star), he's a pig." -- excuse yourself and go somewhere else. You do not
want to be around this sort of person. 93.3 percent of all rumors are false. The
other 6.7% are probably none of your business.

Again, people who are rumor-mongers are labeled and eventually work dries up.
Talk business, talk philosophy, talk about the weather -- but avoid the
temptation to talk about other people (except in the most glowing terms). Watch
the stars when they are asked about other performers. Have you ever heard a star
say, "She's an idiot." No, they are always upbeat, positive, complimentary --
because they know the rumor mill is a two way street. If avoiding this sort of
thing is good behavior for stars (and most behave this way) then what's stopping
you from adopting the same habit? NO RUMORS.

Drugs, drinking and screwing around.

I'm sure you know what people think of people who are more interested in sin
than
cinema. You will be labeled. People will not forget. Work will be harder to get.
JUST SAY "NO THANK YOU." (BEING NICE)

Jealousy and other bad feelings.

Jealousy is one of the main causes of "messing up" on one of these crucial
behaviors listed above. Jealousy leads to bad decisions. Bad decisions lead to
bad results.

And jealousy allows you to blame others for your results. You begin to believe
that things aren't fair. You begin to look for 'reasons' for your lack of
progress. they will be well argued reasons, no doubt – but an excuse by any
other
name is still an excuse. Jealousy is a bad path – it's a step on the wrong
ladder
– you're on the wrong street – you're a stranger in a strange land – GET A MAP.

The same goes for other "negative" emotional reactions. Self blame. Frustration.
Fear. Anxiety. Worry. This is business. "There's no crying in baseball."
Besides,
wallowing in your emotional reaction slows down your forward progress toward
success.

Give good value for the dollar. When you habitually give 100% of your energy to
the work - you will get more work. It's a mortal lock.

Much Success,

Bob Fraser

PS: I know I said the freebee (1000+ Casting Directors) was coming down on May 6
and the new freebee (1000+ Agents & Agencies) would be up on May 7. Well, I'm
behind schedule on my site re-design so I guess the Casting Directors will be up
for a couple of more days.

Until I can get my stuff in gear, you can still help yourself to the freebee:
1000 Casting Directors – http://www.youmustact.com/freebee.zip

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Bob Fraser is an actor,writer, producer, director
and author of You Must Act! "The Bible of Acting Success"
http://www.youmustact.com

© Copyright 2004 Bob Fraser All Rights Reserved.YouMustAct.com
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Bob Fraser Prod. 18533 Roscoe Blvd. #160 Northridge CA 91324
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