How to Make It as a Child Actor
Acting can be difficult to get into no matter what your age is. A full-grown adult announcing an intention to become an actor is the start of a long, hard journey to success or even stardom.
A child may announce the same intention, too, and then the hard work really begins, and some might even say the work is harder because children don’t have access to all the resources adults have.
After all, child actors go up against thousands of others who are more or less just like them, seeking quality jobs that pay well and can support becoming an actor full-time.
Many child actors, and their parents or whoever cares for them, struggle to make it in an industry that’s known for being tough. However, many child actors do in fact make it on their chosen path, so there must be ways that work for them to get ahead.
We’re going to help you out with some of those. Here are some things to keep in mind if you’re trying to make it as a child actor.
Secure a Talent Agent
Number one is to seek the services of a talent agent. It’s the agent’s job to represent the child actor in all professional areas. The agent handles things like booking, scheduling appointments, and negotiating for better job conditions or pay.
The benefit of working with an agent is that the individual works in this industry for a living, so he or she is going to have professional contacts that can help the actor at least to get auditions or meetings. Note well, however, that talent agents take a certain percentage of each job, and that number is worked out in the contract. Always be aware of what you’re signing.
Get on a Talent Platform
Child actors can also get some more publicity from creating a profile on a talent platform that matches up clients with entertainers. People looking to hire child actors go on the site or app, search for who they need, and select actors from those available.
This is one opportunity to make sure your public profile stands out a bit from all the rest. Do you have good-looking headshots? Is your resume up to date? Have you worked on any particularly noteworthy jobs in the past? Make use of talent platforms to showcase all this to potentially interested parties.
Be Persistent in Everything
It sounds like generic advice, but only persistence and determination will get an aspiring child actor through the tough times in the beginning. There will be times when calls are not returned, auditions don’t go well, and jobs fail to come in.
The trick is to push past it all, to work until you succeed in whatever acting path you want to take. You never know what might happen next, from a casting director who likes something they see in you to a plain old lucky break.
You’ve got to be your own best advocate out here, and if you keep trying, it just might pay off for you.
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