BOOKING YOUR FIRST ROLE : WHAT IS A NEWCOMER'S BANKABILITY AND IS IT STILL A THING ? (from an American producer's perspective)

We all know that if you want to work as an actor, sooner or later you'll realise that getting a job is not really all about talent, but very much related to ( not only who you know and who knows you) but how 'known' you are generally , what's your following on social media platforms and how many interviews you're willing to do a month. It's nothing new though, maybe just a bit different. Looking as early as the 40s-50's in Hollywood studios, we see Jeanine Basinger in ' The Star Machine' describing the studio's three-step process for developing new stars, known in the industry as 'the build-up' mechanism: during the first stage, the actors had to appear as walk-ons or extras in big productions, and evolve gradually to small roles with minimal dialogue. Success at this stage could lead to speaking parts.

But a newcomer's casting possibilities would depend as well on their popularity, and an increasing marquee value could result in the actor being given top billing in a film. One of the actor's responsibilities was to become bankable and to ensure they are making themselves into commodities.

An actor's star status ultimately rests upon their proven popularity with large numbers of moviegoers and the extent to which that sizeable audience can be predicted to attend a movie in which the star appears. On that basis, a star can command a high salary, which is justified by the probability that audiences will pay to see their films.

And this still happens and limits the possibilities of newcomers dramatically, although economic studies of the film industry have frequently challenged and even contradicted the view that stars reduce the uncertainty of a film's success, guaranteeing greater profitability in terms of box-office returns.

Talent and bankability might be or not related, as popularity is not necessarily proof of talent or real value. Nevertheless, actors would sometimes do even silly movies just to be popular, even when their possibilities were greater than that. It's irelevant to think about the recognition that an actor enjoyed some good years ago when the focus is predominantly on real lives nowadays.

With the increase in interest in social media, although until a couple of years ago casting directors were claiming they are absolutely not interested in things such as instagram following number or Tik Tok accounts, things are changing fast and producers are interested in numbers, while agents encourage actors to have at least one public account on social media and post consistently.

Does it mean that as a new actor you won't be able to book a role unless you post regularly on social platforms? It doesn't , but , if you really want to give acting as a profession a shot, than why not start by having a Spotlight entry, Equity , IMDB , personal website and at least one social media account ? Casting directors and agents are super busy people, so making your profile as visible as possible is definitely a win when you're starting out.

Best of luck to everyone embarking this beautiful journey !

Delia