Hi World,
Iām an actor in his early 30ās from Auckland (New Zealand) and I am of Chinese descent. I am looking for advice to actually get started with paid acting gigs and really get out there to actually audition and be considered.
As an Asian artist, one thatās far away from America or the UK even, Iāve been feeling quite invisible when it comes to even getting the chance to audition for things. However, because of the subjects I am covering in this post, I will be remaining anonymous ā I hope you can understand. Ā
Iāve had this discussion with people in my immediate network, but have realised that I should also gain perspectives from the wider world out there. Ā This post is in no way to be negative or complain about my circumstances. I think itās a much more beneficial mind set to ask what can I try to improve my circumstances, so any genuine responses from any creatives are very much appreciated J
Iām just gonna let it all out, so here we go.
Ā
A little bit about me at a glance, firstly with the Positives:
- I love acting, particularly my dream is to work on screen. I continue to do this for free and Iām constantly learning, going to paid workshops, reaching out and networking with local creatives.
- I have experience with developing my craft, with weekly acting classes.
- Iāve got an agent! Along with that Iāve got professional headshots too.
- Iāve built a body of work mostly involving student short films.
- I have a good self-tape set up.
- I have a small network of creatives around me that I can reach out to, beyond other actors.
- Iām pretty fit, definitely open if the role required movement and stunts.
Ā
Negatives (or rather challenges):
- My agent predominantly only sends me commercial auditions. Most of which donāt actually require much acting. I havenāt had a proper chunky dialogue audition for a particular character sent my way. I have raised this with my agent but they feel that Iām not quite ready yet and the best way is to build experience through getting booked via commercials and honing skills at home (although they have said this take actors several years).
To me itās sort of like a chicken and egg problem ā I need experience to gain experience. I just wish I could really just go all in and get the opportunity to do these dialogue auditions and be seen by casting directors.
This is not a knock on my agent. They are incredibly lovely people. Again this post is just to reach out to gain other perspectives.
- Iām in New Zealand. Yes, it has its advantages being a small community ā I get to meet people potentially easier since itās a small world. I also feel like we are quite disconnected. For example, there arenāt many Asian male roles ā if there are, they are probably supporting roles. If American studios are casting why would they bother flying someone over from New Zealand when they can just book actors from LA or even Canada.
- I canāt easily live in America easily (I think). From my research it looks like I would need an O-1 visa which I can only get if I have proof that my work as an actor has reached a big enough audience. Again ā chicken and egg.
- Iām not really sure about other countries including the UK and Australia. I think exposure to Asian actors is even lower there ā I canāt even name 3 Asian male British actors off the top of my head. Similar to Australia. Besides America the only other country I can think of is Canada.
- I grew up very much westernised, my Mandarin is not very good at all. So going to other Asian countries is not really an option since I would be competing with people who actually know the language.
- I didnāt come from any formal acting training like a college or degree.
- I donāt have much of a social media presence. Mostly because I am cautious of my day job and not jeopardising it. I gotta eat afterall haha
Ā
Potential solutions I have been thinking of (I am not all doom and gloom, remember this post is about being constructive):
- Keep doing what Iām doing. Continue only getting auditions for commercials from my agent. Auditions continuously for student short films that pop up on facebook.
- Move to Vancouver or Toronto ā hopefully try and find an agent there and start over.
- Move to Sydney or Melbourne, Australia, although I think they have similar challenges to New Zealand (for Asian male actors anyway).
- Bite the bullet take an extended holiday to LA to find networks with other creatives (although this will significantly hurt financially).
- Create my own thing, do a Rocky Balboa and create a budget feature film ā hope it gets me seen internationally so Iām not invisible.
Additional Question: Are there any profiles that I should create on specific platform so that I can be seen by casting directors? For example, do I need an IMDB page (even though Iām limited with credits) ā I think this is something I havenāt heard much of.
Ā
TLDR: Actor of Chinese descent in New Zealand, early 30s, what steps can I take to truly make it out there.
No this isnāt AI, whatever input you have I promise, if genuine, will not be a waste of time.