Congratulations – you’ve landed a commercial. Maybe a bit part on a TV series or movie. Will the producers start calling your agent? Will you be getting invitations to red carpet events? Will the paparazzi start following you around whenever you lunch at Ivy’s?
Nope. A big part of an actor’s career is self promotion or marketing. Years ago, when Hollywood was ruled by the studio system, each studio groomed up and coming actors with charm school, horse riding lessons, swimming lessons, boxing, fencing, you name it. The studios taught the actors how to dress, speak. They shaped each actor’s image and that could include their names! Marilyn Monroe‘s real name was Norma Jean Mortenson. Tony Curtis was born Bernie Schwartz. Judy Garland was originally Ethel Gumm. Lauren Bacall was Betty Perske. Kirk Douglas was born Issur Demsky!
But as the studio system waned, actors became responsible for their own careers. The shift in “artist development” moved from studio to agencies and managers. So it was up to the agencies to groom up and coming actors.
But, sort of like a real estate agency, an agent or manager is primarily motivated to work on the careers of their top talent. And this is a blunt reality because it makes more sense to spend time on the actor who makes millions per picture as opposed to an up and coming actor who makes basic SAG rates.
So this shifts the time and cost of marketing and self-promotion to the up and coming actor himself.
An up and coming actor needs to add new skills. Boxing? Spanish? Swimming? Horseback riding? You never know when they cast a movie looking for someone with a specific skill. Since most new actors can’t afford publicists, it also doesn’t hurt to network with your peers. You see this with tween stars of Disney and Nickelodeon fame. When writer/director Judd Apatow‘s 1999 TV series FREAKS AND GEEKS was cancelled after just one season, its talented cast became the new Brat Pack, a collective of actors, writers and directors who enjoyed working together. This has yielded some of the biggest comic stars today: James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Jonah Hill. Even Shia LaBeouf is an ex-Freak.
If you are networking with your peers, an up and comer still needs to work on self-promotion. Christian Bale back in the 1990s was a popular red carpet date request because of his height. The logic then was that although a red carpet reporter might ignore an unknown making his way down the red carpet, a cute couple of up and comers is guaranteed coverage. This is a throwback to the studio days when they’d pair up an attractive couple to get press coverage. Rock Hudson squired many a young starlet at a movie premiere – obviously not matchmaking, just good old fashioned publicity.
Some actors boldly make their own luck with short films and documentaries. Morgan Spurlock hit documentary gold when he wrote and directed SUPER SIZE ME – where he ate nothing but Big Macs for 30 days. More recently, Patrick Moote gained film festival fame with his 2013 documentary UNHUNG HERO which covered his humiliating journey of penis enlargement.
And we can’t forget the power of the Internet! Justin Bieber, Soulja Boy and Cody Simpson were discovered on Youtube and Myspace. A lot of actors today have their own Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts to be able to communicate to their fans. It’s a smart move so that fans will feel attached to someone “famous” on TV. That fan power can be leveraged to show producers that an up and coming actor has a following.
Charlie McDermott, who stars in the hit ABC TV show THE MIDDLE, said that when he first arrived in Hollywood, he noticed that every single guy at audition calls looked just like him. So he realized very quickly that he needed to differentiate himself. He used his father’s web marketing company to build a slick electronic press kit to alert his growing fan base of his film and TV appearances. Today, McDermott regularly tweets to his 24,000 followers. Eden Sher, who plays McDermott’s TV sister, has another 23,000 followers. Even veteran stars are taking to social media. McDermott’s TV mom, Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton, has over 170,000 followers. When a TV series can be cancelled over the loss of 500,000 viewers an episode, is it any surprise that actors are actively using whatever means possible to promote themselves and their livelihood?
And you thought an actor was just a pretty face! Today’s successful actor has to have marketing smarts to give them a competitive edge or else they will remain one of those beautiful waiters and waitress in Los Angeles ready and waiting with a headshot on hand. 90% unemployment, remember?
Harrison Cheung is the award-winning author of the Christian Bale biography, THE INSIDE STORY OF THE DARKEST BATMAN. Learn more at bale-biography.com