There are many different types of acting careers in the uk, so you’re sure to find a role that suits your talents.
Gain acting experience through your school, youth or community amateur theatre, or gain work experience in theatre or one of the BBC’s professional work experience programmes. Vacation camps and resorts offer great job opportunities for animators or tour operators.
Unfortunately, acting isn’t the safest profession – it’s very competitive, and there may come a time when you may struggle to get a job. However, if you enjoy acting and are gifted, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pursue this career. To get started, you’ll need extensive experience in a variety of roles, as versatility makes it easier for you to get a job. You may also consider finding an agency who can find you a position and arrange a higher salary for you, but will charge you a portion of your income as a fee.
You can get involved in school productions, college theatre, youth theatre, amateur theatre, community theatre (often associated with professional theatre), and short or part-time courses with lay actors (drama schools and local cinemas are good places to start looking). It’s also worth auditioning at the National Youth Theatre, which offers opportunities to train and appear in performances, or the National Youth Musical Theatre (if you’re interested in musical theatre).
Many professional actors began their careers in the uk, so you have a good chance of becoming one too.
Not surprisingly, becoming a famous actor is a long road. However, there are many actors who work in their fields while working in other fields of work and even the film industry. So if this is your dream, don’t get too frustrated with the numbers.
The typical way to become an actor is to take acting classes at drama school and try to find an agent during or after the process. Good drama schools organize performances for their seniors and invite agents to watch; the more famous the school, the more likely they are to attend. Some students gain agency through this process, but not all.
A recent study by Queen Mary University of London referred to a poll showing that only 2% of actors make a living from the industry and 90% are unemployed at any time, which is enough for most aspiring actors Access to Scotch whisky only we can afford a glass of.
The uk acting industry is growing, so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved.
You need to be proactive and network as only a few job openings are advertised. Use a directory such as the Performing Arts Yearbook. This knowledge provides information about organizations that will have upcoming roles in theater, television, and film.
Instead, you must proactively contact film production companies and studios through speculative applications to inquire about job openings. Even so, you’ll find structured introductory programs like film internships are rare.
It’s always been a notoriously tough old game, but with so many actors and so little work these days, it’s harder than ever to get through. The old regional repertoire theater system that existed in my day has largely disappeared. Now everything is either stuffed with big-name stars to secure ratings, or last-minute rubbish: “A scene as police, filmed on Friday, £500, no repeat charges.”