How To Start As An Actor

Conversations with Marco DiGeorge | Where to Start

When someone asks me, how to start a career as an actor, especially when beginners want to learn how to act, it’s like… “Well, I’m a beginner and I’ve never done this before. Where do I start?”

Well, the best place to start is by taking a class.

Where to Start: Finding a Class

There’re so many different classes available nowadays. If you’re in school, take a class – whether it’s in high school or at a university level, study in a drama department, study film.

If you’re outside of school, there are (typically in most cities) you can find an acting class that you can join or a drama class that you can join. A lot of community theaters have acting classes that you can join. And just get involved and start learning how to do the industry, learning what the industry is about, learning what the art is all about.

Nowadays with this amazing… development of technology, we even have the ability to learn a lot about acting from home – because I get that question a lot too – is… ‘well, I really don’t have the ability to go to a class right now,’ or ‘I live in a remote area’ or whatever the case may be… ‘How can I learn this from home?’ Well, there’s all sorts of great resources. Even if you start just researching videos online and looking at what other people are saying, watch videos online.

There’s the ability to take classes remotely now, which is a wonderful thing, so do that.

And there’s a wonderful ability to even order pre-packaged courses and start learning the basics of acting. And you can do that right from the comfort of your own home.

So, I say all of this because it’s great to just eliminate any of the excuses that we have.

A lot of people have the desire to act, but there’s a fear of that first step. There’s a fear, maybe, of going to an acting class, or there’s a fear of, ‘well maybe I’m not the right type to become an actor.’

And what I can say is… take that first step!

Anyone can become an actor. I really believe that. I believe that some people are going to work harder at it. I believe that people are going to put more into it than others. And typically, the work ethic is going to stand out.

But as long as you work to learn all of the initial skills of acting, you can do it.

Where to Start: Finding An Instructor

The biggest thing in finding a class to work with is… I believe you have to find the right… both environment and instructors that you identify with. I think it’s very, very important as a student of acting. I always like to say that finding a good acting instructor is very similar to finding the right therapist.

It’s because when we work on acting, we are working on immense vulnerability. We’re working on very deep parts of ourselves. And we’re working on taking risks by exploring these things in front of others.

So, as you’re finding an instructor that walks you through this, find someone that you’re comfortable with, find someone that you feel you are safe with, and someone that motivates you to take the risks that you need to take as an actor. And so, interview, talk to different schools, and interview, watch videos online to see if you would adhere to the principles and the philosophies. And then when you find something that clicks, then study. Study over and over and over – whatever it is that you’re doing, this is how to start as an actor!