Can actors be discovered? Yes, but you have the same chances as winning the Powerball. Possibly less. To be “discovered” is to not have to do any work; it’s an inherently lazy concept as it places the onus of launching your career on someone else’s desk and relinquishes you of responsibility. In this fairytale, your success or failure becomes someone else’s duty. Thinking that one day you’ll finally be discovered is truly magical thinking as it conveniently releases you from having to do the heavy lifting of building and guiding your own career and destiny as an actor.
To launch a successful acting career in today’s environment, actors have to put something exciting on the table: make themselves visible, have a clear grip on their branding and wow factor (not to be confused with niche/type—the lowbrow version of this), create original content, and build and maintain game-changing relationships with writers, directors, and producers (the people who actually cast you).
If you’re at a point in your career where you’ve truly done this work—either through booking work without representation, creating your own content, etc.—then these great industry people will surely find you.
Check out my recent article to see how we help actors launch their careers on their own terms: “6 Ways to Get Noticed Faster.”
This article was originally posted on Backstage