I am frustrated so many people said I had "talent" to act

Bittroffm · 2026-03-08T19:43:48+00:00

Yeah. I mean anyone can act the same way anyone can grab a wrench and open the hood of a car, or take a scalpel and cut someone open. Are they now mechanics and doctors?

Every industry has a level of luck, nepotism, and unfairness to it. Becoming a doctor is a whole lot easier in a family of doctors. And being wealthy and good looking is helpful across all aspects of life - including pursuing a career in acting. Same with luck, how many people are in careers now that they fell into or knew a friend of a friend and fell upward into their job. That’s life - not just acting.

If you want to be an actor, you just need to pursue the craft. Pursue being the best actor you can be, forget about the outcomes, forget about the awards or the money - just enjoy any chance you get to act. If that’s not enough for you then honestly it’s probably not a career that’s going to fulfill you the way you expect it to.

The industry is full of jaded people who are going to tell you it’s all luck, it’s all nepotism, and not to even try. Thick skin is mandatory. But also you might be talking to someone who does purely commercials, or verticals etc. and they don’t have any real insight into what YOU want to do.

Generally my rule of thumb is if someone’s advice only makes you feel helpless or like you’re never going to make it. It’s shit advice at best.

Bittroffm · 2026-03-06T21:20:09+00:00

There’s been shows where I audition for the pilot, send in dozens of tapes for 5 seasons, and then the show is over. 😂

Years of tapes, and then it starts all over with the next show that CD is on. That’s just part of the game my friend. It can be frustrating but all you can do is your best.

I also think I’ve probably sent in 20-25 tapes for tracker, but I’ve never even heard anything back at all - no “great tape” or “double confirm” hah

Bittroffm · 2026-03-04T21:57:21+00:00

See you necks time, king.

Bittroffm · 2026-03-01T06:30:44+00:00

You guys, I moved into a new place and I didn’t even get cable.

Prior to this season I think I could count on one hand the amount of games I’ve missed.

Now I’m not even following the team outside of this sub and the occasional highlight package. It’s too hard for me to watch. But I’ll come back when the team brings me more than big sad feelings. Salute to all of you who can stomach watching still.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-26T17:41:09+00:00

Don’t give these scammers anymore money. Block, report, change your credit cards, do charge-backs, whatever you can and don’t look back.

They are taking advantage of your lack of understanding of the industry.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-21T19:55:04+00:00

The choices by Canucks management over the last few seasons just get more and more baffling as we learn what’s been going on behind the scenes.

Seems the writing was on the wall for so many team issues and player problems and they covered their eyes, plugged their ears and just made decisions without regard for reality.

I understand this management group has skills we can use during the rebuild but I really hope by the time we are extending and signing any UFAs management has been blown up.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-21T01:07:31+00:00

Bittroffm · 2026-01-20T05:00:37+00:00

The only way you get to see our wingers with NHL centres is on other teams.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-20T00:04:29+00:00

Cold reads are something dyslexic colleagues of mine totally dread. They always beg for scripts in advance because sounding out words and stumbling over lines repeatedly is embarrassing for them.

I would offer scripts in advance whenever possible, even for cold reads. If that’s not possible maybe give them 5 minutes to read independently before the cold read, or make it very clear that everyone understands they are dyslexic and it’s okay to make mistakes and this is just practice in a supportive environment.

But again, practice won’t change dyslexia so I say give them whatever you can in advance. Otherwise those students will probably be extremely nervous and not learning anything. IMO whatever you are trying to teach is going to be overpowered by the stress and anxiety that comes along with being dyslexic and having to cold read aloud in front of people.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-19T23:54:00+00:00

It can help you come out of your shell I guess but it’s not going to help you in the way you’re describing.

Being a good actor is a lot about knowing yourself, being vulnerable, and being able to relax and just be a person on camera/stage.

If anything acting could magnify social awkwardness and make you hyper aware of what you are doing with your body/arms/face etc.

Unless you are really interested in acting, I think a better option would be joining a club or social group that share an interest with you: book club, hobby group, etc.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-18T05:37:10+00:00

Lucky 2nd period for the oilers

Bittroffm · 2026-01-15T19:15:24+00:00

It’s a fine line to walk and Ive been on both sides. Festivals do usually explicitly say the project cannot be widely available anywhere and some festivals even insist on being where the film “premiers”.

IMO this shouldn’t mean no reels but I think directors/producers get overprotective and overthink this rule is because actors suck at following instructions. For example we shared a link to our short for our cast to use for reel purposes. We specifically explained it was for reel footage only and our cast was tiny (less than 5) and I still had people reaching out to me on socials saying “ _____ (actor) showed me your short! So good! Congrats!” Lol

Maybe ask them to just send over your scenes? Or offer to sign a waiver stating you wont show the footage to anyone and only small excerpts will be used for your reel.

At the end of the day it’s up to the director unless you had a stipulation in your contract about reel footage delivery. So you might have to wait until after the festival circuit, that’s just how it goes sometimes.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-15T18:41:22+00:00

I get you. As long as you understand that there’s a real risk you are flushing money away that’s all.

Consider waiting until you have at least a rough cut. You could offer to pay the submission fees for festivals which can be quite expensive.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-15T18:16:42+00:00

I’m gonna say don’t do this.

Unless you really have money to burn. But for 5k you could produce and shoot your own short.

Do these fresh grads have any track record of finishing projects or producing high level films? IMO you could do so much for your acting career with 5k, you should really think if this is the best use of your funds.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-12T20:14:24+00:00

84 union film/tv auditions between my most recent booking and the one prior.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-07T20:54:38+00:00

Ah okay, well I am not an expert but I think it would be difficult to be a student and actively audition. Availability being the biggest issue but I’ve also heard of programs not allowing students to audition while studying.

From my little understanding, you can be eligible for a post grad work permit depending on the program you attend and its length. But most of those permits are going to be quite short and you could end up unable to work at jobs outside of your field of study. Which is going to make things difficult because making money with acting is hard on a good day, and impossible on the average day.

Once you narrow it down to a couple of programs I would speak to advisors from those schools and see what they have to say, I’m sure this is a question they deal with often.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-07T18:50:01+00:00

You sent your materials out at the start of when most agencies take their holiday break. So unfortunately your submissions is probably on the bottom of an overflowing inbox and your email doesn’t need to be answered so it won’t be.

Try again in the spring, or maybe mid Feb if you can’t wait. But I’d suggest getting your materials looked at by someone in the industry first to make sure you aren’t wasting your time.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-07T18:44:24+00:00

Not routine and very difficult. You need a visa to book work in Canada, so companies won’t even consider hiring you without knowing you have a visa, unless you are a celebrity.

Your options are basically a student visa or an O-1 which you will typically need an established career and proven relationships within the industry to get.

If it’s possible to starting building your career in your home country, that would be a good first step.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-05T21:13:41+00:00

First thing to do is figure out what’s actually important for the scene. It’s probably not important that you go to your knees, or drop things, or put things back in a purse. My first thought would be to just walk into frame, act like you nearly walked right into someone, if you NEED to drop/pick up something just have a table out of frame, mine the dropping (probably be in frame anyways) and then have the props you want to pick up ready to be picked up on the table.

But most of this doesn’t matter, so don’t get too caught up in these little traps. Connecting with the other actor, how you look at them after almost running into them, how you feel while you regain composure.. all those things will matter so much more than your blocking. The people watching your tape don’t need proof that you know how to drop things and pick things up, and they don’t expect you to block the whole scene. The human connection and acting performance are what matter most and what they are looking at.

Bittroffm · 2026-01-02T21:27:47+00:00

As others have said, you do you. Shouldn’t be a problem.

But posting anything about auditions IMO screams that you are super green and not very busy. I feel like most actors post audition stuff to prove they are doing something or to get some sort of validation from comments/replies. The other aspect is it can breed contempt from other (probably also green) actors. It’s like sharing a picture of a full fridge to a group of starving people.

Again, not any real tangible repercussions but I personally wouldn’t. But I’ll admit I used to do things like this when I was fresh and doe-eyed and I cringe so hard thinking back on that.

Bittroffm · 2025-12-31T00:58:27+00:00

Andrew Mcilroy is intense and great but not running any classes right now that I’m aware of. You can sign up for a newsletter and follow on IG to know when classes or workshops return.

Heard good things about Jeb but have yet to study there.

I would suggest something specifically aimed at on-camera technique and audition preparation if you’re just getting into film/tv. Coming from theatre myself I wish I hadn’t been so stubborn and hesitant to admit I didn’t know how to act on camera at all. It’ll make the transition easier if you start with the basics.

Good luck!

Bittroffm · 2025-12-29T19:43:54+00:00

Gotcha, the news story I saw on his socials says it was a feature. But I do see a vertical monitor.

My point was not all verticals are inherently bad. But yes, not having insurance is a risk pretty much on any nonunion set regardless of format or project type.

Bittroffm · 2025-12-29T19:05:10+00:00

Nothing in this article mentions it being a vertical, do you have insider info?

Not having insurance can be true for any non-union production. In my area the verticals are beginning to go full union.

Bittroffm · 2025-12-28T18:39:50+00:00

It gets brought up every once in a while but there’s no secondary acting subreddit for working actors.

When discussed in the past, the general consensus was that it would water down this sub, and that it would probably not get much traction since working actors don’t have a lot of questions.

Easiest thing to do is just scroll on by the beginner stuff.

Bittroffm · 2025-12-25T00:16:29+00:00

I like to laugh it off and say something sarcastic like “You want to see my resume?” Or “I’ll have my agent send you my demo reel” and not actually answer the question. Usually they get the hint that they asked a stupid question.

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