We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Aaron Marcus. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Aaron below.
Aaron, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
Dropping out of college to pursue acting full-time was pretty scary. My fiance at the time thought she was going to marry a guy attending physical therapy school. Instead, we had a discussion and I told her I wanted to try acting full-time for one year.
After a one-year trial, I would evaluate my life to see what that experience was like for us both.
I never set specific income numbers as a goal. I still don’t. My goals for the first year of working full-time as an actor was:
1. Was I booking jobs?
2. Was I enjoying myself
3. Did I have the stomach to be self-employed and not have a guaranteed income.
After a year was up I realized that I was loving the work, getting jobs and actually enjoying not knowing how much or little I was going to earn.
I also quickly learned that to have more success, I needed to get better at my craft and understand the industry more deeply, so I eventually started taking acting classes.
I spent years doing things by trial and error. Some things worked, but other things didn’t pan out like I hoped. Even with my mistakes, they were all great learning experiences for me.
Once I finally figured out how to create the right materials such as a headshot, acting resume and a composite sheet (photos for commercial models) my next step was to find more agents to submit me to more markets.
I live in a small market, and there would not be enough work for me to make a comfortable living. So, for the next few years, I slowly expanded my territory and began moving into larger markets.
After four years I knew that I wanted to give New York a try. My materials were strong enough and I had enough experience to work there.
Several fellow actors were trying to talk me out of trying to find a New York agent. They told me that I was from a small area and that they already had tens of thousands of great actors and commercial models (modeling for “real” looking people) working there. They were certain that I wouldn’t be considered.
I have learned that people will say all kinds of things to others. These people didn’t have the courage to try and work in larger markets and didn’t want to see anyone else they knew succeed.
It was clear to me that I could live with not getting an agent or work in New York. I wouldn’t be happy, but I could handle that scenario. I felt prepared and was doing everything in my power to make it happen.
What I couldn’t live with was not trying. That thought of “could I have worked there” would have haunted me for the rest of my life.
I was very fortunate and signed with a great agency and began working in NY pretty quickly. Being flown to Hawaii for a commercial modeling job had to be one of my many highlights.
For me to continue earning a living as an actor, I had to be proactive. I never just sat by the phone hoping an agent had an audition or booking for me.
I would reach out to advertising agencies to send them my materials for possible TV commercials, commercial modeling jobs, or even voice-over work.
Contacting commercial photographers was also part of my routine and I would introduce myself to them.
Reaching out to production companies was also an important part of my marketing strategy. And, staying in touch with those whom I had worked with before was also incredibly helpful.
Because of my success, about 30 years ago, agencies and schools began contacting me to give workshops to help their talent and students. I have given over 800 in-person and virtual workshops spanning 3 continents.
I also wrote the book: How to Become a Successful Actor and Model to help others have success.
https://howtoactandmodel.com/book-the-job-book
5 days a week, I set aside time to offer private virtual coaching. It is really fun for me to give others who want to break into the industry or advance their career the information I didn’t have when starting my career.
https://howtoactandmodel.com/mentoringprogram
Another way I help others is with my free acting and modeling quick tips channel which features 400 + incredibly helpful videos
youtube.com/c/aaronmarcusactingandmodelingquicktips
For anyone wanting to act full-time, make sure you have the right materials, are skilled, and connect yourself to a mentor/coach who can help guide you and set you on the right path.
Acting is still my full-time job and it has been the best career choice I could have ever made.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I started off acting, not because I loved acting, Instead it was because I needed a part-time job to support myself while studying to be a physical therapist.
I met an actor who did mostly TV commercials.. He told me about his work and I thought it would be a great way to earn some money while in school.
After acting part-time for two years, I decided that I loved doing this work. I dropped out of school and decided to pursue it on a full-time basis. That was nearly 40 years ago. And, I still love the work.
Because of my success, about 30 years ago, agencies and schools began contacting me to give workshops to help their talent and students. I have given over 800 in-person and virtual workshops spanning 3 continents.
I also wrote the book: How to Become a Successful Actor and Model to help others have success.
https://howtoactandmodel.com/book-the-job-book
5 days a week, I set aside time to offer private virtual coaching. It is really fun for me to give others who want to break into the industry or advance their career the information I didn’t have when starting my career.
https://howtoactandmodel.com/mentoringprogram
Another way I help others is with my free acting and modeling quick tips channel which features 400 + incredibly helpful videos
youtube.com/c/aaronmarcusactingandmodelingquicktips
It is wonderful for me to learn about those who took my workshop, read my book, or were coached by me to have success.
People can also learn more about my work or reach me by visiting:
howtoactandmodel.com
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
People who are not in the industry might have a difficult time understanding how hard it is to have any success as an actor. The numbers are staggering.
For any role in a film or TV show (the numbers will vary depending on the project and role) it is not unusual for a casting director to receive 500 to 2,000 headshot and resume submissions. That is even true for those roles where someone might have 1 line.
Once again, these numbers are not exact, but are true for many situations. The casting director might invite 30 actors to read/audition for the role. Out of those 30 1 person gets booked for the job.
And, unlike some other businesses, it is not about who auditions the best. There are so many other factors that go into the decision as to who gets booked. You can assume all of the auditions are good. Then it comes down to:
1. Is the actor too handsome
2. Not handsome enough
3. Are they in too good of shape
4. Not good enough shape
5. Too tall
6. Not tall enough
And the list of reasons why people get and don’t get booked go on and on.
Booking any job is very difficult.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
All actors need to be very resilient. Here is a good example.
A number of years ago, there was a groundbreaking show on Netflix called House of Cards. It was the first streamed show on Netflix.
Over a two year period, I auditioned for that show 14 times. Sometimes I was put on hold (meaning it was down to me and one other person.) Sometimes they would ask about availability (was I free for the shoot dates – meaning they were seriously thinking of booking me.) And, other times no word after the audition.
Some people would have given up. Others might have been angry with the casting director and stopped auditioning. I had been in the industry long enough to understand that casting directors don’t invite actors back unless they liked their audition.
On my 15th audition, I booked a recurring role. I was “Michael.” I took care of Ellen Burstyn’s character and also had scenes with Robin Wright and a few other actors. It was amazing to work, learn from and spend time with such great actors.
It took me years, but finally learned that we can’t take anything personally in this industry. All decisions are business decisions, nothing personal.
So, even though I tried for two years to get on the show, I never gave up. Just kept preparing, auditioning and finally something great happened.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://howtoactandmodel.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aaronrmarcus/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HowToModel/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaronrmarcus/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/aaronrmarcus
- Youtube: youtube.com/c/aaronmarcusactingandmodelingquicktips
- Other: Private Coaching – https://howtoactandmodel.com/mentoringprogram Book – How to Become a Successful Actor and Model – https://howtoactandmodel.com/book-the-job-book