Building a long-term acting career is easier when actors have multiple streams of income.
Besides the obvious avenues to pursue like film and TV, there are several other types of acting work that offer opportunities to gain on-set experience, get footage for a reel, and earn some cash. A lot of actors just don’t pursue these less-visible options because they don’t know about them, aren’t interested in them, or feel like they’re not visible enough to move the needle on the type of career they want to have.
But working in multiple areas of the business helps keeps confidence levels high and bank accounts full, making it easier for actors to keep nurturing the career they want to have. This is the central idea of The Actor’s Startup Guide.
Let’s see how this can work. The following example took place some time ago, but is relevant because it still happens today. In 2009 a company called True Value Hardware launched an ad campaign for their national brand of hardware stores. It introduced the idea of a “Hardwarian,” someone who really knows their stuff about all things related to home repair.
At the time I was living in Chicago, which is where True Value’s ad agency, MarcUSA, had an office. My agent sent me on an audition which was ostensibly for a print job, though it was a little more involved than your typical print look-see. There wasn’t a script, per se, but actors were asked to toss out lines while we were handling various True Value products…paint brushes, light bulbs, etc. I did the audition, then promptly forgot about it, which is what I do with nearly all of them. Keeps me from dwelling.
With a week I got a call that they wanted to use me, along with several other actors, for the print ad. But there was something else.
The “Hardwarian” theme was going well enough that the client decided to expand into online video, which was then gaining a foothold as a tool for DIYers. People would go to YouTube to learn how to repair their leaky faucet.
Only True Value wanted them to go to their site instead. So the creative team launched a site with a library of helpful videos on how to do common household repairs and upgrades.
My two-hour print booking turned into a multi-day video shoot. Early on a cold, Spring morning I drove to the northern ‘burbs of Chicago to a house where, for a few days, we shot about 20 videos covering everything from how to clean used paintbrushes to how to re-caulk a bathtub. They had an expert there to make sure we were doing everything correctly, and a small crew of agency folks to steer the creative ship. I did my thing, left, and figured my journey with this client had come to an end.
Except the client loved the work enough to do it again. A few months later, they called with another multi-day booking to shoot new videos, this time at a different location covering different topics. The weather was much nicer, so we did a lot of lawn and garden vids, featuring plenty of True Value products like grass seed and garden tools.
This continued for years. Six of them, actually. The job didn’t change much during that time, though the people associated with it did. We went through two directors, two production companies and shot in multiple locations around Chicago, including a Frank Lloyd Wright house and a True Value warehouse. Some of the creative team left the agency…then came back again. Different actors were brought in to mix the videos up. I was a consistent presence.
The agency was never obligated to bring me back for the next shoot, so I did my best to compel them to keep me involved. I followed the formula laid out in The Actor’s Startup Guide. I made each shoot day as easy as possible for the client by prepping my scripts beforehand, getting familiar with the products we were showcasing, and bringing ideas about how to make the videos as clear as possible for viewers. I wasn’t there to just talk on camera. I was there to take care of the client and the viewer in equal measure. This made the day as stress-free as possible for the creative team, since they knew that when I was on set, things were likely to go smoothly.
Around the same time I was booking a lot of TV, like a recurring role on NBC’s Chicago PD. This could have been a factor in the agency’s decision to keep me around, since visibility is currency in our business.
By the end, I did over 100 videos for True Value, all at union rates. It was a great job, and a terrific example of how work begets work.
What started as a one-off print job turned into six years of regular acting work. Was it sexy, award-winning, dream-fulfilling work? Nope. But it paid a lot of bills, and I was very grateful for that.
This is just one example of how being willing to pursue multiple areas of the business can launch careers, make them more rewarding, and ultimately last longer.
If you have a story about an actor who developed a short-term job into a long-term client, I want to hear about it! DM me on Insta or find me on Threads.