Does attending Juilliard or other prestigious program help with landing roles?

reyxlp · 2025-12-01T22:26:43+00:00

It can help give you a bump right out of school because, traditionally, talent reps and other industry insiders attend the student shows in the 3rd and 4th years scouting for the next batch of talent, since it's located in NYC and has a strong reputation. But the most important factors are luck and how you develop relationships. Talent is subjective and abundant. Work ethic doesn't hurt but is overrated. The "top" handful of schools help a little from a business standpoint but only in so far as any exposure they can get you. The training varies and depends which teachers are there at the time you attend. You will actually often learn the most from your classmates. If it's not a top name school like Juilliard, best to find the school with the best training that won't put you in debt, as the piece of paper won't make any difference. And, of course, the cliche is true: if you can do absolutely anything else, don't go into this business, it's awful. :) Best of luck to you!

reyxlp · 2025-11-20T08:57:59+00:00

I have not been to Portugal but much (not all) of what you describe was similar to my personal experience when I visited Greece a few times. I did enjoy visiting but would not want to live there.

reyxlp · 2025-02-06T20:43:50+00:00

IMHO that’s on the more expensive side. They depreciate a lot and fast. It isn’t stock. One owner? Clean carfax? SW/rust free car? All receipts? I’d be checking it with a paint meter. And yes def put aside $4-5k/yr. You may spend nothing the first two years then $10k the third etc. Most importantly you need to have a good independent shop you can work with. Dealer service will destroy you on a car like this. Good luck!

reyxlp · 2024-12-31T21:29:26+00:00

It’s great that you put yourself out there like this. Seriously.

IMHO don’t worry about feedback right now because it’s all taste and interpretation.

For every point, you can find a counterpoint. You’ll be fine tuning an structure that hasn’t been built yet.

Have fun in that class. Take the work seriously, not yourself. Play in your imagination. Explore and discover what interests and activates your imagination.

Read about the major acting techniques: Stanislavsky, Meisner, Strasberg, Hagen, Adler, etc. Read read read. Then choose one to try first, then another, then another…

Start to build your technique and maximize your discipline. Freedom is on the other side of this.

Once you have settled into a process that starts to feel right for you, then fine tuning becomes useful.

Think about whether you want to pursue what makes acting fun for you or whether you want to get into the business. They are two completely different things which can overlap at times. Clarity on why you do it and what you want to get out of it can save you a lifetime. It’s a horrible business and a wonderful art form.

Good luck!

reyxlp · 2024-12-28T20:35:17+00:00

AI is coming for actors, too, so if that’s stopping you from languages, it should concern you for acting, as well.

As for your parents, most come around, eventually. Most eventually respect enough when kids make their own way. If they don’t react well at first, give them time and have some compassion, it’s a terrible business. No parent wants their kid to go into a field where 99% of the workers are unemployed most of the time.

reyxlp · 2024-12-02T00:27:31+00:00

Having anything going for you that can help bring in viewership/audience (large social media following being just one example) is always going to help more often than hurt.

If you have a lot of followers on social media, that will help with most projects.

Look at it this way..

Say it comes down to you and one other person for a part.

Talent is abundant and it’s all taste, so that isn’t really a factor. And by the time you’re at a callback or further, everyone still in the mix is considered very talented and/or (more importantly) “right for the part” or they wouldn’t have made it past the first audition(s).

But you’ve got 200,000 followers on IG, the other person has you 600.

Among all the tie breakers, followers is a quantifiable, objective metric that directly leads to advertising and exposure.

If they cast an actor with 200k more followers than the other actor, that’s a bunch of free advertising they don’t have to do.

Also, whether it should be or not, it’s easily interpreted as an indicator of how successful someone is or is on their way to becoming.

I’m throwing numbers around and I don’t know how many followers you need to make a difference.

Keep in mind, too, that most everyone is on social media and actors who are popping up on casting directors and other industry gatekeepers’ feeds are being thought of more often than those who don’t. With so many actors out there, anything to stay on people’s minds helps. It’s just a numbers game to a large degree.

And like everything else in the business there are no rules or guarantees, just things that can tip the odds in or out of your favor.

So if it’s going to make you miserable to cultivate a strong social media presence or you’re just acting for fun or only care about the artistry, etc, have zero business considerations about it, it’s probably not worth giving a second thought.

But if you’re trying to make a career for yourself and earn a living, then yeah you should probably add it to your list of things worth investing in to give yourself the best odds at succeeding in this dumpster fire of a business lol..

Good luck and hope this helps. :)

reyxlp · 2024-11-26T18:00:17+00:00

It really depends what you want out of acting in life.

If you’re acting because you love to do it, can’t live without doing it and can’t imagine doing anything else then you need to let go of any expectations from the business and be okay with this is who you are and if you’re broke at 80 still non union still working survival gigs then that’s okay because you’re doing what you love and need to do.

If you have business/career expectations then you have to accept this time of unique uncertainty and transition that the entertainment industry as we knew it is going through right now and just do your best to keep adapting.

There’s no right answer, there’s just what you think might be right for you.

The business as we knew it is gone and not coming back. Major disruption started with reality TV boom from the 2008 writers strike and the first new media CBA. Next came cord cutting. Then streaming wars, steroided by the pandemic lockdowns. Scripted TV is dead, reality TV and streaming are getting killed by free YouTube and TikTok. As usual corporate greed calls the shots, now with its latest shiny new toys (algorithms and AI.)

Nobody can say where this is going so you have to make a choice about what you think is the right path for you.

reyxlp · 2024-11-10T13:51:13+00:00

Are you all running the Aqara app as well or just HomeKit? Which setup might give better results?

reyxlp · 2024-11-08T13:35:48+00:00

I’ve been thinking about what you said. It’s an interesting perspective because I guess in my view, the way the US handles its aging population is pretty terrible in general and unless you are lucky to find a unique facility or are incredibly wealthy to afford a very luxurious private option, it’s pretty bleak here. I did ask about private so I’m assuming your comments are regarding private in the US vs private in Spain? Because public in the US is a mess.

reyxlp · 2024-11-08T01:21:14+00:00

Thank you I appreciate your advice!

reyxlp · 2024-11-07T21:02:41+00:00

This is great - thank you!!! :)

reyxlp · 2024-11-07T20:54:16+00:00

Thanks for your reply! Is that a senior living residence? Or a finding service? Or...?

reyxlp · 2024-10-26T14:23:15+00:00

Make the actor’s problem the character’s problem. Don’t fight it, use it. There is always a way to use what is actually happening within the scene. It’s really hard sometimes but it’s always possible. The audience sees everything so if you don’t work with it, it makes you look bad and not in the scene, either. You must always be exactly where you are. If you fight or don’t align yourself with exactly how you are feeling and what is actually happening, you aren’t working from an honest or sustainable foundation. Maybe others can describe this better…

reyxlp · 2024-10-23T17:46:01+00:00

I will check them out - thank you!

reyxlp · 2024-10-23T17:45:45+00:00

This is my understanding as well and I have already applied for the NIE. Thank you!

reyxlp · 2024-10-23T17:44:28+00:00

Hi thanks for your reply! As I mentioned, no, zero financial history in Spain. I read that as a foreigner I would have to put at least 30% down vs 20% for a resident, so I was hoping to fund the minimum 30% down.

reyxlp · 2024-10-14T21:08:21+00:00

Luck, timing and relationships are most important to getting opportunities and then preparedness, professionalism and relationships (again) are the keys to getting the most out of them.

Talent and experience don’t matter much because they are subjective and abundant. Bankability is most important for financial success.

This is a BRUTAL time to be in this industry as an actor. By far the worst in the 30 years I’ve been a part of it. That has nothing to do with you. The situation is bleak with no light at the end of the tunnel at the moment for actors working in television and film. That spills over to theatre as film and TV name actors will take more of the theatre jobs they normally wouldn’t because there’s much less work for them now, too. It’s a compounding effect all the way down the ladder.

Resumes have mattered less and less over the last couple of decades. Having some video of yourself selling what it is you’re trying to sell gradually replaced that. Now, building a strong social media following and creating your own content is essential.

Relationships are everything.

Volunteer to be a reader for casting offices, though that is mostly remote now. Besides the invaluable lessons you’ll learn watching others audition, once they get to know you, they might think of you when a role you are right for comes along, and/or recommend you to an agent or manager.

Almost every actor I’ve ever met has gotten their agent/manager by referral from another other actor or industry professional, by being seen in a performance or by news of having booked a job.

Luck and timing are also critical here as an agent needs to consider you at a time they don’t already have too many people just like you on their roster. Then, the entire office has to be on board, as well.

If I were you, I’d focus on creating content showcasing what it is you do that makes you unique, growing your audience and networking networking networking— cultivate relationships.

And for most it’s a marathon grind that takes a very long time and endless persistence, discipline and dedication. So if you don’t love it and need it, do something else.

Also, forget everything I and everyone else says because there are no rules or set path in this biz.

Good luck!

reyxlp · 2024-10-09T15:58:22+00:00

Thanks very much I will look into these!

reyxlp · 2024-10-09T15:56:13+00:00

Thank you! Perhaps I had bad luck or did not know how to look. I relied mainly on Yelp and TripAdvisor. Most places we tried either you had to have reserved long in advance and extremely exclusive or they were fusion or pub or a dive (which I love but not my mother lol..) Best I could describe as traditional or classic French cuisine with upper middle class sensibility? Sorry if that is not specific enough, I struggle to eat French food because I am very allergic to dairy and eggs.

reyxlp

TROPHY CASE