How to Be a Movie Star

Building Acting Skills

Take advantage of school theatre. If you're in high school or college, there's no better time to start your acting career than now. Get involved with school theatre as soon as possible. Sign up for theatre classes in your school if you can. Audition for school plays. High school drama programs are a great way for you to get a feel for what the acting world is like and start building your experience and skill as an actor. If you're in college, you can likely find a student-run theatre program that has open auditions. Take advantage of any opportunities to act you can find at your school. Search your schools list of clubs and organizations. Contact the ones that put on plays and ask them how to get involved.

Get a theatrical degree. Although there are plenty of movie stars who didn't go to college, or did go to college but not for theatre, it certainly can't hurt. Especially if you're coming out of high school with no theatre experience, getting acting skills and experience in college is a worthwhile step. Research colleges and their drama programs. Things to consider when choosing a school include: How well rated is their drama program? What kind of classes do they offer? How many of their alumni are professional actors? Do they have an agent showcase? How well does the schools and it's drama program fit with my goals as an actor?

Take acting classes and workshops. If you're not in high school or college, you should still be getting acting training. Most movie stars have spent many years honing their acting chops. Any opportunity to do so will improve your chances. Search online for acting classes and workshops near you.

Volunteer for local theatre. Whether you're in high school, college, or neither, you can get acting experience in your current town by volunteering for local theater productions. Audition for upcoming productions. Contact local theatre companies and ask what kind of volunteer work they have available. Even if it's not acting work, working at a theatre company will give you an "in" for when they start casting for later productions. Alternatively, look for community television stations near you. Contact them and ask about volunteering opportunities. Once you start volunteering, learn as much as you can. Observe how things work in the company. Ask questions. Get to know the people involved. This is the time to start build a relationship with the industry and those inside it.

Get all the acting practice you can. You don't have to be in a movie or play to work on your acting skills. There are ways to improve your acting on your own as well. Make short films with your friends. If you have friends who are also interested in some aspect of acting or movie making, this is an option for building experience that requires no prerequisite or luck. Even if you're alone in your pursuit of acting skill, there are ways to practice on your own. Practice monologues in front of a camera. Practice playing different types of characters and personalities. Review the recordings you made and look for areas of improvement.

Getting into the Industry

Be an extra. Extras are the people in movies with no speaking lines, the background people. Search for movie projects that are being filmed in and around your area. Look for calls for extras. These jobs will often be unpaid, and you won't get any quality acting experience, but it's something to put on your acting resume, so don't discount it. The simplest way to find extra work is to search online for upcoming films being shot in your area. Then contact the casting agency for the film and ask about extra opportunities. Volunteer to be an extra for free.

Look for local open casting calls. Depending on the area you live in, there might be opportunities to be in films near you. Search online for open casting calls in your area. Look for both feature length films and short films. If you find an open casting call, go to the audition. Dress your best, prepare your audition material in advance, and give it your all. And most importantly, don't be discouraged by rejection. Taking rejection well is an essential skill for aspiring movie stars. Even if there's no professional acting opportunities near you, there's always student films. If you're anywhere near a college with a film-making program, there will be no shortage of film students looking for amateur acting talent.

Move to Los Angeles. Depending on the area you in, there might simply be a lack of real acting opportunity near you. If you're really serious about becoming a movie star, you're going to have to move to Los Angeles eventually. This is where the majority of big-budget movies are made. It's where the acting agents are, and it's where big breaks happen. If you are applied for a movie role and it is not shot in your area you are going to have to fly to the nearest airport in that area.

Find a non-acting job in the industry. Plenty of famous actors started out with non-acting jobs and moved their way up. This is a common strategy for any profession. Start by looking for volunteer and interning opportunities in production companies. Jobs on sets include production assistants, handling equipment, or catering. You can find opportunities by searching for these opportunities online, or calling companies and asking about volunteering. Research what film production companies are in your area. Then go to their websites and look for contact information, or information about volunteer opportunities.

Moving Up

Build and improve your acting resume. You need a good resume and a quality headshot. It's the first thing that agencies and casting directors will see and can make or break your chances at getting auditions. Quality headshots must be 8x10 inches, and done by a professional photographer, preferably one with a good reputation who specializes in headshots. A quality resume will include all of your acting experience, with details about the productions and your role. It will include vital statistics like your height, eye and hair color, and vocal range. It will include any sort of special skills you posses, and your contact information.

Get an agent. For most television and movie acting roles, the only way to get an audition is through an agent. That makes getting an agent a vital step on the road to movie stardom. There are two main ways to get an agent: Be noticed by an agent. Do all the acting you can, student films, community television, local theatre. Film schools often invite agents to their showcases as well. If an agent sees you and likes you, you're in luck. Send a well polished resume to agencies. Look up agencies that are accepting unsolicited submissions. Then make sure you have a professional and complete resume that includes a cover letter, and send it.

Join a union. Being a part of a union like the Screen Actors Guild opens up a lot opportunities for bigger and better roles. You can act professionally without joining a union, but there will be a limit to how high you can rise in most cases. The Screen Actors Guild is the biggest union, but also the hardest to join. One way is to work as a background actor in a SAG production. Another way is to first be a part of an affiliated union like ACTRA, AEA, AGMA or AGVA. Also keep in mind that after joining the union, you can't work on non-SAG productions. So you trade the freedom to work on non-contract jobs with the ability to pursue bigger roles with higher guaranteed salaries.

Make auditioning your job. As an aspiring movie star, auditioning is your job. Take as many auditions as you can, and don't discouraged by lack of success. It'll will take nothing more or less than great patience and persistence to move through the acting ranks.

Make a habit of networking. Finding positive role models and mentors is an essential skill to learn if you want to go far in the movie industry. Get used to talking to anyone and everyone involved with the production of whatever you're working on. Make friends and ask questions. Increasing the size of your professional network will lead to more opportunities down the line.

Luck out. It may not be what you want to hear, but often times, what separates quality actors who make it big from those that don't is nothing more than being in the right place at the right time. A director happens to like something in your audition, and the production goes well, and the movie hits it big, and suddenly you're on your way to stardom. All of the previous steps will increases your chances, but one of the biggest keys to success is just patiently waiting for good opportunities, and taking them when they appear.