So... You Want to Be an Actor?
- Jun 26
- 12 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
James Westphal is an actor, coach, and creative development specialist with a degree and training from a leading drama school, professional stage and screen experience, and a Master’s in Psychology. His unique combination of acting craft, public speaking, communication techniques, and psychology helps people connect, lead, and speak with impact.
In today's society, it seems like everyone wants to be famous. It has never been easier to be seen and adored by thousands of people, as long as you have the patience, determination, and willpower to create content. After all, content is king. Apparently. But now, more than ever, it is important to make some distinctions. First, performing and making content online doesn't make you an actor. I'm not saying that making content doesn't take skill or talent. I'm not even suggesting it's easy to do. But what I am suggesting is that making videos for content, in whatever form, is not synonymous with acting. The second distinction is this, being an actor does not mean fame, fortune, or guaranteed adoration. This article delves a little deeper into what being an actor does mean, what it takes, and how you can start to become one.
The entertainment industry
First things first, the entertainment industry is one of the biggest in the world. In the UK, the West End theatre industry alone has reportedly generated in the region of £1 billion in recent years, with the film and television industry generating just under £1 billion in 2025. Recent figures suggest there are somewhere in the region of 52,000 actors working in the UK. The interesting thing is that we only really hear about the 1%. Those who, through a combination of talent, hopefully hard work, useful contacts, networking, and most probably a huge helping of luck, have managed to make their way into the upper echelons of the entertainment industry. But here's the thing, hardly anyone has ever heard of the vast majority of that 52,000 figure. It is only the top few percent that the everyday person could name.
So, here's the first thing to know if you want to be an actor, you are an actor regardless of your 'success'. I don't say that in a preachy, virtue signalling way. Of course, we want to be recognised for our work. But that is not, and cannot be, the end goal, because unlike most other careers, it is not linear.
Success is not linear
There are stories of actors being cast as leads and then not working for years. There are Oscar winners whose careers fell away. There are actors who were graphic designers well into their thirties, actors who chose not to go to Hollywood and stuck with what they wanted to do, and, sadly, actors who never gave up but still never quite reached where they wanted to be. That is hard. But this is the reality of this career. Everyone says it's tough, but no one really goes into the reasons why. What pervades is an elusive idea that it is hard unless you know what to do, or unless you have some secret ingredient. Again, this is a misconception because it’s challenging regardless.
It is also really important to bear in mind that there is a lot of joy to be found in this career. Friendships and working relationships often last for life, because you get to know people in ways that are deeper and more vulnerable than in almost any other industry. You get to dip in and out of the most interesting, intriguing, and inspiring stories. You get to dedicate your time and energy to something that, hopefully, brings you joy. You get to pursue something that is a passion, and very few people get to do that in life. So, yes, it is difficult, but it is also rewarding.
Before we go any further, you have to ask yourself a few honest questions:
What does success look like for you?
Are you prepared to keep trying even if you don't reach that point?
Can you still find joy in the work regardless of the end goal?
If you've answered these questions and you know you want to try and pursue this rollercoaster of a career, then read on. I'm going to share some of the ways you can start to break into the acting industry. But remember, whether you make it to 'Hollywood' or not is anyone's guess. Anyone who tells you there is a formula or one way to do this and get the work you want is lying. Anyone worth their salt will tell you that they are lying too.
Knowing yourself
There are two main schools of thought when it comes to acting. Number one is that there is no character, it is just you, the actor, with the lines and the given circumstances of the script. Number two is that there is character, there is you, the actor, and then there is the character, which may be similar or different to who you are as a person, and this is informed and generated by the script. Whichever you lean towards, one thing stays true. You have to know who you are.
By that, I mean you have to be curious, open, and in touch with who you really are. Your strengths, your weaknesses, likes, dislikes, secrets, desires, dreams, phobias, and so on. Because whether you believe in the idea of a 'character' as something separate from the actor or not, you still have to be able to relate to different situations, to empathise, and to bring to life the words on the page. You can only empathise if you are in touch with your own emotions. You can only relate if you have had conscious experience, and have lived and felt. You can only bring words on a page to life if you know which parts of yourself are similar to them and which are different, so that you know where the gap is and how to close it. If you don't know yourself, how can you be comfortable enough to be vulnerable in front of other people, be it your fellow actors, a crew, or an audience?
The craft
Another longstanding debate is, to train or not to train? Far be it from me to tell actors, aspiring or professional, what's right and wrong. My own view is that to be a good and consistent actor, you must develop some kind of craft. Instincts and spontaneity are paramount. But what happens when your instinct betrays you or your spontaneity deserts you in a performance or a take? Then what do you do? This is when you have to fall back on your craft. You can only build craft and skill by training, the same as in any other profession in which there is skill involved. You would never expect to walk onto a stage and perform a triple pirouette without technique. You would never attempt to make a piece of furniture and expect it to be good without technique. So why should one expect to just try acting and be good?
The distinction I want to make here is this, training doesn't have to mean drama school. For the record, I think some of the best training in the world can be from a drama school, depending on where and what, of course. But there are many different ways to train for something in which the end result is judged subjectively. You might work with a coach. You might take classes, which is starting to become a more regular occurrence in England, taking a leaf out of the US's book, where continued professional development is treated as a given. You might learn on the job. Whatever it is, in order to be consistently good, you have to know what it is you're doing. This is especially true in terms of a healthy and resonant voice on stage, or the technical demands of the screen, where you are constantly judging the size of your performance depending on the frame. Drama school is absolutely not the only way in, but some form of training, be it a class, coaching, a mentor, or reading and physically practising, is, in my view, essential.
One last thing, make sure you are working with and learning from people who know what they are talking about. We can all learn. Whether the learning is correct or not depends on the teaching.
Networking
You don't have to view networking as cornering someone in a room full of people and telling them all the reasons they should hire you. At its core, networking is building relationships. Real, working relationships. These take time, so you have to be in it for the long run.
This is a much smaller industry than it seems at first glance, or when looking at statistics. People move between jobs, companies, and rooms. That goes for actors, casting directors, directors, producers, and anyone else. The person you met on a profit share fringe show might now be casting for an off West End play. You might have met someone in a casting ages ago who then puts your name in the mix for something later on. Patience is rewarded in this industry. But so are kindness and decency. Essentially, with networking, you can meet hundreds of people and fire over your CV to thousands, but if you have behaved in ways that are disrespectful, arrogant, and lazy, especially when starting out, your reputation will precede you.
Lastly, try not to view networking as transactional. Try to frame it as taking a genuine interest in people and projects. Be generous with your time. I always find a good question to ask yourself is, "If I weren't me, would I want to work with me?"
The work
You have to put the work in. That sounds really obvious, but it is the part most people skip, because it is the least glamorous. The work is learning your craft, keeping it sharp, and having a finger on the pulse of the industry. The work looks like continuing to learn and grow, seeking out opportunities rather than waiting for your agent to ring or to be picked off the street for the new Spielberg movie. The work is trying not to let constant rejection deter you. The work is knowing how to approach your scripts and auditions, and then actually doing the work to show yourself off in the best light in your auditions or tapes.
Motivation won't always be there, so it's helpful to view acting like an athlete views their training. You can't only train when you feel inspired or 'up for it'. You have to create routine and consistency. If you can build the habits, readiness will follow. Confidence comes from doing, and from trusting the work you have done. But you can't trust the work if you don't do the work.
Agents
One good thing about drama schools is that you, hopefully, leave with an agent. But that isn't always guaranteed. So, whether you go to drama school or not, and whether you leave signed or not, you will inevitably find yourself searching for representation at some point. It might be as you are starting out. It might be that you get dropped by your agent and then need to find a new one, which is remarkably common. It is quite rare that an actor stays repped by the same agent for their whole career.
Do you even need an agent? Technically, no. But it will make your life a hell of a lot easier, and you will have someone fighting your corner who knows what a good deal does and doesn't look like. I've secured jobs myself without an agent, but it really is a lot harder. Anyone who says you don't need an agent is, I think, either lying or a huge star who doesn't really need one. Almost every big 'star' has an agent or manager anyway.
When you are starting out, and untrained, it is possibly the hardest time to secure an agent. But it isn’t impossible. There are a few things you are going to need if you want to sign with one:
A good headshot. Good doesn't necessarily mean expensive, but it does mean good quality, lighting, exposure, a background, and colours that complement you. Aim for something that shows your personality without being boring, and without being a picture of a 'character'. A good headshot shows you, simply and plainly.
A good email. Agents are very busy people and don't have time to read your life story. You want an email and a subject line that are respectful, individual, concise, and to the point.
A tailored approach. Know who you are writing to and why. An agent will receive hundreds of emails a week, so if you can show you are interested in them for a genuine reason that isn't just 'you are the biggest agency in the UK', you give yourself a better chance of a reply.
Material. If you are just starting out, chances are you won't have a showreel, a compilation of your screen work. That doesn't mean you can't attach some material. A well lit self tape of a scene, filmed in a self tape format, landscape and mid shot, that shows choices, listening, responding, and an arc is perfectly fine. So is a good monologue, although people tend to prefer scenes, as they show your listening and responding well.
Signing with an agent can also help get you onto Spotlight, the registry that casting directors use to put their breakdowns out. It used to be that you could only get onto Spotlight with an agent, while most agents would want you on Spotlight before signing you, which was a bit of a circular situation. It is more open now. As a guide, you generally need one of three things to join, professional credits, such as a featured role on an Equity or equivalent contract, or two professional credits, a recognised period of professional training, or a recommendation from a Spotlight registered agent, recognised casting director, or management body. There is also a dedicated graduate route for final year students at recognised drama schools. The exact criteria shift from time to time, so it is worth checking Spotlight's site for the current details. Once you are on Spotlight, you can apply for roles yourself, with or without an agent.
Signing with one of the big agencies is helpful, don't get me wrong. But it isn't the be all and end all, and especially when you are starting out, you might get lost among their bigger clients. Ideally, you want to sign with an agent, regardless of their size, because they are good at what they do, you get on with them to some degree, it feels like a good fit, and their clients are doing the kind of work you want to do. At the end of the day, your agent should be your partner and collaborator. But don't rely on them solely.
Marketing
Know what you get 'for free' and play to it. Early on, people don't know you or your work, so you need to stick in their minds, and the best way to do that is to understand what you do well, how people see you, and lean into it. I wish this were something I had realised sooner. There is plenty of time to show your range and versatility once you have the work and the relationships to back it up. This is exactly where knowing yourself pays off again, your self knowledge should feed everything outward facing, your headshots, your showreel, the roles you chase, and the way you market yourself.
A note on 'giving up'
Lastly, if you are not happy doing this, or it is actively making you unhappy, there is nothing wrong with walking away. It is not giving up. The measure is not whether you reached some imaginary finish line, but whether the pursuit of it is adding to your life more than it is draining you. Pivoting to something else is its own kind of courage. But if you've read this far, I suspect you aren't at that point, so my closing notes are these, find the fun, work hard, be a good person, be great at what you do, and see where the journey takes you. It is an uncertain industry with a lot of external variables, and you cannot control the uncontrollable. Trends, someone else's success measured against yours, your look, your height, whether a given person happens to like your work, remember, it is all subjective, let those go. Put your energy into the things you can actually affect, and let the rest be.
What's next?
For some, it is not enough to read advice in an article, it has to be practically explored. I trained as an actor as the Leverhulme scholar at ArtsEd and was selected to represent my drama school at Shakespeare's Globe. Since then, I’ve worked professionally across stage and screen, and also hold an MSc in Psychological Sciences, which sits underneath everything I do. I coach professional actors, including Jay Lycurgo, Peaky Blinders Film and Steve for Netflix, as well as providing public speaking and communication coaching for leaders and people in business.
If you would like support with audition preparation, industry or drama school, self tape strategy, classical or contemporary text, screen technique, or simply finding your feet and your confidence in the room, please get in touch. I offer one to one coaching for actors at every stage.
Read more from James Westphal
James Westphal, Actor & Public Speaking/Communication Coach
James Westphal is an actor, coach, and creative development specialist who works with professional actors on their acting and audition technique and provides public speaking and communication coaching for individuals and groups across business, leadership, and public-facing roles. With his first-class degree and training from a leading drama school, ongoing stage and screen work, a Master’s in Psychology, and extensive teaching experience at top drama schools and conservatoires, James also coaches internationally for leading companies. Founder and CEO of James Westphal Creative Development, providing effective help and guidance for people who speak for a living, his mission is to empower people to connect, lead, and speak with impact.
