# How Can I become an Actor in America ? (British Citizen)



## jamesdar (May 9, 2009)

Hi All

I am studying for an acting degree at a San Francsico school on an F-1 visa. I am in the process of getting this changed to allow me to do 20 hours work per week from September - my second academic year here.

School is fairly expensive and at some point next year I am going to run out of money. The idea would be that at this stage - and with plenty of acting training behind me - I would move to LA and become a paid actor. I have a business degree which would help me supplement my income.

However as I will no longer be in school I will have no legal right to remain in the US. Is there any way an agent or a studio (or someone else) would sponsor an actor - in much the same way as a bank or another commercial business would for an office worker/ manager etc ? 

I am guessing there are no shortage of actors in the US who could do a British accent which rules out the 'required workers status' and apart from marrying a US citizen know no other way to remain here.

Many thanks for any advice given
James


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I think you've pretty well summed up your options as far as staying on in the US after your student visa is done. What you can do is to return to the UK and pursue an acting career there, trying to get the attention of the casting folks in Hollywood. (Obviously, having a decent agent helps.) That's actually the way most Brits who have gotten into American films have done things.

There are a surprising number of casting calls in Europe for American film companies. (Certainly are here in Paris!) And getting into a well-reviewed stage production in London or elsewhere in the UK is a big step toward finding work in the US. But most foreign actors don't have green cards - they get their visas on a project by project basis, based on their international reputation. It's only the big names who have already made it that manage a green card in the US - which means that all their worldwide earnings are then subject to US income taxes.
Cheers,
Bev


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## cherylj (May 12, 2009)

I currently work in the motion picture/television industry in LA. The economy, the writers strike, and the defacto SAG strike have decimated the job market here. Thousands are out of work. You might be better off returning to the UK and pursuing your career there for a couple of years. If you are sucessful in booking London gigs, your work will come to the attention of Hollywood agents and casting directors.

Good luck!!


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## jamesdar (May 9, 2009)

cherylj said:


> I currently work in the motion picture/television industry in LA. The economy, the writers strike, and the defacto SAG strike have decimated the job market here. Thousands are out of work. You might be better off returning to the UK and pursuing your career there for a couple of years. If you are sucessful in booking London gigs, your work will come to the attention of Hollywood agents and casting directors.
> 
> Good luck!!


Hi Cheryl/ Bev

Thanks to both of you - I did audition for British drama schools in January 2008 but I found it (auditioning) to be a bit of a lottery with many applicants, few places and many of those people saying they'd been trying for years to get in somewhere and failed.

That is why I came over to a non-auditioning school in the US in the first place. I also tried to get into ACT in SF earlier this year too and again failed to get past the first round.

In the UK I am told you really need to attend drama school to get an agent. Whereas here in SF I have had some interest from an agency even with my limited training - about a year in total. 

So I'll keep going for a year at the Academy - via the ACT Summer Congress - and hopefully things will change for the better. I'll make some more contacts both here and in the UK in the meantime I am sure. 

Many thanks once again 
James


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