When Your Acting Career Stalled

“My acting career stalled. I have a great resume and plenty of IMDb credits, and I am always training, but my agent stopped calling me for auditions. Actors Access does not have a lot of good roles I can self-submit to, and the other casting websites suck. What can I do to get back to auditioning and booking roles? Please help!”

Is the situation described above relatable? I am sure you agree that, yes, we all have been there. We spend years building our acting career, we get representation, and our headshots look great, but there is no work in sight. Our acting career stalled.

The early days when we first started finding casting notices now seem so far behind. We used to get so excited with self-submissions, not caring whether or not we would get paid if we booked the job. We just wanted to work and we would take anything.

A few credits later, things started slowing down. It was time to get an agent. Off we went, in the quest for representation. In the next chapter, we are signed and thriving! Auditions now are of much better quality work and there is always pay – an agent is there to negotiate it. But then, things slowed down again. 

[Read also: 11 Acting-Related Things Actors on Hiatus Can Do]

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Your Agent Stopped Calling

First, let’s talk about this stage of your career. When you are no longer a beginner actor, everything moves to the next stage. Being in the “established actor” category means, things are very different than when you first created your Actors Access profile. Roles you would be thrilled to audition for in your early days are no longer enticing – especially if they don’t make your resume look great or don’t pay very well.

The established actor longs for the “busy career” of name actors and celebrities, although it is not everyone’s reality. There is a stage that can feel a little bit like “limbo” but it is simply the actor becoming their own. At that stage, the phone sometimes stops ringing for what feels like forever. Actors Access suddenly looks like it was made for the desperate willing to accept any work that would not be meaningful on their resume. You might start regretting everything, from joining SAG-AFTRA to singing with your agent.

[Read also: 9 Insanely Common Misconceptions About Agents]

If Your Acting Career Stalled, It’s Time to Strategize

When your acting career stalls, you will hear that you need new headshots, a better-formatted resume, more training, or a nicer website. In reality, what you need is a strategy. You need to set new goals and focus on how to achieve them. Here are some examples:

1. Watch shows you would love to audition for.

2. Make sure your actor “type” is represented in your reel and headshots.

3. Connect with industry peers, from Casting Directors to screenwriters.

[Read also: 5 Reasons Why Talent Clips are Better Than Acting Reels]

It’s Also Time to Network

Networking is an underutilized tool by actors. As creative beings, we sometimes forget that forging long-lasting relationships in the entertainment industry is what gives our careers the longevity we want. To make matters worse, the fact that our jobs are temporary normalizes the disconnect we live under regarding the business side of acting.

Networking is not complicated. Sending out an email to Casting Directors with a career update, or to a screenwriter congratulating them on a project are all valid forms of connection. As actors, we don’t want to be seen as desperate beggars. That makes us shy away from even sending a message of support to our industry peers.

Being in touch with other people in the industry is the missing piece of the puzzle when your acting career stalled. A showrunner who hears about you from a staff writer, or a Casting Director who calls your agent to request you when they receive your newsletter, are ways your networking efforts can pay off.

People will remember you when you keep in touch with them and look forward to working with you. Relationships, though, do not happen overnight. It is important to network consistently to see results at a later time. Ideally, actors should start networking early in their careers. A few years later, the career stalling might have been avoided.

[Read also: 3 Types of Industry Pros Actors Must Network With]

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At Teacup of Wisdom, we share knowledge and insights about the entertainment industry from the actor’s point of view to inspire and empower your acting journey.