Acting : Fingers Crossed by Terrence Sellers

Terrence Sellers

Actor, Screenwriter, Marketing/PR, Director, Author

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2 years ago

Fingers Crossed

I've been freelance acting in ads, commercials, and a few shorts for the last 7 years. As an African American living in Taiwan that doesn't speak Mandarin fluently, it has been extremely hard to get acting work here. My dream has also been to get cast in a feature, but I rarely could even get an audition, even with several sample pieces I've appeared in. Because usually if they say "foreigner" they mean white. Or they require Mandarin fluency. Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I got to audition for a feature. I think it went well, but only time will tell. Hopefully, I'll finally get a named credit in a movie.

Anne Alexander-Sieder

2
2 people like this
- Terrence Sellers
- Maurice Vaughan
2 years ago

Hey Terrence, I feel you - I'm an American, living and working in Germany. What's really helped me a lot is to take all the reasons I shouldn't get cast, (don't speak the language perfectly, too old, too young, whatever) and make those things my selling points. The other thing is sometimes you just need to show people how you want to be cast - even if that means shooting your own showreel material. Lastly, I think it's really important to begin to establish relationships with people in a position to hire you like directors and showrunners instead of waiting to be called in for an audition. But most importantly -- congratulations on your big win. I hope you crush your audition and have a blast doing it. That way you'll be sure to stay top of mind whatever happens.

Sam Sokolow

2
2 people like this
- Terrence Sellers
- Maurice Vaughan
2 years ago

Hi Terrence - wishing you luck with your audition! Here’s a Stage 32 webinar that I recommend on booking work as an actor around the world: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/An-Insiders-Tips-to-Getting-Hired-as-an...