An actor’s brand is one of the core components of a successful career. But if you were to take ten people off the street and ask them ‘What is branding?’ you would likely get ten different answers.

Branding is misunderstood, and being misunderstood means it’s undervalued, underutilized, and largely ignored. All the more reason for independent working actors to create one – it can give you a headstart in the highly competitive business of acting.

Let’s take a look at some of the most common misconceptions about branding, and how they can harm a working actor’s independence.

1. Branding Is All About The Visuals

Arguably the biggest misconception about brands in general is that they’re synonymous with logos. 

If that were true, Nike would be defined by the swoosh and only the swoosh. People also know them for the iconic ‘Just Do It’ slogan, and their loyal customers know them for their products. So why the swoosh then? It makes them recognizable. When you see that symbol, you think of Nike. When you see something similar to that symbol, you still think of Nike.

Image is a part of your brand, but it doesn’t tell us what you as an actor can bring to the table. So how does your image play into your acting brand?

Look at your social media accounts. Do your posts and pictures reflect the kind of actor you want to be? If you’re an aspiring big budget action star you shouldn’t be posting selfies getting smashed every Friday night. Instead, your posts and pictures should reflect the action star from within that’s trying to break free. Show off your athletic skills; flex your knowledge about extreme sports; talk about your favorite stunts in well-known, high octane projects.

What about headshots? They shouldn’t recreate unrealistic scenes like explosions, but they can reflect the mood of those scenes. Your outfit could slightly resemble attire that makes you look combat ready, for example. Study the facial expressions and body language of actors in those scenes and recreate them in a way that looks natural, not like you’re trying to strike a pose.

And of course, there’s the demo reel. This one can get tricky, especially for new actors without prior experience. If you do have a demo reel, you should only use footage that demonstrates your skills as an actor in action films. That might mean ditching some of your best work. If it doesn’t fit in with other action content, it won’t help your odds – no matter how pretty it is. In fact, it will do the exact opposite. If you don’t have a demo reel, you can use a cover letter to connect with a talent agent to help you find that type of work. Talk about your off set experience and “qualifications”. This means things like a taekwondo belt or that you go skydiving every summer because you love the adrenaline rush.

2. Brands Must Be Highly Polished To Be Attractive

Also a huge no. Misconceptions about appearance in general tend to prevent a lot of people from kick starting an acting career. Hollywood doesn’t want any more glitz and glam, and it sure as heck doesn’t need it.

Brands aren’t something you make for the sake of pleasing others and appearing more interesting and marketable. Brands make you more interesting and easier to market when they’re authentic. There’s nothing more attractive than authenticity, and authenticity can be raw and emotionally intense – it’s rarely pretty. It shouldn’t be, because that kind of highly polished image isn’t what resonates with people. A performance that comes from a place of sincerity? That’s what audiences thrive on.

3. Branding Leads to Typecasting, and Typecasting Is Bad

Typecasting is a double edged sword. It’s only a bad thing if done incorrectly, rather than used to your advantage. A brand should be informed by your values, ideas, and lived experiences. Why wouldn’t you want to take a role that seems to have been tailor made for you and you alone? 

People are afraid of being typecast because they don’t like the idea of being ‘put in a box’. It sounds restrictive, and then scarcity mindset kicks in. Here’s the thing- you should be restrictive about the roles you take. This is a tier-based industry. If your portfolio is full of characters with no common denominator, you’ll never advance to the next tier. Your acting portfolio needs to be focused in order to stand out and catch somebody’s attention.

Don’t believe me? Look at Danny Trejo. He plays the same character in just about every movie he’s been in – and we can’t get enough of it. Danny Trejo knows what he’s about, and he’s completely unapologetic in every performance. That’s the power of typecasting, and an example of an excellent brand. 

4. Branding Only Matters When You’re Famous

You see this mistake in the corporate world as much as the world of arts and entertainment. Far too many people think that brands only matter if you’re an industry titan. Branding matters long before you become a heavy hitter in whatever field you’re in, because branding is what’s going to elevate you.

That said, brands do change over time. Your acting brand is going to grow and adapt with you. That’s not a sign of a bad brand or the inconsistency I caution actors against. Tom Hanks is an example of a brand that naturally evolved over time, and his career became stronger because of it.

5. Brands Need to Coincide With Industry Trends

That’s not what flexibility and growth in actors means, but some do interpret it that way. They latch onto whatever is big in the industry and focus fire on that, and only that, to stay ‘relevant’. The problem is they’re going to get buried by the people who specialize in whatever happens to be popular at the time. It’s impossible to rely on trends to stay relevant because trends aren’t meant to last, and trying to keep up with them is exhausting. Building a brand on trends is like building a house on quicksand – unsteady, unreliable, and bound to sink.

If you can create a reliable network and a dedicated audience through a consistent brand, you’ll never need to worry about becoming irrelevant. That’s the real beauty of independence.

6. What Is Branding For Actors?

Branding gets so hyped up or so hyper-criticized, yet few people explain what branding for actors is. They just bad mouth it, or bad mouth you for not doing it.  As an actor, you want to be known for something. Give them a reason to want to know you. It’s really that simple. That’s not to say figuring out your brand is easy to do. Knowing your brand requires self-awareness, self-reflection, and getting in touch with parts of yourself that you might not like. That said you’ll be much happier with a career built on a brand that truly represents who you are at your core. Actors should enjoy working, it shouldn’t feel like a 9-5. That would defeat the purpose of becoming an independent actor. 

What’s the point of pursuing your dream job if you’re not the one calling the shots? 

Got some questions about branding for actors? Feel free to put them in the comments section! Better yet, you can join my exclusive acting career course to develop your own acting brand!