The One Thing to Know as An Actor in 2021

Today I’m talking about the number one tip for actors. I believe that this is really going to bless you and set you up for a happy and successful new year.

And the number one tip is this…

You are the only you.

I’m going say it again because I know it needs to sink in:

You are the only you.

Now this may seem obvious – it is!- but I feel like it’s so easy as actors to know this intellectually, but to not actually daily live like the one-of-a-kind masterpiece creation you are.

So what do I mean?

This year, we should be striving to unveil more of ourselves, and work towards being our authentic selves.

Casting directors don’t want to see generic, cookie-cutter actors, just like when we’re watching a movie we don’t wanna see bland, cookie-cutter characters. Casting directors want individuality, passion, personality, flair. A little extra summin! And you have all that. Yet why do so many of us try to be like the actor next door? In doing so, it is easy to lose the spark that makes *you* an individual.

The sad thing is that this can have a direct result on our confidence and approach to our goals as actors. You begin to wonder why you’re not standing out, why you’re not ‘getting in the room’. And it’s because you’re not communicating who *you* are.

Because you can’t market someone else.

No one else has:

Your exact eyes, the hairs on your head, your brain and unique thoughts, standpoints and experiences. Those are all yours! God has made each one of us so uniquely! And it is this sense of sense of ownership and gratitude, this sense of being comfortable in who we are, in our bodies, skillset and talents, that will help you in three specific ways:

1. Knowing who you are clarifies what you go for – when you know what you bring to the table (a.k.a the entertainment industry), you will know which auditions are for you, which jobs align with your values and which ones don’t.

2. Knowing who you are makes you attractive to those you want to work with - I spoke about this earlier; individuality is attractive. We don’t want cookie-cutter. We want you!

3. Knowing who you are sparks your passion – Have you ever felt like you’ve ‘lost’ your love for acting? There are many reasons this might have happened but may I suggest that it *might* have to do with not being clear on who you are. When you’re unclear on who you are, what you stand for and what you bring, it is easy to become demotivated, because you have no clarity for your career. It’s what I now refer to as ‘swimming in the soup of confusion’. 2020 was a challenging year and 2021 will have it’s own challenges. But we can make things easier on ourselves by unveiling ourselves and moving in our purpose.

We can be empowered as actors! I'll be posting a series of blogs on here talking about how this can be achieved. Keep an eye out here for uplifting and educational content!

Happy 2021!

Nikki xo