r/acting

I shot a co star today, and basically… I sucked. I know, you might think “I doubt you sucked!” But truly I don’t know what happened to me. I’m generally a solid actor (I think?) and typically get excellent feedback… I was prepared, I’ve done this before… but this was my first audition and booking for TV in over 8 years (been a mom during that time) and with a celebrity. She was lovely but I felt like I was so overwhelmed, overheated (shooting fall in the summer), going super fast… and I just couldn’t even remotely deliver what I’ve consistently done at home practice or my audition. At one point I even teared up. I looked like a novice hack job. I think we got one halfway decent take but I felt people’s disappointment. I’m having a lot of negative talk that’s mostly a version of: “coming back to acting was stupid”, “you’re just a mom now, give this up for good”… to contemplating telling my agent its been a mistake and actually “let’s break the contract” because clearly I can’t do it anymore.

I know it sounds extreme… and I know logically it had been a long time since I did this… 8 years is a lot! I probably should give myself some sort of grace… I’m just basically horrified by the day. I wish my first gig back wasn’t so high stakes but it is what it is. I’m super sad and horrified.

If anyone would be willing to share rough experiences or how you got through it, it would mean a lot to me. 💙❤️‍🩹

I had nothing to do with acting when we met. I decided to start acting 3 years ago as it was my childhood dream. The first thing he told me was he wasn’t sure he could handle me kissing other actors. I explained him everything that it's unromantic, choreographed, technical, done in public but he said that "I trust you and support you but being on stage won't change anything. Even though you are portraying a character and you are doing it without real feelings, you are still doing it. It's still kissing, not something else" and that is valid.

I now have an agent and got submitted for huge projects. My husband's feelings and this career both matters to me and he is not the guy who is controlling me or having trust issues. We have to find a way to make us both comfortable. I already told him that kisses are Choreographed, unromantic, my character is kissing not me and blah blah blah but he thinks that kissing someone else is still cheating whether it’s “acting” or not.

Some people said that don't let his insecurity affect my dreams but I really don't wanna let him get over this on his own because he did alot for me and his feelings matter to me. I would feel selfish if I did that.

I know I have potential. I don’t want to be limiting myself because of his insecurity, but I don’t want to mess up a relationship that is otherwise really good.

TO BE CLEAR: HE IS VERY SUPPORTIVE (HE IS THE REASON I GOT HERE), LOVING, TRUSTS ME, NOT CONTROLLING, AND WE BOTH RESPECT EACH OTHER'S OPINION ABOUT THIS AND HE IS DEFINATELY NOT FORCING ME TO CHOOSE HIM OR ACTING.

I want advice on how we can work through this together without either of us feeling like our feelings or boundaries are being ignored. How can we find a compromise that allows me to pursue acting while also respecting how he feels about on-screen kissing?

TL;DR: I started acting 3 years ago, and my husband, who is very supportive of my career, is uncomfortable with me kissing other actors because he considers it cheating even when it's part of acting. I don't want to give up my career or ignore his feelings, so I'm looking for advice on how we can find a solution that works for both of us.

I’m preparing to take some headshots and I have some questions regarding styling and inspiration.

Why do they have to be so bland? I would love to wear some nice earrings and a nice dress but then that would make them glamour shots and not suitable for acting headshots??

I thought acting and theatre was considered an art form why are we asked to tone down who we are and conform to what everybody else is doing? How else will I stand out. All the headshot pictures I see are so bland. I don’t mind going natural on hair and makeup but I don’t understand why the pictures have to be so bland

For example: i feel that men are allowed more creative expression in their headshots than women

like the title says, i decided to decline an audition today after reading and sitting with the sides and script. it was for a short film that i was initially excited about and has a decently known CD attached to, which is why i was initially thinking of just doing it anyway. however, after reading the material i felt sick to my stomach. without going too much into detail, the lead female character i was reading for along with the other lead male character (a much younger aged teen) had a super inappropriate dynamic where my character was manipulating and taking advantage of him, both emotionally and sexually. the script overall didn’t make sense either. i went over it multiple times along with my sides and just couldn’t follow what was happening for the life of me.

i’m a college student currently in my last year of getting my theatre performance degree, and definitely want to continue pursuing this professionally post grad. I was thinking, long-term, and whether this would be a project I would want to show my friends and family and would be proud of, and the answer was absolutely not. I figured if it’s something I would want to hide in the closet anyway it’s not something I should pursue.

as I’m entering the professional world, I’m learning my morals and boundaries and what I feel comfortable betraying. There’s not a lot of material that’s off-limits, I like to consider myself a pretty open book and willing to take on any challenge. However, this one just felt a little different. When it comes to things like emotional and sexual manipulation, especially in this context where I don’t feel it made sense at all and I didn’t align with the material whatsoever, I believe I made the right call.

Curious, if anyone else has had a similar experience and/or other thoughts! As artists it’s very important that we stick to our morals and boundaries while also giving ourselves the room to explore uncomfortable circumstances!

I just need to get this off my chest and wanted to share with a community that would understand. I moved to LA in 2021 to go college and study theatre, because performing was the only thing I cared about and I wanted a career in film/tv. I grew a tremendous amount as an actor at school, but in the two years since I’ve graduated, I’ve been having a rough time. I know the industry isn’t in a great place for anybody right now, but even by those margins I’ve been having a dry couple years. In 2025, I only worked on a handful of student films being made by friends/classmates, so they weren’t even projects I submitted for. I thought things were finally looking up in early 2026 because I booked an independent short, an appearance on a daytime court show, and a day player role on a vertical short all in quick succession. But since then, it’s been crickets. The past few months I’m lucky if I even get more than one self-tape request. I know the big step I need to take is to get representation and audition for big casting directors so they can see the talent I know I have, but my package just isn’t interesting enough to attract attention from agents/managers when I send emails or use talentlink. A pretty average looking white guy in his early 20’s with an uninteresting resume isn’t in demand.

As much as I want to keep pushing, especially because I’m making my short right now that I’m very proud of, I’m going to have to leave LA in the next couple of months. The regular job I work doesn’t make nearly enough for me to support myself here even with help from my family, and I can’t get hired for a better position no matter how many applications I submit. I know in this day and age, a 20-something moving back in with their parents after school is pretty normal, but it takes me completely away from anywhere I want to be. There will be opportunities to perform in local theatre and perhaps in independent films, but nothing that would help me make headway in the goals I had set for myself when I moved here. The only thing I really have to dedicate myself to is trying to work more in Voiceover because it isn’t limited by location, but that’s just as much of an oversaturated market as LA is.

Generally, I’m just finding it really hard to not see this as failure, when I’m suddenly having to put all my goals and ambitions on indefinite hold. I know there’s absolutely no reason to compare myself to others, but it doubly hurts when I watch many of my classmates from university posting about their projects they’re booking through agents and managers they seemed to get without any issue. I just needed to say all that, and voice the frustration and disappointment I’ve been stuck with.

Thanks to anybody who actually read all this.

I have referenced the SAG-Aftra licensed agencies and there are a staggering number of agencies. I’m currently with a fairly boutique agency that gets me auditions but many of them are open to the public on Actors Access.

And then I also have an option for an agency that isn’t really based in LA but they do still submit out here and have some connections to more union jobs. I know at least booking a Union commercial could help me over that hump.

As for my background, I have a resume that’s strong in training and have many years of on camera work, through student and short films.

Been working on whatever I can get my hands on since being in LA and I’m wondering what are the best starter agents, that aren’t referral only, that can actually get you into the mix?

I’m aware the industry is super slow and there’s so much competition, but if you felt you were in this position and you were ready, what would you be looking for?

I’d appreciate any thoughts from anyone else who’s been in this spot before!

she's mainly an actress but this'll be her directorial debut for a sag film.

she was one of my favorite actors from a big show in the 2000s and I sent in my audition 3 days ago(deadline was Monday)

would it be weird to message her to try to up my chances of getting that role or is that too much?

I honestly don't know what I'd say if I did

As the title says, I’m just curious if I’m crazy or if it is a red flag? They post their other actors bookings and didn’t post my recent commercial booking. They don’t follow me but follow seemingly their whole roster. It just feels weird because they are getting me a TON of auditions and it feels great but idk it just weirds me out and it’s not exactly something I can just say “hey why don’t you follow me on Instagram?” That just sounds cringy. Any input would be super thank you!

Just a quick rant because this kind of thing makes the industry feel so unnecessarily fake sometimes.
I recently worked on a commercial where I was featured, and there was a girl also featured on a separate part of the ad. We got along really well on set. We talked a lot, joked around, genuinely seemed to hit it off purely platonically. She was very friendly and everything felt completely normal.
Afterward we followed each other on Instagram. I noticed she does modeling, has a larger following, and we actually have a bunch of mutuals in the acting/modeling world.
Then like 2–3 days later, I notice she randomly unfollowed me.
Obviously, nobody owes anybody a follow. That’s not really the point. It’s just one of those tiny things I’ve noticed more and more in this industry where everything seems to become a weird status calculation. Who has more followers? Who has the better credits? Who is “worth” networking with? Who looks more important?
This is not the first time this has happened. I meet a fellow actor/actress on set, everything is great, but it seems like they want to be complete strangers again as soon as we wrap.
Maybe I’m reading too much into this specific situation. She could’ve unfollowed for a hundred different reasons. But yes, I’m a bit butthurt about it. I never messaged her or anything. She just unfollowed out of the blue and left me as a follower. It makes me feel like I’m not big or important enough for her to be connected with when we had literally the same job. It reminded me how strange the ego/status culture around acting and modeling can be.
We were literally just two people getting along on a commercial set. Why does everything have to turn into some weird social hierarchy afterward?
We ought to be lifting each other up. Helping each other reach our goals. Sometimes I wish people in this industry could just be normal.

Hi everyone! I know this is an extremely unusual post and very TMI, but I am a young female actor who was casted in a commercial directed by a well known director. when we were wrapping up the fitting I realized that I had leaked through the y gave me from my period. I am so mortified and embarassed especially because the director was present during the fitting. I told the wardrobe team and they were really nice about it, but I’m very scared it happened as I was changing fast and got on other pieces as well. I’m so embarassed that people probably saw me walking around with it. They said it should be fine and not to worry at all and it happens but I feel like such a loser and am so embarassed for my day on set tomorrow. Any advice would be welcome.

I am looking for a new agent but I also need new headshots. Wondering if I should just get new headshots before searching for an agent or just waiting in case the agent wants me to use a specific person??

Hey everyone, I’m looking to get into background acting and I’m currently signing up with Central Casting. I’m over 21, and during the signup process I saw that they’re asking for an I-9 aide.

I’m a little confused about what exactly an I-9 aide is and why I need one. Is this something that’s normally required when signing up for background acting, or is it specific to Central Casting?

Is it necessary to have an I-9 aide before I can start getting background work?

Also, for anyone who has worked with Central Casting, is it a good company to sign up with? What has your experience been like getting background work through them?

Just trying to make sure I understand everything before I complete the signup. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I just wanted to make a quick PSA. For all the actors on this subreddit, if you are active on social media PLEASE make sure you're not talking negatively about other actors.

Recently I've seen SOOO MANY posts on social media bashing certain actors because they're 'in too many movies' and 'not good enough', or because they're nepo babies.

These posts will go viral and get hundreds of thousands to millions of views on them. I understand the frustration; I think we all do, but I would just advise you to keep that frustration to yourself or between friends and family.

It is NEVER a good look to go online and complain about other actors accomplishments. It just makes you look bitter and unprofessional.

Especially if you are repped, and/or have aspirations of working with established names or studios! Don't let your past come back to haunt you, and don't attach your name and face to anything that would make people not want to work with you!

Of course I'm not saying you can't be yourself and embrace your own personality in your creative space, but just don't do it at the expense of others!

Wishing everyone the best of luck :)

Anyone got an up to date list of all the emails for theatrical agents and managers based in NY?

I'm sure there's such a thing somewhere in circulation.

Much appreciated!

I'm working as an AD on a college short film and handling the audition emails. In the past, I used to send rejection emails to the actors who submitted their self-tape. However, I recently saw a thread where actors said they didn't like it. They argue that getting a random email from a production gets their hopes up, only to crush them when they realize it's just a "no."

I also saw a person saying that rejection emails is "rookie behavior" and that only low budget/non paying productions do it. Now on one hand I like to be cordial and I appricate the time and effort it takes to send a self-tape, but on the other hand, it would save me some time just not sending any emails at all, considering I do this on my own and the production doesn't really care if I do it or not.

Personally, if I were an actor, I'd want to know either way, but I'm curious to see what the majority actually thinks.

P.S. I'm not in the U.S, so maybe in south america is more common to send rejection emails, but idk.

Hey actors of reddit, I'm working on my end sem academic project on character animation and specifically understanding about acting and realism. If the acting pros out here can help me with it that would be great! I want to understand what goes in your mind when you act a certain character. What is your process behind it? What all do you need to know about the character before you start performing it. Since being an animator I would need to learn acting as well as they go hand in hand, any tips for the same would be awesome!

Also since its an academic project, if we could meet online today where we can discuss about it then that would be really really awesome! Thanks!

Just a quick question really, I'm getting a haircut - a bit of a change to my current look but my current photos are not that old and I really don't want to pay for new photos just yet. Any alternative I can do for casting websites? Upload a good quality selfie with the title "current hair"?

Acting is my main passion, and I really want to pursue it seriously and hopefully make it my career. At the same time, I obviously need to earn money while I’m building my career, because I can’t just sit around and wait for acting jobs to come along.
I’m currently thinking about getting a regular 9–5 office job again, but I’m wondering how people actually manage that alongside acting. What happens if you have a full-time job and suddenly get offered a role that requires you to be on set for several days or weeks? You obviously can’t just quit your job every time you get cast.
So I’d love to hear from other actors: Do you have a 9–5? Do you work part-time, freelance, or something more flexible? Do you have an employer who is understanding about auditions and acting jobs? Or did you choose not to work a regular job while pursuing acting?
I’d really appreciate hearing how you guys handle the practical side of balancing a normal income with pursuing acting seriously.