In the competitive world of acting, there are so many factors that account for someone’s success. That is, of course, if success is what the person is after. And also the way in which success is defined in their eyes. The way I see success and how I define it for myself is being able to work constantly on projects that I love and being able to sustain a quality lifestyle because of that. That is not having to worry about my financial situation and being free in my choices of where I live, what I eat, etc.

And I’ve noticed that among the biggest factors that can drive you to that place. To the promised land. Are first of all your acting abilities, work ethic, communication skills, time management and overall competence and conscientiousness. However, there is one beast lurking in the shadows.

The single trait of all evil

There is one trait that can defeat all of the above. No matter how brilliant an actor is (I use the term gender-neutrally), no matter how skilled, how kind and how eager. There is a dream killer out there looking to hunt you down.

And his name has three letters. E – G – O. Your ego, ladies and gentlemen. The dream killer for actors.

And the battle with the ego must forever continue.

Now, let us first of all define the meaning of that word. What exactly is that ego and how is it the enemy?

Ego – a person’s sense of self-esteem and self-importance.

Self- Importance?

Ah, self-importance. Believing that you have all the answers to the questions which you face. Believing in your self-worth so much that you price yourself higher than the rest around you. Giving your opinions more importance than that of others. That is no timid beast. This is a dragon that if you let to grow it will sooner rather than later devour you and spit you out unrecognizable. Now, I’m not in any way, shape or form undermining your reputation, skill or ability. If any of you who are watching or listening to this getting offended by what I am saying. Great! Acknowledge that. This is precisely what I am talking about. This is the feeling of self-importance, i.e. Ego, i.e the dream killer for actors.

Make sure you remember this sensation and never give in to it in the future. I am sure responses are firing up in your mind as I speak to tell me of how wrong I am and how I know nothing about that situation that you were in. You know, the one where you lashed out at the director telling them they’re wrong and that your character would never do what you’re asked to do because who would know the character better than yourself.

If you haven’t yet done this, I am really proud to hear. However, I know that I’ve been in that place and it’s not a fun place to be. I thought that I knew everything and what I was offered was not on my level. My self-grandiose stood right in front of me and laughed at me.

And while I thought that I had won and defeated the unknowing director with my well-delivered and not-really-thought-through argument about why exactly my opinion was so much better than theirs I couldn’t be more wrong.

There are repercussions and they may come today, tomorrow or in a year. It’s a small industry and a small world.

The But to Every Story

But. And there is a but to every sad story. We are finally going to address this demon, and open the discussion to ways to defeat it. To bury it deep so it doesn’t try to ruin your best chances at becoming successful in your career.

I believe the best place to start, is to acknowledge to ourselves that we, as perfect as we are, are flawed beings. And that ego problems are such that everyone faces to some degree or another. But no matter how bitter, it always leaves that same taste in the mouth and mind of hurt, of pain, of being disrespected, mistreated, not trusted in, not appreciated, not believed, not loved. Accept that you will fail eventually and enter the trap.

Whatever you do, when faced with that bitter desire to defend yourself and your self-right. To defend the grandiose vision of yourself. Stop. And don’t react! Whatever you need to do, you do that, but don’t react! People say think 30 seconds before you speak back. Others suggest think a minute and breathe in deeply 10 times. I say don’t say anything in the first 24 hours. Just tell whoever you are dealing with that you’ll get back to them with a clear answer when you’ve thought everything through. Trust me, they will appreciate this more than what would have hit them instead, fi you spoke in the heat of the moment.

Protect Yourself and Others

30 seconds, minute, 10 minutes, none of these have ever worked for me. It is too soon. I used to be really hot headed. Passionate. Hot blooded, too. I grew up on the streets in Bulgaria. I have the best parents and coming home to them every night was the best. But the days, evenings and some late nights I spent outside with my buddies. And it sometimes got really rough. You have to defend yourself in places like that. You need to know when to go into fight mode and protect yourself, your friends, whatever.

But I had to teach myself that those things were for the street life. This fight mode can’t exist in my communication with professionals. I couldn’t let what somebody told me pierce me and get under my skin, because that would always trigger fight mode. And when that happens. You may think you win. Maybe an argument, a verbal fight. But the loser is actually always you.

So, now I am proud to say, that I know that I need to take 24 hours if I feel like my ego is deciding that it’s time for it to step in and tag me out. Don’t let it ever speak for you.

Now. It is also very important what exactly is it that you do over those 24 hours. You don’t just sweep it under the rug, and not address it in your mind, not reflect on it and just write out that rude email 24 hours later. That’s more like writing it down first and scheduling it to be sent tomorrow. Without much reflection. Now, if you need to write the email and vent, go ahead. But don’t press that send button before the 24 hours have passed. Read it instead. If you’re happy with it, which I doubt. Read it again. Don’t send before the 24 hours have passed.

Then What Shall I Do?

Read it again, I’m sure you will that it is not a good email to send. Put it away. And start reflecting.

What really happened? Don’t start pointing fingers. Don’t try to blame it on someone. Try and see it from the eyes of the other person. I understand that, if it got really heated, this could be particularly difficult to achieve straight away. But, worry not, we have 24 hours left for that.

Do something else first to relax you. Sometimes the situation that you were in will inspire emotions that cloud your thinking. The best thing then is to not be feeling those emotions when thinking. Right? It’s so simple it’s hard. It was hard for me for a very long time. But it’s a lesson that everyone needs to learn.

Relax. Calm down. Now read it again. What do you see? Is it possible that you can see where you are coming short, too? Is it, at all possible, and I know that the chances for that are slim – I know you, you are right! But, is it possible, that you could be wrong? And I know that’s probably not the case. But ask yourself. Really ask yourself, is it possible that you are wrong?

If the answer is no, then that’s the wrong answer. Relax. I’m not attacking you. Just think more, there’s 23 hours to go. Haha. You see where I’m headed with this?

What happens next?

Inevitably, you will reach the conclusion that, you may not be entirely wrong, but you’re surely not entirely right. And through deep reflection, you will realise that there may be a better way to approach the situation, a better way to write that email. And better things to say.

IF you can really do that. Wow. You’ve actually won the fight. But not with the person you were dealing with. A more important fight. The fight with your ego. The most important fight. AS the ego, is the biggest dream killer for actors.

I hope you found value in this episode. I really wanted to have someone tell me these things when I was starting out and I hope you see how deeply I care that you don’t make the mistakes that I have.

You can join me on my FREE 5 Day Audition Monologue Mastery Challenge and learn more pro tips on preparing, choosing and winning the right audition for you. 😊

Other related blog posts: Do Science And Acting Go Hand In Hand
How Much Of Acting Is A Business

I've always been curious about science and our psychology in particular. For years I've been trying to see whether acting and science go hand in hand. It turns out that not only do they closely connect, but science is actually the THING that can take your career to the next level. Continue reading to find out how.

I’d like us to discuss Psychology and Acting today and why I believe that understanding psychology can get your game to a whole new level.

Why would Psychology be useful in acting?

I think the biggest reason for that would be because you will understand your character better. But why do you need to understand your character at all in the first place? And what does understanding mean at all? Does science and acting go hand in hand?

I’ll begin by answering the second question first. Understanding means being able to put yourself in the shoes of your character. No matter what they’re going through or what they’ve been through, you must be able to understand the reasons behind all the decisions that they’ve ever made. Understanding also means feeling empathy for them.

Now, you’re probably thinking, well what if they are a bad person? What if they commit crimes? Now, feeling empathy for someone doesn’t mean justifying their actions. We are not saying that you must like them too. Those are completely different things. Honestly, it gets on my nerves when someone says “I don’t like this character”. This is not important at all. You are, after all, there to do a job. Whether you like the character or not should be the last thing that you concern yourself with. Whether you believe that they are doing wrong or right also doesn’t matter. Empathy means that you understand why they are doing what they are doing.

And Psychology Can Help You With That.

By understanding what emotions certain situations provoke, you can navigate this puzzle easier. For instance, if a child grew up in a toxic environment will they be among the best members in society? Of course not. However, if the child was very self-aware and was able to realise that whatever has happened to her was none of her fault and she could right all wrongs? Wouldn’t she take a great new direction? Yet, all of those things may not even be mentioned in the script. But from reading into the decisions that the character is making later on in the story, you can immediately make decisions about their personality and come up with scenarios like this. This will enhance the connection that you have with this character. It will also better enable you to empathise with her as you now understand all the reasons behind their choices.

Now, this is also the answer to the first question which was why we need to understand the character in the first place?
Because through understanding, you can see life through their eyes.

Horror

During the 20^th century, there were these labour camps in Russia, called the gulags and in there prisoners would be put through essentially slavery. Many would die while working there. They were kept there by the prison guards who were immensely horrible to them. Beating prisoners up would be the least they would do to them. I won’t go into too much detail but they were truly horrible. Many people would now think that they would never do such a thing to another human being. And it is true for them now. For the lives that they have lived so far.

However, the guards that would work in these prisons were also normal people like us at one point. But they went through something that changed them into these monsters. Not one thing but series of events. So my question would be, how many people do you think would endure these same series of events and not turn into the same monsters? That’s right, too few. Majority of us, if having lived through the same things, would turn into the same people that tortured thousands of innocent people in the gulags.

Do you see how now we are changing our mindset? How we are changing the way we are looking at the guard? Now we know that whatever has turned them into who they are, has the power to do the same to us. Now this guard is not so different to us. Infact, at one point they were us. Now we’ve bridged a massive gap. Now we understand the character.

No Scientific Terms.

Using psychology means just this. Not scientific terms. Nothing greater than what we just did. Understanding what had to happen to make your character do what they do.

So, the best thing you can do is follow the steps that led into their turning into who they are. You back into their lives and decide what happened if the information is not already available to you.

I believe that only through properly understanding the character can we then talk about the rest of the technicalities around your performance.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that all performances that get the highest awards are such of incredible immersion. When the actor, no matter their gender identification, transforms so deeply into the character that we forget about the person playing completely. We believe that they are who they portray. It also distorts our perception of the actor as they could be completely different in real life. That's how science and acting come together.

Immersion Through Empathy. Stop Playing Emotion.

And this also goes so much deeper than just playing angry or frustrated. I spend a lot of time discussing these things with actors, and have many ask me questions like that. What monologue to choose that shows an array of emotions. Or I’m playing angry because it shows my best acting. Or, I auditioned with my “teary” monologue and I cried.

Let me share a story with you. When I was auditioning for drama school I had the chance for the first time in my life to observe other actors in auditions. And there was this young man who did a monologue which I can’t remember now but at one point during the monologue, he began to cry. Real tears at that! However, they didn’t come through emotion. His character wasn’t trying to achieve something in the scene. In fact, he cried for the sake of crying thinking that this would impress the tutors. I thought it was a good performance, and tears are cool to see as they’re a technique of their own. However, it lacked substance.

I really wanted to find out what happened with the actor and if they had offered him a place. Unforunately, when the year began, I saw no trace of him and later found out that the got turned down on the day of the audition. Hence my opinion of going after a monologue because of the feelings that you think it portrays is shallow and will not get you anywhere really. What’s more important is whether you understand where your character is in their life. And understanding that they are not too different to you, just you under different.. drumroll.. circumstances.

The Given Circumstances. Change Is Needed.

We all love this phrase. The given circumstances. And again, I believe that most actors out there look at it from a very shallow perspective. The given circumstances are that my character is furious about so and so. So, they go out and play furious. Yeah, but do you really get why the character is furious? That’s where I want everyone that I work with to get. My experience is revealing that those who grasp this really move ahead in their careers whereas those who don’t… well, they don’t move ahead much.

There needs to be a change in focus in my opinion. From thinking what the outcome of the monologue should be, what emotions should be felt, to rather what the character is experiencing right now and what they’ve been through before. Why they want to achieve what they want to achieve and how are they going about doing that. Our conversation must change into something a lot deeper than what emotion to play. It must also move away from judging the character by thinking that they are doing wrong, or that we don’t like them. Or that we actually are in love with the character. Then comes the problem of making them juust to our liking and miss the whole point completely.

To be honest, the level of depth that the best achieve is not easy to achieve. Not at all. It requires a lot of thinking on our part. Most of all it requires a level of understanding for the character that can only be achieved through understanding their present, their past and their direction for the future. This is how psychology can help you. This is psychology at its best and why psychology means great acting.

If you enjoyed this post let me know in the comments below. Also, make sure to Join me on my 5 DAY FREE Audition Monologue Mastery Challenge HERE where I’ll teach you pro tips on how to prepare the perfect audition, how to go to the right ones in the first place and land the perfect role for you! I can’t wait to see you there! Also, check out the Actor’s Breakthrough Podcast for amazing discussions with industry pros and other tips! Thanks for reading.

Read my conversation on Creating Your Own Work With Producer and Writer Joseph Abraham HERE.

Photo by Garrhet Sampson on Unsplash

What is the number one question that everyone who gets in the industry asks? How to make money as an actor. And it is a great question. We all need money. Money can support the craft so we can take it in front of the eyes of more and more people and bring value to them. Because essentially this is our main goal, right? To bring entertainment, or something thought provoking to the world. In this episode I will be sharing 5 really simple ways in which you can support yourself as an actor so you can continue to make other people’s lives better.

As much as we do our art for a higher purpose, we also need to sell our art so we can support out worst habit that is called eating. Also, living under a roof and having hot water fall under the category.

I feel like there is the stigma that actors feel when they say that they are doing some jobs for money, or they start charging more because they want to be able to live off their craft.

There is nothing shameful about that. In fact, I’m quite proud that I can sell my acting. I want you to change the way you look at marketing and selling yourself. I talked briefly about marketing on a post that I shared on Instagram which you can check out HERE.

So today, I’d like to give you a few ideas and share with you the actual things which I have done to keep my career alive.

Be an Actor (at your day job)

Yep, I’ve been there too. For years, at that. There is nothing wrong with having a day job. I mean. I’ve done so many things myself. I’ve done the glamorous lifeguard in the NY Hamptons area, I was a beach hotel bartender at the same place, too. I’ve also scrubbed toilets as a bartender in a local pub in England’s Midlands. I’ve done security for a night club where I had to break up fights, even participate in some, nightly. I mean, I made a few mates at the police. It has been rough. I’ve given away leaflets outdoors in the rain, I’ve waited tables, hotel maintenance, kitchen helper. Gosh. So many things.

But the most beautiful thing about everything I’ve done. Is that I remained an actor throughout. I would play this character that I invented for myself, who was super passionate about what he was doing. When I was a bartender, I would go to work full of energy like I was stepping on the National Theatre stage. Or I was collecting an award or something. Well, I didn’t feel crazy about cleaning toilets or wiping barf off the floor. But I did my best and I played the part.

I knew that whatever I was doing then, wasn’t permanent and that I would eventually not have to do it. What it also taught me was extreme resilience. Anything I had to do, as long as it was legal, I would do it. I knew I had to support my acting. That game me work ethic of a lion. You may be thinking to yourselves well what work ethic could a lion have? The lion never gives up until he’s got what he is after. So, he is ungiveuppable. By the way, this is a trend on this podcast it seems, me coming up with words. Well, all the words were essentially made up by someone so why can’t I tag along, too? Anyway, I became ungiveuppable. And so, should you.

Truth is, life as an actor when you’re starting out can be quite miserable. You haven’t proven your value yet so people are judging you on your past work and when that is non-existent then. You may feel kind of screwed. But that’s the beauty of it. Only the ones who really care about it can remain long enough in the game.

Voice Over

Voice over was the first thing I branched off to. I said to myself that if I wanted to be great at what I do, I needed to be great at all aspects acting. They all have their own techniques and methods, but in essence it is all the same. You are telling a story through emotion. Whether people will see you doing it or only hear you. It doesn’t matter.

Voice acting can pay the bills when you get a decent gig. It could be for corporate explainer videos or animation. It is pretty fun and you can do it from the comfort of your own home. However, you will need some equipment for that. There is the initial investment but I think it is absolutely worth it. It has taught me a lot of lessons, especially how to better analyse text and use my voice better to tell the story. When you are limited and you are not visible to the audience, you have only one means of conveying emotion so you better be really good at it.

Those lessons really improved my whole acting overall. I started getting better jobs in voice over and acting as a whole. I was able to tell the stories better. So, not only does it satisfy money needs, it is also very gratifying as you’re really improving overall. Starting out, you may not be making a lot of money, but perhaps 10-20 pounds, or 15-25 dollars, per hour but with practice you can reach 50 pounds per hour, the equivalent of 65-70 dollars. It’s quite lucrative with experience. Although, the initial investment can seem quite high for some. It is totally worth it in my opinion.

It got me a lot more connected to my body and voice. I became more aware of when my voice was tired, what it needed, what my body needed and vice versa. I knew when I was absolutely on point and what I had to do to sustain it. Not only that but when you are acting characters out, your voice gains a lot more flexibility, you become more creative as you need to think of something really amazing to do, you get inspired from the text and you just expand as an actor. I believe that those skills compound and will come in handy when you’re out doing long hours as an actor.

You are also in the proximity of other creatives. This I find really inspiring and you can grow your network this way. Very naturally at that. You deliver value, do a great voice over, and the next job may come right up from there.

Audiobooks

This is a branch in voice over that shares a lot of similarities but I wanted to speak about it in a different paragraph as it is also very different. The sheer volume of an audiobook is a skill on its own. We think that we can read until we start reading hours of audiobook. The first one I did, I would start to stutter 30 minutes in and the next several hours would be a total drag. I would also not read words by mistake. So, then in post you need to revisit all those mistakes, edit them out, add the words you’ve skipped over. It’s hard work.

A book that is around 6-7 hours long as a finished product, would take around 20-30 hours of working on it. Starting out, it would take more than 10 hours to record all its content, and another 10-15 hours of editing in post-production. Scary. Good thing is, they pay from $50 dollars per finished hour, or 35 pounds, up to 400 dollars per finished hour, or 280 pounds.

Notice that I’m saying per finished hour. So, the time you spend editing is not counted. You only get paid for the finished product. It can be disheartening for some, but if are getting between 50-100 dollars per finished hour, and the book is 5 hours long, that’s good 500-1000 dollars. You get a couple more books that month and all bills are covered, you’ve also set some money aside.

Great way to branch off. Especially if the book has characters in it, you get to portray different people. It is so fun to be able to create all these different characters and they all have to have a unique voice, expression, way of speaking, sometimes different accent. You get to learn so many things by doing this, and your skillset vastly improves.

Plus, if you love to listen to audiobooks, what better combination? I personally am obsessed with audiobooks and am constantly listening to something. You learn so many things as you do, you hear these amazing stories and characters. I love it.

Video Presenter

This one, I am particularly proud of. In 2020 I joined fiverr for the first time with the idea of becoming a video presenter. A spokesperson. On fiverr you can be a spokesperson for brands, businesses, services, anything you can think of. There is a huge database of actors and if anyone needs services like this they just go on the platform, find whoever they like and hire them for a job.

You just need to go in front of the camera and deliver a script. How amazing is that? You essentially do what you love most. And get paid good money from it. I’ve had some ups and downs but overall, fiverr has been a phenomenal source of income.

There is some investment that is good to have when starting. I started with a 300 pounds Olympus camera, my condenser mic that I use for voice over (two birds one stone) and now it’s grown to a successful business that people buy from daily.

There is a ladder that you climb in terms of the level of seller you are and the higher you get, obviously, the more you can charge and the more work you get. It is so brilliant.

I first found out about fiverr from this guy called Josh Faulkner, you can check him out on YouTube, he’s got great content where you can learn more about the platform. He is also now a top seller on fiverr, when I first met him he was only a level one seller and I’ve watched him grow and his business expand. I am now super happy to also call him a friend and we have a few really cool ideas to bring so much value to our fans and followers. Check his stuff out at @faulksdigital.

Fiverr also brought me an opportunity to work on other voice over stuff and audiobooks, so one stone 3 birds really there. And if you’re producing good quality, you will make a good amount of money.

Another way is actually being a presenter for a brand, TV show, or anything like that. A dear friend of mine is currently presenter for Deal or No Deal for William Hill and he is very happy with the work.

Actual Acting Work

Yep. I’m sure you could see that coming. Actual acting gigs. There is nothing better than that. It is gratifying emotionally, maybe not so much financially, but it is a great way to make money and do what you love. Even if it’s only 20 quid at the start, or 35 dollars. Just get as much experience as possible.

Student shorts, online series, fringe theatre. All great ways to get into the industry and get some pocket money. I think the more important thing when doing that type of jobs is the contacts that you are making with the people who are also starting out. You don’t know where they will end up eventually and so same goes for you.

So much more work comes in even if you only do a pub theatre show where 3 people are watching and the rest are there because they’re drunk. 1 out of those 3 people could be Stanley Kubrick. This is how he discovered Malcolm McDowell, who by the way was standing in for the lead actor that same night.

You get exposure, contacts, pocket money to get a pint, and most of all – you practice what you love and you get better at it. Nothing more important than that. And as you grow, so will your rates. As long as your goal is to be better. To do more. To reach more.

This is why I’m currently designing a program that I cannot wait to bring to you which focuses entirely on helping actors prepare better and truly begin to stand out. To create truthful and rich characters by focusing on the exploration. It is a powerful technique that I use for all my preparation. The course itself is 2:30 hours full of a decade of my research into Psychology, my years of studying the best actors in the industry like Meryl Streep, Daniel Day Lewis, Denzel Washington, Natalie Portman and so on.

Follow the podcast HERE to stay up to date with the course as I’ll be also giving away free access for podcast listeners only!

Check out my amazing conversation with the hugely talented and passionate Sharni Tapako-Brown HERE.

The Myths and what Agents actually look for

I remember when I was still in my years of training and my tutors constantly tried to hammer on the idea that it is essential we get an agent ASAP. And when we do get one, they will miraculously send us to all these auditions, parties, create all these connections for us and this and that, and this and that. That the Agent was the be all and end all. The most imporant thing an actor desperately needs.

Even then I could sense that there was something off with what they tried to teach us. With no disrespect, most of them were out of the acting business for decades so I thought that there is no way that that is how the real world works. Maybe it used to work the way they said it in the 80s and 90s, maybe even the first decade of the 21st century. However, it is definitely not how it works now.

So, we have all these actors graduating from drama school, going out with their hopes so high up that if they get the biggest agent that work will start coming in and will never stop. It is so awfully disappointing when we need to realise the hard way that even if you get the best agent, they may get you a job or two, ten-twenty auditions here and there, but 9 times out of 10 those will lead to nothing.

Unfortunately, it is a money, brand and marketing driven business as much as it is by talent. Fortunately, if you really know how this stuff works, you are going to win big.

Myth #1

The number one myth that graduates are told is that an agent is the actor's biggest asset and they can't survive without one.

Wrong!

Yes, agents are great. Especially if they have contacts which you don't. They can obviously be a gold mine of new work, auditions, dinner parties, events as well as striking the best possible deal in terms of the $$ you get paid.

However, it is an absolute myth that an actor cannot find or even create work without an agent (Later on, I will even share with you the secrets about what agents are actually looking for in an actor). It is great to have resources but you need to be resourceful if you want longevity.

Myth #2

The second biggest myth is that the agent will nurture their actors throughout their journeys and even babysit them. That they will give them their undivided attention and focus and be at their beck and call forever.

Even writing this makes me shift in my chair. It is so unfortunate that people are being told this constantly. Seeing actors, pulling their hair out because their email bounced back, their agent is busy and can't offer much help or advice, or there was even no answer.

Let's be honest. An absolutely superb agent will have really high selling actors getting loads of work, and some that are not so hot on the market. By the way, with a big agent, if you don't make yourself hot for the market, you are off those books in no time.

In those two instances, who do you think the agent will be paying most attention to? Whose calls will they be taking and responding, too, first? And maybe, if there is some time afterwards, they could potentially maybe pay attention to the other ones.

Myth #3

Last but not least in any circumstance, is when actors get told that they need to spend all their energy, time and resources on getting signed by a proper good agent.

It is heartbreaking to see all those actors out there, doing everything they can to get an agent's attention.

They pay thousands of pounds for headshots, professionally done showreels, website, business cards. And while they're doing so they are putting all their resources on a losing horse. And they think they are going to stand out because all their effort is tailored to them specifically and this impresses agents.

If 200 people go up to one agent, all of them with specifically tailored showreels, websites looking similar, business cards and all that jazz, who do you think will stand out? Correct. No one, because on a scale like this, everyone looks the same.

Actors start to think that the fault is in them because this is the type of society that we live in. This is capitalism at its best. You see the market, you compare yourself to other sellers, or in this case other actors looking for agents. And you only notice the ones that are successful in getting one, you've been wired to think that this is EVERYTHING you need, and when you don't get one. Whose fault is it? Yours, evidently.

No! Stop beating yourself up for something that is out of your control. It is not your fault. It is the fault of those who taught you these things. They need to be blamed for you not getting the right agent.

What agents are actually looking for.

I bet no one really told you this when you were starting out or scaling your career.

Agents are actually looking for someone they can trust. How do you prove yourself to be trustworthy?

I had a friend who landed an absolutely phenomenal agent and she really loved her, too. She is a great actor and lucky one at that so she totally deserved getting signed. However, she relied solely on her agent getting her work and was constantly on the phone/ email with her.

She would send her voice text like "hey, it's me again! Sorry for the call, but it's been really quiet lately. Could we look for something more?" and things like this. Constantly. Emailing asking about new auditions and stuff.

And my friend had a superb website, showreel and headshots. She is an incredibly beautiful actor. But that relationship and reliance on her agent led to the agent actually dropping her, unfortunately. This was one of my biggest "aha!" moments. I wish I had realised it before it was too long and had shared it with my friend so she didn't lose the agent. Fortunately, she's doing pretty okay now.

So, imagine if you are in the agent's shoes. How would it feel if you had a bunch of actors on your books constantly emailing you and calling you for work? When they didn't do anything themselves to get work.

This is how you prove to be trustworthy.

Getting or Creating work

An agent wants... actually needs, an actor who can take care of herself. Who understands that the agent can't always find her work so she needs to make sure she does that herself. An agent needs more people who don't sit and wait but they go job-hunting themselves. They go and make connections in their community. They serve this community and they deliver.

Not only that, imagine if the actor actually creates work. Imagine how valuable you can become, if you get in touch with your agent and tell her that you need a few actors on her books to be in your next short. Feel how great it must feel for the agent to hear that.

What's more is, the agent will not feel like if there is not enough work to send your way, that you would not bombard them with email or voice messages.

This is why it is crucial that an actor first proves that he or she can find or create work themselves and then look for an agent. Funnily enough by creating work and opportunity for others, the perfect agent might find you. They scout for people just like that.

Agent-Actor Relationship

The case is the same if the actor relies on not bringing any fresh new contacts to the table. Agents are full of contacts as this is their main focus - building a network. Imagine what a powerhouse you would be, if you have already worked through your own initiative, with some bigger or up-and-coming players.

You would be a gold mine. Phoning up an agent and saying, hey, I've worked with so and so and I think together we can really make a difference in this industry. They would be out of their minds to say no to an offer like that!

You should spend time working on yourself. On your skillset, network and understanding of the bizz. Don't just go look for a babysitter. Grow.

And that is how you can get the perfect agent. By being the perfect candidate.

Other ways to grow as an actor.

Even though I have gone through drama school training, I disagree with the methods of conventional schooling.

The whole world is moving towards learning from people who are professionally practicing their profession. The acting industry is yet to start doing that and I think we rely too much on old-school training by people who've not been working as actors from decades. I've got nothing against those people. It's just that their knowledge about what the industry is all about now is outdated. Outdated information serves no one.

This is why I've designed the FIRST EVER acting course by a professional actor that dives deep into Preparation through Psychology, Neuroscience and Physicality to combine Mind and Body for an extraordinary new characer- prep technique.

For more information, get in touch with me at contact@radostinradev.com
Make sure you tune in to The Actor's Breakthrough Podcast.
Check out my Most Read interview with Luke D'Silva

“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.” - Buddha

I want to share with you the real me so we have it all black and white and we can build trust as I believe that is integral in any relationship. I am going to be completely transparent with you because I want you to know that I absolutely perfectly understand if you feel demotivated or frustrated or stressed about the world right now. All the theatres are closed and we cannot be doing the things that we love as we would have been otherwise. But it will pass. That is certain. Adversity has always been there and it always will. What’s more important is what you do about it and how you live to fight another day. It’s the quality of your life no matter the external world and I am committed to see driven people in my industry and I will do anything I can to inspire you to give more.

The past must not define you.

I was born in a very small town in the north-east of Bulgaria. Tiny, tiny town of about 30 thousand people where everyone knew each other. I was born about 6 years after Bulgaria’s socialist regime had ended, the Iron Curtain was lifted yet the lack mentality in people remains to this day. Trust me, it is so difficult to change your beliefs instilled in you through such powerful propaganda. So, growing up in this post-socialist town, everyone around me had a very solid understanding of how the world works. Everyone was expected to get good grades at school, go to university, get a good degree, find an OKAY partner, have children, maybe one divorce and that’s it. Kaput, you’re done at 40. Not physically dead, but that’s your soul done in right there. The highest aspirations were to get a nice second-hand car for cheap and if you can make a strong bargain and really screw the seller in then you were the sh*t for lack of a better word.

Not only that, but that lack mentality was reinforced even more strongly when my father had lost his job as a police officer, started working at a construction site in the capital and was earning way less than was necessary to raise 3 children. I have two older brothers. My whole life I grew up with my father away from home with only my mum acting as both parents raising 3 young boisterous boys. I mean. We respect and love our mother but man would we get into trouble.

And, not only that, but, since Bulgaria was colonized for 5 centuries by the Ottoman Empire, there is still a sort of resentment towards turks which is grounded in "national pride" and nothing else but this fleeting belief that Bulgarians are these victims of Eastern Europe. Reason for the history lesson? I’m half Turkish.

I grew up, in a place where lack mentality was the only sort of mentality, reinforced by my father being constantly away out of necessity even though the finances were still not enough, having my mother play the role of mom and dad at the same time so she could raise 3 men, being half – Turkish and realising that people had constant prejudice against me. But did I care? I didn’t!

Turning my life around.

I knew the future could be so much better but I also knew that I had to make it better for myself. I also wanted a better life for the rest of my family and I’m still working towards making that a reality. First, I had to take the reigns over my own life. When I told people that I wanted to be a successful actor abroad I was bombarded with ridicule, disbelief and even people trying to change my mind. ‘'Course you are” they would say. Give it up, people like us don’t make it in the big world. you’re a small town boy. Bulgarians will never be accepted by an English or American audience. And now by the way we see Maria Bakalova proving those people wrong,too.

Soon as I turned 18 I was gone. I was off to England to pursue an acting career. That lack and victim mentality even made me take up a course in Tourism so I had a safety net to fall back on if acting didn’t work out. But I hated the course wholeheartedly and I kept asking myself is this what it really is all about? What do I really... Really want to do? It definitely wasn’t what I was doing. Then I came across a beautiful quote, I also discovered Tony Robbins who repeated that SAME quote. Then I knew it was a sign. A sign to really follow my passion. The quote goes like this “if you want to take over the island, you burn your boats. “ Simple as that. You burn your boats.

Immediately I know what had to be done. I burnt the boats and I withdrew from the other course and applied to the Acting one. I had my audition on the 14^th of Feb, Saturday I will never forget that. I was filled with so much passion for my craft and a drive and a need to get on that course. Less than 10% of the people who auditioned for it got in. and I was one of them, heck I even found out about getting on the course 3-4 days after my audition. Later I discovered that other people who auditioned on the same day as me had to wait for months and a few callbacks to get that yes which I received the Tuesday after my Saturday audition. That really reinforced my belief that I was on the right track. And my mission is to show to everyone with a limiting belief that is all so possible.

Everyone thought acting was going to be just my hobby. But it is my mission. The reason why I was put on this planet. And to serve others in their journey in the industries and in their own craft.

I also had an incredible passion for psychology, what made people tick, what motivates us, what makes us take action. Especially in heightened situations which is exactly what theatre and film are all about. Taking action in order to achieve a certain outcome in a heightened state. So I knew that if I knew what moved people to do those things I would achieve a whole new understanding and reach a completely different level in my craft. I was also thrilled by neuroscience and what our biochemistry was responsible for again in our behaviour. Body language, what it all meant. I learnt to analyse people from a very early age and get things done by my understanding of how we tick. This is why I know I have the tools to help anyone who feels stuck and is searching for new tools to have a breakthrough with their characters. For me, it has always been to create the most realistic characters possible. Beyond the three dimensions. Reality is, humans are not only three dimensional but we are so much more than that. And by truly learning what it was that dictated all of our decision making then I would know exactly where my character is at every point in the story both mentally and physically, where they wanted to get, and what past influences they had over their minds.

My mission

So my mission is to serve you actors who are looking to scale their careers, to build a recognizable brand and to get the recognition that you deserve. I want to help you by sharing my experiences and by giving you insights from industry pros in amazing discussions aimed at all you great folks out there who want to get better at their craft and reach their full potential. By the way, I’ve got such exciting people coming up on this podcast that the value which I bring to you listeners far exceeds your expectations and we take it all to the next level. I also cannot wait to introduce to you my business partner, dear friend and producer of this podcast, Joseph Abraham in our second episode so make sure you tune in for that.

Thank you so much guys for staying with us until the end, be sure to subscribe to the podcast, visit www.radostinradev.com and grab all the other free stuff I am giving away to you guys over there. There is insight into the industry and there is more to come.