Does having an accent limit acting opportunities? by John Essay

As a rule, the more versatility an actor has can only provide him/her with more opportunities. A fruit vendor that only sells bananas would most likely increase his income if he sold other fruits as well. You certainly can get work with an accent, but it will limit the jobs you can get. There are only a few movie stars that have done quite well with an accent, such as Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz, Sofia Vergara, Holly Hunter, Charo. These actors started their careers off with their own accents.  For them, it wasn’t necessary to “lose” their accents because they quickly established their careers with their accents.  The odds are that most actors with accents won’t be as lucky as this group of stars, so it makes sense to “lose” your accents in the beginning of your career to afford you more opportunities. I’m not saying hide it forever; you can still continue to audition for parts that have your native accent. 

In general, it helps to be able to learn to speak without accents or regionalisms (such as a Southern, a Boston, New York or Midwest American regional accent). Anna Torv and John Noble, the two leading actors on the J.J. Abrams series "Fringe", are both from Australia, yet they speak with neutral American accents on the show.  Since they haven’t made a career out of using their native accent like the actors I mentioned above, it was important to them to speak without an accent to increase their job opportunities - and a good thing they did, or they wouldn’t have starred on this cult classic series.

For those of you who want to learn to speak without an accent, there are many Speech Coaches that specialize in this area.  There are also a number of online sites that can also help you learn to speak with any regionalisms.

If you have trouble learning other dialects, or if you are just passionate enough about your own heritage and do not wish to explore neutral accents, I say good for you, nothing wrong with that, and now you know the limitations you are faced with.  Just remember: if you choose to move forward with your accent, DICTION is the important thing to remember. If you have an accent, we MUST understand everything you say!  The Casting Director or Director will appreciate it, as well as the author whose words you are saying!

Remember, just because you have learned to speak without an accent doesn't mean you must live the rest of your life without it. Use it at home, use it with your friends, but leave it at home when auditioning for roles that don’t require one.

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Advice & Critique: How to listen when it's not what you want to hear

In The Actors Guide To Everything, under REPRESENTATION, we write that a manager "advises clients on career choices, grooms them for the industry with guidance on new headshots, resumes, classes, type choices, etc., and personally advises every step of their business, which includes some aspects of life coaching."

Presumably actors know this - and want this - when they are seeking a personal manager, or other form of representation. Yet I can't tell you how many times I have met with an actor for the first time - for our "interview" - and started to tell them something they didn't want to hear - that I was unable to represent them, or that they needed to get new pictures, or ... well, you get the idea - and watched them "tune out" I can watch it happen before my eyes: their eyes glaze over, they nod like they are listening but I can tell they just want to get out of my office as soon as they can.

Actors frequently come into my office thinking I am going to be amazed at how talented, professional and on top of things they are, and they seem to think I will simply agree to represent them with no advice to offer. When they hear my suggestions, they look stunned and uncomfortable. I wonder how well they take direction on stage or on screen. I wonder what is going to happen if we decide to work together and we encounter a crisis -- how can I help someone who can't listen to my advice, or accept anything they feel is critical of them?

A happy life & career require personal growth, and understanding criticism is essential to personal growth. Criticism is everywhere, so use it to your advantage.

Here are some simple steps to deal with criticism: Hear it, evaluate it, learn from it and take action.

Hear the criticism: Just listen. Resist the urge to justify, excuse or defend yourself. If you're not ready to analyze the critique, analyze it later.

Evaluate the criticism: Does this criticism apply to you? Is the critic speaking truth or is he/she off the mark? If you are unsure if the critique is true, ask someone close to you, who you trust.

Learn from it: If the criticism is justified, you have been made aware of something you need to adjust, change or do. Accept this knowledge.

Take action: Once you have figured out what action you should take, do it. This is a typical time for procrastination, but make the choice to make the changes instead.

This process of "dealing" with criticism will be a tremendous advantage to you as an actor.

If you need more tantalizing information on receiving criticism, check out Bob's Corner!