Getting a Job Abroad

Hey there,
My name's Alex, I'm in high school and I live in Australia.

I was wondering if you knew whether or not an agency would be able to assign me a role for somewhere overseas e.g. America? Or would I have to move over there and find an agent there?

I don't have an agent as I am only just beginning to prepare a resume, but in the future I intend on pursuing my career over there. I know it will be difficult so I was just wondering, do you have any tips for me? Anything is greatly appreciated.

Thanks very much,
Alex.

Hi Alex,

Greetings to you and your fair country. You bring up an interesting career issue. A lot of actors do very well when they travel other countries. But it's a lot harder to move from Australia to Los Angeles than it is to move from Chicago to Los Angeles. You asked if you could an agent to cast you in a US acting job. This would be the best possible thing to happen to you. It's a longshot but not impossible. Basically if you want to get into the biz in the United States, there are a couple different ways, in my limited knowledge, I think you can go about it.

Option 1. A lot of American film companies shoot movies in Australia. Do some homework and find out who's doing this. You can research this by reading the American Trade magazines like Variety or Hollywood Reporter. When you find out what American movies are shooting around you find out who's casting them. Then send them your headshot, resume, and a cover letter saying who you and that you are local and that you would like to audition for them.

Option 2. Move to the United States and pound the pavement with the rest of. I don't recommend this. You need to finish High School and go to college or have some other post college education, you might want to do that in the US to get a grip on how things work here while in the comfort of an education atmosphere.

You asked if you could get a US agent from Australia who then could get you a job here. You could mail US agents your headshot but I think this is a long shot. Agents are salesmen and like to meet and get to know the people they sell. If you're based in Australia I would try to get a relationship going with a local agent and stress your interest in going to the States. Or save up some money and come to study here for a little while.

Any tips? Let' see. Work on your American Accent. Get the regions down. Work on a Midwest accent, this is the accent that most movie leads speak in, like Hugh Jackman and Mel Gibson. It's seen as kind of neutral. Work on a southern accent, the slow drawl and the faster drawl. The Southern accent is probably the second most popular one. Get some monologues with these accents and really get good at them. Build up your resume and get a decent headshot. If you have your accents, your monologues, and your headshot and resume, you're ready to at least audition and this will start to take you where you want to go.

Good luck and thanks for writing.