What does it say on your Tin?

Too many actors get this wrong. They give off the wrong message to casting directors and lose work. But follow this very simple rule and you can make sure that you won’t confuse people and lose acting jobs along the way.

Avoid confusion

Suppose my car breaks down and I’m searching for a local garage to help me out.

The first ad I come across says: 

We’re a garage. And we sell fruit and vegetables. And we can cut your hair to the latest fashion.

Straightaway I’m confused. Are they a garage or a greengrocer? And what’s this thing about cutting hair? What on earth is going on here?

I skip them and look at the second ad which says: 

We’re a garage. We can mend your car.

Guess what. The second garage gets my business.

How does this apply to actors?

We’ve seen a lot of actors who are just like that first ad. In their casting applications, on their profile, they say things like:

I’m an actor, director, and writer.

or

I want to apply for the lead role in your short film and I can also help behind the scenes as well and in production.

or even:

I’m an actor and an extra.

So are they actors or not? 

Casting directors will look at your application and think to themselves that you’re not a committed actor. They’ll think you’re just dabbling in acting. Pretending. Playing, even. A jack of all trades, a master of none.

If they get 2 similar applications and one says:

I’m an actor and a writer.

and the other says:

I’m an actor.

…trust us, they’ll choose the second one simply because… well think of the garage example above. They want an actor so they’ll choose an actor.

What does it say on the tin?

Have you seen this famous marketing slogan: it does exactly what it says on the tin

It was so successful in fact that it entered popular culture and we use it now to talk about all kinds of things.

Basically it means that it is 100% obvious what something does. So obvious, in fact, that you don’t have to worry about it. It will do the job perfectly well and won’t cause any problems.

It says what it will do, and then it does it.

Now, if you always remember that you are the product and you are the brand, whenever you tell anyone about yourself, you are selling yourself and to do this well you just have to keep it simple:

My name is Marey J Smith and I’m an actor.

That’s it. Forget telling anyone you’re mid-way through your screen adaptation of James Joyce’s Ulysses. Forget telling them you were a 2nd AD on your friend’s short film. Forget telling them you can design the film’s poster.

No, if you want to find work as an actor, don’t ever tell anyone that you do anything but acting. That’s you. That’s your job. That’s what it says on your tin.