It might sound funny, but some actors avoid screen work. Some do so out of choice—preferring perhaps the intimacy and process of stage acting—while others feel intimidated by the scale of the industry, paired with a feeling of impostor syndrome. For any serious actor, screen acting is a vital part of the industry ecosystem. So today, we’re going to talk about why you should be acting in film and television.
Actors should pursue roles on screen as strenuously as they might theatre work. Screen acting requires a finessing of one’s skills to a more intimate degree, and an understanding of one’s place within a film crew. However, acting in film and television is well supported by the technical aspects of screen media, not to mention an ever-present director. While sporadic, screen work is an extremely lucrative pathway for actors, with high pay rates for small parts, lead roles and even commercials.
Before we begin, it’s worth stressing that we are not stressing one medium over another in an actor’s career. This article is actually has a companion piece speaking to the opposite: why you should be acting in theatre. You may have a preference between stage and screen; one may spark joy while the other feels like a slog. But to cut one out of your career completely is ill-advised; you’d be leaving so much unexplored, undone.
Why are we told to ‘Pick a Lane’?
It’s surprising how often beginner and early-career actors are given this advice. There are two main reasons they are told to pick either stage or screen as their focus. We’ll examine the reasoning behind both of these below:
Training
Acting in film and television requires a strong understanding of things are filmed. You need to understand lighting, angles and framing, how to hit your mark and that your performance may encounter obstacles such as waiting for focus to find you, or performing to a ping-pong ball on a stick because the dragon isn’t on set that day.
Some drama schools don’t teach these skills as readily as others. Therefore, some actors enter the industry with less confidence in how they fit into the medium. But like any aspect of your career or process, acting on camera is a skill. And skills can be learned, even if it’s while you’re on the job.
Career
Acting in film and television can deliver some pretty significant life-changing opportunities—sometimes in the space of days or weeks. With one phone call from your agent, you might be quitting your day job, rushing your passport renewal and saying goodbye to family and friends for six months to film a fantasy film in the Arctic.
To some, this is literally the dream. To others, this sounds scary—and rightly so! What will people say when you disappear out of nowhere; what will you do for work when the six months is over and you no longer work at your local café? Even if we scale this hypothetical back: can you skip a family function or a day of work to film a commercial that might pay you three months’ wages?
Screen work promises Big. But it also demands you to be ready to make some pretty quick sacrifices to get there. With a career in theatre, there’s usually more control as to your schedule, your commitments, your calendar.
Why You Should Be Acting in Film and Television
So let’s jump in. As per our companion article, we are going to examine eight reasons you should be acting in film and television:
#1 Finessing your Acting
‘Stage is big, screen is small.’ While this might be a wild oversimplification … it’s more true than any of us care to admit. When acting in film and television, you have the chance to hone and finesse your performance so that it fits the frame of the shot. Don’t think about your voice reaching the back of the space: do what feels right, and trust that the camera (and the crew that surrounds it) is going to get the good stuff.
There’s an irony to the fact that screen acting feels more ‘real’ to some actors, given how fake and contrived it is to capture a performance on camera. If you’re coming from a stage background, you might be pleasantly surprised to discover how much control you have over the micro- of your process.
#2 Understanding the Filmmaking Process
Speaking of process: acting in film and television gives you a fairly comprehensive understanding of how screen projects get made. You’re going to do a lot of sitting around on a film set waiting for your thirty seconds a day of acting. Spend this time learning about the craft.
What does a film director actually do? What about the best boy, the grip or the 2nd assistant director? Can you see how the scene is being constructed, where it fits into the larger narrative? On the set of Fight Club, Meat Loaf shadowed director David Fincher to learn about the art of filmmaking. He was so ingrained in the process, that he began to help the director select takes in his trailer!
If acting for stage is like drama school, acting on screen is like film school. Spend enough time with your eyes and ears open, you may even be inspired to create your own project…
#3 Exploring Scale
Here’s the thing about acting with green and blue screens. They remove the limits of what you can do. Are they restrictive and fake and glow in a way that hurts your eyes after a few hours? Sure thing. But they allow you to tell stories in ways you could never do in theatre, or anywhere else.
Acting in film and television allows you to explore scale in the stories you tell. Take the opportunity to place yourself in the middle of an epic, a cast of thousands or a galactic-scale battle, and treat that as an acting challenge. Can you still find your objective in all that noise? Can you still craft a compelling, believable character?
#4 Developing Teamwork
We don’t care whether you’re an actor, a writer, or a filmmaker who does everything from cinematography to catering. Telling stories is always a team effort. And there’s no better place to learn that than on set.
Learn to trust your castmates, director and crew. Understand their jobs, and how doing those jobs helps improve the performance you give. This is something you encounter in theatre rehearsals as well, but it’s not as concentrated, not to the same degree or scale.
There’s no substitute for a ten hour day on location, when the weather rolls in and you’re losing light and everybody has food poisoning. That binds you together, and can render what you create its own brand of special.
#5 The Diversity of Jobs
Independent film. Quirky rom-com. Slasher. Part seven of a sixteen-film franchise. There are very few limits to the kinds of projects you might film as a screen actor. And in your career, you should look to exploring as many as you damn well can.
Theatre has inherent limits built into the medium—not least of all the financial constraints. You can still find diversity of characters and stories in stage work, but nothing like the possibilities that exist on camera. Much like our point above about working with scale: set yourself an acting challenge to try the multitude of styles and genres that screen work offers.
#6 Financial Stability
Screen work pays more. For many actors, this is the only point worth making. You are likely to earn more on a single day commercial shoot than you might for an entire season of a hit, independent theatre show. A solid arc on a tv procedural might pay your rent for six months. This isn’t necessarily why we get into the business, but it’s childish of us not to acknowledge that such financial windfalls can be life-altering.
Yes, such jobs are hard to come by. And residuals—payments made to actors for exhibitions of past work such as television re-runs—have been steadily chipped away by streaming service algorithmic shenanigans. But the pay of acting in film and television is hard to ignore. Even if you’re a ride-or-die theatre lover, ask yourself this: how many shows could you support yourself through with a few days on the set of House of the Dragon?
#7 Starting Out Your Career
A lot of this list has been geared towards actors with an established career. If you’re relatively new to the acting journey, this point is specifically for you. Short films—student, art, independent, those made by friends—are the perfect place to grab some easy credits for your CV, and to build confidence and experience. Actors are always in short supply to young filmmakers; they will be grateful for any experience or expertise you can bring. And you better believe they’ll be pouring everything they have into making their project (and, by extension, you) look good.
Let’s say the film is a stinker: in all honesty, a lot of short films are. You still get a day on set, a day to develop experience and hone your craft, and a credit for your casting networks page! If the film is good: festivals, awards, some recognition and most importantly the thanks of a director whose star is on the rise. Win win.
#8 Enriching Your Acting Career
The final reason you should be acting in film and television is, funnily enough, the same final reason we gave for you acting in theatre.
Acting in film and television opens you up to so many possibilities in terms of your career. Some of these are quite literally life-changing. If you are serious about your career, you owe it to yourself to explore all possibilities of what is on offer.
Say yes to everything. Give it all a go.
Conclusion
So that about wraps it up: our argument for acting in film and television. What we’ve included here is by no means an exhaustive list; when you find yourself exploring this world, you’re bound to discover a myriad of other things that sway you to screen work.
Just remember that there is no one, single, right path forward. A good career in the arts is a long one: a marathon, never a sprint. You’ll do yourself so many more favours by keeping that marathon diverse, challenging and exciting. Most important of all? You’ll have more fun.
Good luck!