Beginning Your Acting Career in San Antonio

I think the better question is, “What can I do to enhance my skill set as an actor?” There are a few things I think are important.

Work out on camera!

It’s crazy to me that more actors aren’t using their phones to create content. There’s literally no excuse anymore. You have the tools right in your hands.

Before an actor joins Dope Creative Studios, they always call and ask a bunch of questions about being an actor in San Antonio, and how they can start booking TV and film roles. And I always respond with, “You likely won’t.” It’s harsh, but it’s the truth.

Barely anything actually films in San Antonio, and most of the gigs are projects you could easily film yourself. I was booked on a movie a few months ago, and I ended up passing on it. I passed for a few reasons, but the main ones were the time I would spend filming it, how likely it was to actually be completed, and the résumés of the team involved. It was a cool script, but they kept mentioning using it to get financing for a full feature and submitting it to festivals. I’ve been down that road, and most of the time it ends with the filmmakers giving up.

Do these projects ever go anywhere? Of course. But for me personally, I’d rather have more control over the outcome. I’m a firm believer that self-producing content, especially in the beginning, is the best way to enhance your skills as an actor.

Control over your career

It sounds amazing to get booked on a project, then watch it come out in theaters. The chances of that happening are slim to none.

Could it happen? Of course. And you should be optimistic about it. For me, I’d rather write something and be involved in every aspect of the production. Is this the right way to do it? I have no idea. Guess what? Nobody does. You do you, boo boo.

We have these on-camera practice nights where actors can work out on camera every week. It’s awesome. I work out on camera every day. Literally, every day. I treat it like a gym. The more I work out, the better I get. Are you working on your career with that much intensity? If not, why? There’s no excuse other than being lazy.

Are you writing content for yourself?

Again, there’s no excuse. Even if you aren’t a “writer,” you should still be writing roles for yourself. If you’re not, someone else is. We have a Writers Room that meets weekly to help our actors come up with ideas. Nobody there would consider themselves an actual writer, but any monkey can come up with an idea that would make for decent demo reel footage.

I’ve said this so many times over the years that people find it exhausting. Good. Those are usually the actors who end up talking more than actually doing anything. Every actor talks about what they’re planning to do. Are you one of these actors?

Thanks for reading.