Who Do You Want To Be?
An email I received this week:
“Damien hello!!
Happy New Year to you and your family!
I hope you’re really well.
If possible I’d love to know
If there is anything you’d recommend
Doing in January to give myself
The best chance possible for the year ahead.
I didn’t go to a drama school
And used to think this was a big reason
As to why I wasn’t booking work.
I’ve managed to really change this belief
And it’s a lot better in regard
To how I feel about my talent
But I still struggle with it in my preparation.
It feels like there are things I’ve missed out on,
Like I’m behind and everyone
Knows a secret that I don’t.
I want to book my first TV/film speaking role
This year and I just don’t know how to go about it
Apart from the things I’ve been doing
Which I know have been helping
But I also haven’t booked a role so wondered
If there was something I was missing.
Are there some foundations
I can be setting in January that will help support this goal?
Ana x”
(Name changed for privacy)
***
Dear Ana
Firstly…
Thank you for reaching out.
Thank you for sharing and being so open.
And… YES!
I hear you 100% re booking that first gig.
Getting that first paid speaking role off the bat
Is going to feel so wonderful.
What I hear is your huuuge capacity to give.
I’m hearing your hunger and your energy,
Your desire to give all of yourself to your art.
And that is a beautiful thing.
But… at the moment,
You haven’t got the results to show for it.
And so, of course —
It may feel like you’re missing something
When there’s no social proof to help build confidence and
Feel it in your bones that you are on the “right track”.
And then, understandably… you want answers…
It makes sense…
Perhaps by not training or going to drama school
You feel as if somehow you missed something crucial.
But, my friend,
Before I go on…
I want to make a point of something.
There ins’t a “right track”
Only your track.
If your wondering a short answer to your question —
That email you sent me is just how to behave
In order to set yourself up to win and
And to have a long career.
Your honesty.
Your curiosity.
Your courage.
Just the bravery to hit “send” on an email asking for help.
Damn… I still struggle to do it at times.
Continue that behaviour
And you’ll be winning for years to come.
***
So on that note, if I may —
I’d like to clarify your questions into two parts
And answer systematically…
I hope this helps.
Number One
What can I do in January to set myself up to win for the year ahead?
Let’s start with the truth.
You can’t speed up time
And control when you book your first job.
But you can control your next action.
And that’s the point.
Notice where your focus is
And bring it back to what you are
Actually able to influence.
You can control the next choice you make.
So…
What can you do in January
To give you the best chance possible for the years ahead?
Not just in 2026…
But for years to come,
Because let’s face it,
This is a long game.
I care less about you booking one job,
Then I do about hear that 10 or 15 years from now
You’re still on your path.
So in January… try this:
Decide who you want to be.
Then prove it to yourself with little wins.
The key word here is little.
Want to be TV and Film actor?
Great.
How does a TV or Film actor behave?
What few things do they do, repeatedly
That allows them to give their work?
Then do that.
Or at least, try your best to do that.
Want to work on West End or Broadway?
How does an actor on West End practice?
What are their habits? Routines? Rituals?
What few things do they all do?
Explore your imagination.
Write it down.
Then practice, play and review.
Do more of what gives energy…
Do less of what takes.
In your career,
Look at the choices you have
Laid out in front of you.
Of all the choices you have
Choose the one that gives you the most energy,
The one that sets you on fire,
And take action on it.
Let go of any attachment to a result—
No expectation as to what the outcome should be,
Or how you should get there…
Take it as far as you possibly can.
And when feel you can’t take it any further,
Reflect.
What feels like it flows?
What feels like resistance?
Do more of what works,
And less of what doesn’t.
Then start again.
If you repeat these steps
Over and over again…
You’ll be building a process of joy
That allows you to sustain a career
Across decades.
In whatever field you choose.
So whether 2026 is about
Skill acquisition.
Working on your own material
Making something with friends,
Making it easy for casting directors to get to know you
Through casting workshops,
Or reaching out to make meetings etc.
Or even taking time to pause and recalibrate…
Remember,
Work breeds work.
But doing breeds doing
And if something you want to do feels hard,
Ask yourself:
What would this look like if it were easy?
Then try try again.
***
Number Two
What am I missing? Or… What is the secret?
Well
The big secret,
Is that there is no secret.
There is only what works for you.
I could muse for ages
About how I trained at drama school
And have spent years un-learning a lot of stuff
That was impressed upon me during those three years
In order to grow,
Or how my partner never trained either and yet
Is considered to be in the top 95% percentile
Of successful actors in this country.
But I think your question is more about
Where you can put your energy…
What are the most useful areas in your skills tree to focus on.
Which I think is a very valuable question.
So let’s break it down into three simple areas.
These are the three fundamental areas
Skill acquisition and development.
Area One: Comprehension
How well are you understanding the material?
Can you pick up a script, read it feel confident you can
Give your interpretation of that character?
These questions may help:
What is literally happening in the scene?
(What is physically going on?)
And
What is actually happening in the scene?
(The subtext).
Example:
A man types at his computer
While his colleague questions him about his work.
What is actually happening:
A man is feeling judged by his colleague
Who really wants his job.
Essentially:
Are you understanding what is actually going on?
Or are you giving surface level work?
Area Two: Emotional Connection
Do you have a process for being
Present and honest on camera or in the audition room?
Are you able to give yourself permission to
Be open and vulnerable when it matters most?
Area Three: Technique.
In my opinion.
And a lot of acting teachers won’t like this…
But I think technique is really over emphasised.
I think it really gets in actors heads.
For me… KISS.
Keep it simple stupid.
For theatre, think about this:
Are you clear?
Can you be heard at the back?
Great.
TV/Film
Are you more expressive in wider shots?
Can you breath as yourself in a close up?
Done.
Obviously there’s so much more
To work on here…
But I truly think acting is far more
About one and two then it is about three.
Know what your saying…
Give yourself permission to do it honestly, your way.
***
Outside of these fundamentals…
It’s just play.
It’s what ever you want to do.
Whatever works for you.
That might mean animal work…
Laban.
Go build the house your character lives in…
Whatever works for you or Daniel Day Lewis.
***
But coming back around to my point from
The start.
What you demonstrated in sending that email
In the first place…
Your honesty.
Your curiosity.
Your courage.
Those three words will hold you
In better stead than anything that I could ever tell you.
Keep doing that,
Keep on with that behaviour
And the world… 2026 and beyond
Is your oyster.
Have fun out there
Dx.
