I've been considering a career in acting in China/ Hong Kong/ Taiwan. I live in the United States, but I can speak and read Mandarin, and I'm fairly certain that I can learn Cantonese. My question is, does anyone know how the process for becoming an actor in China works? Is it like the United States; do you go to acting school, and for how long? Also, how frequently do American Chinese enter the Chinese entertainment industry, and what's the attitude towards them? Apart from Wang Lee Hom and Vaness Wu, I don't know of too many ABCs. I would appreciate any feedback on this topic, thanks in advance!
Probably not dissimilar to hollywood... i would think there are various ways you either start off as an extra then you make it into a minor TV role, keep doing that for a couple years and then try to get your first part in a movie. OR Suck some producer's dick and get a minor part in a film right away. OR Have a friend of a friend who knows someone way high up in the industry who can get the ball rolling for you. (Might have to suck some dick here as well) OR Try to get in to some sort of talent show where you can get some public exposure, if the people like you, some agent is bound to pick you up (possible dick suckage here too) The keys are no doubt persistence and a moist mouth.
lol that is why you don't ask for advice on PA. we tell ya the truth. and the truth here is you gotta learn how to suck a cock.
Forget about dick sucking (er... unless you're actually into that shit...); my suggestion to you is, bypass all the traditional ways of 'making it' (open cattle calls, dropping off comp cards at studios or agent offices, et cetera) and look around for Chinese video making people. Find and befriend people who are in film schools who need free actors. Take acting classes. Study old Chinese film, find two or three actors that you most like to be, and then see everything that they every made. Learn to see beyond the story and watch how they act; what makes them so good, and develop your own style that is unique, yet reminds others of those big stars. -inlove Regarding your clip, the camera work was lame (too much extraneous shit, background clutter), the scene didn't have any genuine flow (should have been better storyboarded beforehand), the facial expressions were either too contrived or too unconvincing, lighting was too unbalanced. The muscleman in the Taxi shirt has more screen presence than the leading man. Shoot as many videos with you in them and put them all over the internet. Post them into Chinese forums, both English and Chinese speaking (but mainly Chinese speaking ones as you want to break into China) Funny clips, dramatic clips, action clips; all with guess who as the main attraction. If your clips are good, then people will instantly recognize you. That is, you've sold yourself to an audience before even finding a director. In this way, you can bypass the masses of wannabes that are all clamoring for a chance. If you're already a known face, your chances of getting selected goes up exponentially. Or... forget about all the above and suck some producer's dick really well...
To ralphrepo, thanks for the advice. Just one thing, regarding the video in my sig, it was a promo for an club event at my college, so I must admit I wasn't being very serious with it lol. Still, it's good to get constructive criticism on any work that one does, thanks for that. I will go to Shanghai next semester to study abroad, I was thinking I'd take some acting classes part time while I'm there, but I was wondering if there's anything I can do in addition while I'm there? Guess I'd better make some connections for starts (btw, I think I'll say no to the dick sucking, that would be a little strange). I wonder how acting classes in China work though, and the methods through which they teach you...
Yeah, basically what all the guys have already said, suck it, take it, eat it, all that 'good' stuff. How do you think some of the #1's got to where they are now? With talent? *snort* That, or you know people in the triad, or you got shit loads of money and you can pay for fans. lol
talent pool is limited its easy to figure not to mention all the awards those no talents are ringing up but then if you look hard enough you'd figure that a sister or brother of that person is also in the industry then you'd even find out that person is a nephew or niece of that boss or is really rich , if not join some kinda modeling show and if you suck hard enough you'd make it even with lack of talent. Those who work really hard are the ones that are not noticed for years before catching their big break and usually they produce their own things, expect to fail in an industry where its all connections but don't give up. Talent agencies are probably key but its what the industry lacks and quite frankly i think they are ok with that like the knock off industry.
You might want to join one of those talent(singing, dancing and acting) shows that they have from all over China, HK etc. Knowing certain people will surely get where you need to in chinese business culture. What's with all the cock sucking, you can't forget about the tofu rubbing/licking. -tongue2 *(tofu can be used as a slack word in cantonese sometimes for a vagina)
nah man i don't do that homo stuff and i don't want to be a celebrity-coolio haha don't hate i'm just cool like thatdancey1 lol but for you aoes, you gonna have to do some serious salad tossing.
