What It Takes to Become a Successful Actor

Do you dream of performing on screen or standing on a stage? Becoming a successful actor takes a lot more than talent or good looks. It also requires discipline, training, and strength. Whether you’re just starting out or seeking to level up, there are 7 points every actor must work on to build a successful career — and become the kind of actor directors love to work with.

1. Train Every Single Day

Acting is more than talent, it is a craft, and professionals never stop honing their craft. The best actors in the world still take classes, work with coaches, and train every day.

• When you are young and graduated from high school, enroll in an official drama school that offers daily structured training and exposes you to different acting techniques.
• Take hands-on acting classes (scene study) where you work on real scenes from movies,series or plays.
• Master the Chubbuck Techniek — a transformative acting technique that uses personal pain to fuel your performance and try to win your character’s objectives. The Chubbuck Technique is a very complete technique that gives an actor a comprehensive 12-step method to analyse and build a dynamic character.
• Take voice classes to strengthen your vocal range.
• Explore improvisation to become more spontaneous and connected to your body.
• Read books about acting, such as The Power Of The Actor by Ivana Chubbuck.
• Participate in workshops with coaches, directors, and casting professionals.
• Work one-on-one with an acting coach who gives you constructive feedback and helps you prepare for roles and auditions.

2. Practice Gives You Confidence

You don’t need to wait for a dream role to start acting. The more you work, the more confidence you get and the sharper your instincts become. Acting must become part of your daily routine.

• Analyse and rehearse scenes and monologues regularly.
• Film yourself, watch the footage critically, and refine your work.
• Take part in short films, student projects, or gain on-set or stage experience.
• Write your own short movie, webseries or play and perform in it with your fellow actors.

3. Acting is Business

Acting is also a business — and building your career means knowing how to market yourself and how to be discoverable.

• Get professional headshots and create a strong acting résumé.
• Put your acting profile on casting platforms like E-Talenta, Filmmakers, and Spotlight.
• Build a personal website that showcases your showreel, headshots, biography, and contact info.
• Cut together a showreel that highlights your range and best performances.
• Get a talent agent who can help you access castings and guide you in your career.
• Register with several casting agents – in the Netherlands and Belgium you can register direclty without having a talent agent or manager – and get access to auditions for film, TV, and commercials.
• Learn how the casting process works, how to audition effectively, and how to market yourself authentically – meaning you are your own brand.

4. Build a Network

Connections matter — but they need to be authentic. Build meaningful relationships with other actors, directors, casting agents, writers and , not just networks.

• Attend festivals, panels, screenings, and industry Q&A sessions.
• Join workshops and acting intensives with casting professionals and directors.
• Support fellow actors and celebrate their work — build a community.
• Stay in touch with directors, writers and actors you’ve worked with before.

5. Take Care of Your Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health

You are your own instrument. To deliver powerful performances, you must take care of your body, mind, and emotions. Being an actors is a though job: long days, lots of competition and rejection on a regular basis. Acting is like being a top atleet. You need to stay on top of your game.

• Eat healthy, pure, non processed food, exercise regularly, and find a form of movement (like yoga, Pilates, or strength training) that energizes you and keeps you physically strong.
• Maintain your appearance: skincare, dental care, and grooming are part of your professional presentation.
• Learn to handle stress, rejection, and comparison with resilience. Keep believing in yourself.
• Consider working with a therapist or coach to stay emotionally grounded.
• Surround yourself with a support system of people and family who understand you and want the best for you.

6. Be Patient. Keep on Going

There’s no such thing as overnight success. Even the most celebrated actors many spent years building their careers behind the scenes.

• Keep on going consistently, even when the progress feels slow.
• Don’t wait for someone to cast you — create your own work: write and make short films, theatre pieces, web series.
• Celebrate every milestone: callbacks, student films, new training insights. It all counts.

7. Stay Curious. Stay Inspired

Curiosity is the fuel of the creative soul. A curious actor never stops growing.

• Watch masterful performances and study the choices great actors make. Study what they do, if they use a lot of inner monologue and make impactful choices.
• Read movie scripts, theatre plays and books on acting, human psychology and human behavior.
• Explore other art forms like music, dance, painting, or poetry — they all feed your creativity.

Final Thought: Fall in Love with Your Journey

Success in acting isn’t a destination — it’s the journey that counts. A process of self-discovery, discipline, creativity, and pushing your own boundaries. If you can fall in love with the process — the training, the practice, the auditions, the highs and the lows — you’re ahead of the game. Life has its ups and downs, so does your acting career.

So keep going. Do the work. Trust the journey and never give up. And remember: the industry is always looking for actors who are well prepared, passionate, and ready to bring something raw and compelling. Dare to push the envelope. Use your pain as a fuel by overcoming, resolving and empowering yourself – not only in your work but also in your life.