How to Represent Yourself as an Actor
- Hannah Marquez
- Jun 23
- 7 min read
So you’ve finished this part of your training. You feel ready to get started, but now what? You might have Spotlight membership through your course, or you might not. You might have an agent lined up, or maybe you don’t.
This stage can feel a bit daunting. The structure of training is behind you, and the industry feels... closed.
It's important to stay focused and not let a slow start deter you. Acting is a life-long journey and it will have it's ups and downs!
If you’re working things out on your own without an agent, here’s a straightforward guide to help you take the first steps, find work, and start building experience.
Start Where You Are and Build from There
If you’re not on Spotlight yet, don’t worry. It’s not the only place to find acting work! You’ll just need to be proactive and take time to look at the options available.
Plenty of actors have built experience without it and it's now becoming harder for non-represented actors to find work on Spotlight, so it's good to spread your focus.
The best thing you can do at this stage is to start building your credits. That might mean working on short films, student projects, fringe theatre, or community work. These roles might be small at first, but they help you build confidence, learn how to work with a team, and get used to performing in different settings and under different direction.
Alongside that, make your own work! This shows initiative and helps you start shaping your identity as a performer.
Once you’ve got a few credits and performances under your belt, you can build a showreel. It doesn’t need to be long, but it should give a sense of your range, tone, and natural presence on camera. Even one or two well-acted scenes or a monologue can go a long way.
Taking these early steps will also put you in a stronger position when it comes to reaching out to agents. It shows that you’re committed, developing your craft, and that you are ready to be booked.
Where to Find Work
There are a few places where actors regularly find work:
Industry Facebook groups: Many casting calls are posted in regional or theatre and film Facebook communities. Look for groups linked to arts and actor communities, fringe festivals, or local film networks (Free)
artsjobs.org.uk: Run by Arts Council England, this site lists opportunities in theatre, performance, and creative roles across the UK (Free)
Casting Callback: Used for student films, smaller commercial castings and projects (Free)
Mandy.com: Covers a broad range of jobs, including indie film, commercials, and theatre (Subscription needed)
Backstage: Owned by the same people as Mandy (Subscription needed)
StarNow: Used for student films, smaller commercial castings and projects (Subscription needed)
Networking and contacts: Building a network is very important when you start out and can often lead to job opportunities
Be careful though! Always check the details of a project and follow your gut. If anything seems vague or uncomfortable, ask questions. Make sure you feel safe (I cannot stress this point enough!) supported, and happy to be part of it before saying yes.
If it sounds too good to be true it very probably is!
Building Experience (and Your Credits)
Short films, student films, fringe theatre and small-scale projects can all be valuable for gaining experience. You’ll learn more about how you work, get a feel for different sets or rehearsal rooms, and begin to shape your CV and showreel.
Not everything you do will be perfect and that’s okay. Be clear about your boundaries, reflect after each job, and treat each opportunity as a learning experience and a step towards your goals.
Not all Opportunities are Equal
When you’re starting out, it’s tempting to take unpaid or low-paid work to gain experience and showreel footage, but you should still know your rights.
Not all “opportunities” are created equal. Some projects genuinely offer good experience. Others rely on actors working for free for self-gain and with no intention of progressing the work professionally with you. It’s important to know where you stand.
Before saying yes, ask yourself:
Is this helping me grow or build something useful?
Do I trust the people running the project?
Am I being treated with respect?
Are the crew being paid? If you’re the only one working for free, that’s not fair. Passion projects and making your own work as a collaboration can be a brilliant way to gain experience, but actors shouldn’t be the only ones not being paid.
Is the work good? If you are making filmed content, it could follow you around the internet for a while and you need to protect your reputation. So make sure you have checked out the team behind the project and are happy to be connected to their work
The Value of Student Films
Student films can be incredibly valuable, especially early in your career. You’ll often get the chance to work with passionate young filmmakers who are learning their craft just like you are. These projects can provide great footage for your showreel, help you get used to being on set, and teach you a lot about collaboration.
But just like with any other job, do your research. Ask questions, read the script, and find out how the project will be run. Many film schools have professional standards in place and have budgets to pay actors, but not all student films do!
The Law and Minimum Wage
If a project is commercial or for-profit, and you’re not volunteering by choice (as in, a co-creator or collaborator), then you are likely entitled to at least the National Minimum Wage under UK law.
This applies regardless of whether you're classified as a professional or emerging actor. If you’re being directed, expected to show up at certain times, or required to deliver a performance, then you’re working. And if you're working, you should be paid.
There are exceptions, for example, true voluntary roles in charities or educational settings, but many small-scale film and theatre projects stretch those definitions. It's okay to ask questions about how you’ll be paid and under what terms.
Equity, the UK trade union for performers, has a helpful guide that outlines what actors should be paid and how to identify when a production should be offering professional rates:
Knowing your value doesn’t mean you say no to everything unpaid. It means you understand your rights, assess each job clearly, and protect your time, energy and reputation.
Signing and Reading Contracts
If you're offered work, you may be asked to sign a contract or release form. This is normal, but it's important to read it properly before signing anything and get professional advice if you are worried!
Some things to look out for:
What are you being paid and when? Make sure the fee is clearly stated, along with a payment schedule.
What are you agreeing to? Are you giving permission for your image or voice to be used? In what contexts? For how long?
Are there clauses about exclusivity or future obligations? Be cautious if something ties you to future work without clear details.
Don’t rush. You’re allowed to take time to read a contract and ask questions. If something doesn’t make sense, you can (and should) ask for clarification. If something feels unfair, you can say no.
If you're a member of Equity, they can help you review contracts or advise you if you're unsure. It's also useful to run a contract through ChatGPT and ask it to explain to you anything that you don't understand or are concerned about!
Top tip: Keep a copy of everything you sign, even if it's informal. Having a paper trail helps protect you if something goes wrong later.
AI and Your Rights as an Actor
This is a fast-moving area of the industry, and it’s important to understand how your voice, image, and performance might be used, especially as AI tools become more common in casting and content creation.
Some projects may ask you to sign away the rights to your image or voice so they can be used in AI-generated work. That could mean recreating your face or voice digitally, sometimes without ongoing consent or additional payment.
Here’s what to keep in mind:
Always read the fine print. Watch out for words like “in perpetuity,” “AI use,” “synthetic media,” or “replication rights.” These can have far-reaching consequences.
Ask what your data will be used for. If a production is scanning your face or recording your voice, find out what happens to that material afterward.
You can say no. You don’t have to agree to AI use just to get a job. If the terms feel uncomfortable or unclear, ask for them to be changed, or walk away.
Stay informed. The rules around this are still evolving, but it’s a good idea to keep up with guidance from Equity and other professional bodies.
Your voice and image are part of your craft and identity. You have the right to know how they’re being used, and to protect them.
You Made it onto Spotlight (now understand its pitfalls!)
Spotlight is currently the main platform for professional castings in the UK. If you’ve trained at an accredited school, you may already be eligible to join. If not, you’ll need to meet certain criteria, such as professional credits.
Once you’re in, it will open doors to more professionally paid roles, but also places you in a much bigger pool.
There are now over 90,000 actors on Spotlight. This is due to the joining criteria being lowered when Spotlight changed ownership in 2021.
This unfortunately means that unrepresented actors will see less roles than they might have before. For every role submitted, Casting Directors are often inundated with thousands of submissions, so to manage this, not every role is made visible to everyone. Many breakdowns are only sent to agents or select agency groups, even though everybody pays the same membership fees.
To use Spotlight well, you’ll need to:
Check it regularly, more than once a day if you can and set up notifications. Getting your submission in early can be an advantage.
Know your casting type and apply thoughtfully. Having a 'well I can play anything' attitude will quickly see you dismissed by Casting Directors. Read what they require carefully and submit only if you fit the bill!
Be honest about your skills, casting directors remember. If you say you can do something, you need to be able to bring it to the audition.
Keep your profile up to date, this is your shopfront so you'll need professional headshots and a good quality showreel to stand a chance (Note: Quality is better than quantity when it comes to showreels!)
Enable Talent Scout so agents can find you
Spotlight works best when you’re organised, selective, and realistic about how it fits into your overall approach as an unrepresented actor. It is not a silver bullet of acting success!
Final Thoughts
It's worth saying that some actors prefer to be self-represented. It means they have more control over how they work. But representing yourself isn't easy! You have to treat it like running a business and you are your marketing department!
Take your time. Keep learning, stay open, and protect your energy. Remember you are in it for the long haul.
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