It is not easy to become a professional actor or actress. But if acting is your life, you are a passionate about the theater and cinema drives you crazy, there are many important things to keep in mind to get closer to your goal. As in everything, you have to go step by step, so I will present to you the 10 most important tips you have to considerer if you want to make a living as a professional actor or actress. I am going to tell you from my own experience and I hope this will help you. I would love to do my bit so your dreams come true, because they are exactly the same as mine were when I started.

1. Education

⭐ If you have not finished school yet, pull your socks up and read a book every month. If you have already finished, you have to apply to a drama school. Wherever you live, you are probably close to one or another academy. The best would be for you to apply to an official school but there are many non-official academies where wonderful actors have studied as well. You will have to take the access tests, and if they don’t pick you, don’t give up. You can sign up for a private drama school and do the audition the next year. Perhaps you will need some tools to prepare to pass the tests.

2. Take care of your body

⭐ We all apply the knowledge we have acquired to our work, but in every single profession, there is a part of the body that is more important than the others. The baker or the dentist work with his or her hands, computer geeks and the family doctor with his or her mind, the teacher and the radio announcer work with his or her voice… The actor works with his or her body, in other words, the actor’s instrument is his own body, so you have to pamper yourself.

⭐ Do exercise regularly, eat healthy food and drink a lot of water. The better your condition is, the best use of your instrument you will have. I am not talking about being a top model and anything like that, no way. It is just, as a trumpet player takes care of his trumpet, a cyclist lubricates the chains on his bike or a rally driver gets his car ready, you will have to make your body strong and healthy.

3. Get to know about your instrument

⭐ Get to know and learn about your instrument. Obviously, from reading the last paragraph, you can imagine that as a professional knows his or her instrument he or she uses to work with perfectly, the actor needs to have a deep knowledge of his or her own body.

In drama school you will learn how to breath, how to warm your muscles, dance and dominate every single part of your body.

Now, you can start to observe yourself. Look at your hands, look at your face in front of the mirror. Observe the way you move, the way you sit down. You can also sign up for singing classes and learn about your vocal chords, which is very important for an actor or actress.

And if you like dancing, dance!! There is nothing better to connect movement with emotion while you are learning how to control your body.

4. Watch professional actors

⭐ There are two different ways to do this and you have to do both.

The first is the easiest one – watch movies. The idea is to watch nominated actors actresses’ performances, but you can’t just watch scenes – that’s not enough! You have to watch the whole movie to be able to evaluate what is so special about that performance.

The second thing is you have to go to the theater. I know it could be expensive, and sometimes it is not so easy, but, if you really want to become a professional actress or actor, you must smell the atmosphere of the theater and observe great actors on stage. Look how they move, the way they look, how they talk and listen to their co-actors and the way they make you feel.

5. Go to museums

⭐ An artist has to be surrounded by beauty, gaze at it and be moved by it. It is very important to connect with the sensibility of different artists in order to be inspired.

6. Listen to music

⭐ Another tool is music. Listen to music as if it were for the first time. Google different styles and discover the feelings that come up with each different style. Music is a great resource that you will use during your acting career.

7. Pay attention to the news

⭐ An actor has a big responsibility because he or she is an agent of culture, in his or her country as well as in the world. Many times you will be the voice of protest or of praise and for that you need to be informed and be able to contrast the information in order to have an opinion. And maybe you can become in an influencer, in that case, your responsibility will be even bigger.

8. Listen to other people

Even if it doesn’t seem so, good actors don’t spend their days staring at their own belly buttons. They focus their attention around them. You must observe the world that surrounds you and learn about every person who walks through your life. If you grow as a person, you will grow as an artist.

9. Take risks

⭐ Take some risks and try different things. Be brave and don’t be afraid of failure. I am not talking about doing something crazy or getting yourself into trouble, not at all. I mean you have to live the moment using your head and be ready to accept challenges and learn every single day.

10. Be patient

⭐ No matter if you have worked a lot or not at all, if you are in the beginning of your career or you have been making a living by acting for years, you have to be patient. An actor’s life is very unstable and you can go a long time without work. Take advantage of the situation and start this list again..

If they don pick you at an audition, if you couldn’t go to another because, you had an accident or if they called you before the audition but then the producer didn’t want you, if you finish a season on TV or in theater and you don’t have any other projects in the future, if you fall… get up and keep fighting, run towards your dreams and don’t give up.

That’s the way is it. It is “no life”, but it’s a wonderful “no life”.

Break a leg!!!