#1 Be a Jerk!
What better way to cancel your career right from the get go. Being an actor requires you to work with a lot of other people! Being difficult to work with, being a bully, or acting as though you and your role are more important than everyone else all fit in this ‘jerk’ category. “But what about such-and-such famous Oscar-winning actor who doesn’t speak to anyone on set and when they do everyone is required to call them ‘sir’!” I hear you ask. Sure. There are plenty of actors who have made it big and have gained themselves a reputation for having an inflated ego. But surely we can agree that a good direction to aim for is the one where we have a successful career and we are kind to people along the way?’
#2 Show Up Late!
This is another cracker of a tactic if you want to get in everyone’s bad books straight away. Time is actually money in this industry. Even if your call time to arrive on set is hours before you’re due to start shooting, you arrive on time, if not before. The director and producers will have set a very specific arrival time for you for good reason. Perhaps there are complicated costume and make up elements to take care of. Perhaps there have been some last minute changes the director needs to run through with you before the shoot. Who knows. Don’t be late. “But what about such and such famous Oscar-winning actor who is so ‘method’ that he’ll rock up on set three hours late and leave early and everyone needs to work around them?” I hear you ask. Sure, but that’s the last time you’re allowed to argue that point. There are plenty of myths and fables of famous actors working in their own time zone and forcing people to wait. They have obviously reached a point in their career where they have the money/reputation/resources/management to be able to instigate such chaos. If you’re in the early stages of your career, imitating this behaviour in an attempt to seem important and ‘mysterious’ is a killer way to not be invited back to the party!
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