Probably it would be one of those questions that round your mind constantly if you are a dedicated actor. And, while finding the answer maybe you can understand better the industry you are in, and your profession as well.
Let's say the Director is ourserlves, one evening on a party or a club. We consider ourselves nice, interesting, and we know what's the pattern we are looking for. That night we went out to have a drink, with the intention of meeting someone. When we arrive to the club, we find a hundred people, a hundred possibilities. But we are looking for something very particular, we want to find someone different, fresh, that surprises us, with enough physical magnetism to attract us, someone interesting, sure of himself, and of it's identity, someone with some experience that asures us maturity, definetly we are looking for PERSONALITY.
However, more than 80% of the people in that party are exact copies with little alterations or differences, and that's the opposite of PERSONALITY, so that 80% is eliminated of our viual range. Of that 20% remaining there's a group of very interesting persons, we get close to chat with them and we find a overwhelming personality, however they lack experience or are not exactly what we are looking for. We go to the bar, very dissapointed, thinking we are never going to find our "girl/guy". Suddenly, we stare at someone very special,decided, we get closer and start a conversation with this person. She's friendly, genuine, and fits perfectly with what we are looking for. We have her!
This little analogy works to undersatnd that the answer is not very far from our reality. What a director looks in an actor to give him/her an opportunity is confidence on himself, conscience of his/her identity, and dedication on his/her profession. The director needs to be very sure of what he has in front of him/her, that the person in from of him/her is not going to fail, there's a lot on the way. And it's the actor's job to demonstrate that he/she is ready to face to proposal.
In order to be a potencial and interesting profile, inside the great actoral collective, and give the director what she/he is looking for, it's crucial to develop several issues:
1. Develop which is our Acting Identity, analyzing our star product, portraying it in an active website, and making ourselves more and more visible.
2. Create a showreel that defends our identity with claws and teeth, designing our scenes with precision and according to what is trending, with a really professional finish.
3. Have experience so we do not fail at the big day, working in shortfilms, trying and failing we will know in what are we failing and what is really working. What is the spectator feeling more, and we will learn how to move as a fish underwater, but in film shootings. Experience means a lot.
4. Be thirsty to fulfill our goals and look our dreams directly on the eye.
This is a long-distance race, where rush is always bad advice. It is vital that you have very clear your lifegoals, and be very sure if want to dedicate your lifetime to this career, you will think about this many many times.
Gil Parrondo, "If people is aware of the chipping of one of the decorative columns, it means the characters are not working. The most important are the actors and actresses, even more than the decoration, than the photography, or any other thing on the movie.”
Gil Parrondo, decorador
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