Actor Business on Brand with Martin Bentsen

Me too. You know, when I first saw you and heard you speak, I was so excited. I'm like, oh my God, I need to have him on the podcast. I want to just get so much information and insight from your perspective of life and Entertainment. I just saw your passion and this obsession that you had for, you know, helping actors. And I just thought, wow, this would be a really great asset and a, a cool collaboration. So I really appreciate your time. And you know, the positive words of saying yes
And well, thank you. Thank you. I was very excited to have the opportunity to chat with you.
Yay. Yay. First of all, why actors? What's this calling and desire within where you're you want to wake up every day and you want to help actors?
Well, I, I'm not an actor myself. And so that's the funny thing. A lot of people seem confused by that. They're like, well, why are you interested in helping actors have you're not an actor yourself? And I'm like, well, honestly, I mean, I played an actor when I was really young. And when I first picked up my dad's video camera, when I was like nine years old, I got obsessed with movie making and running around our house, filming these like crazy James Bond movies that I was making with my friend. And I would act in it. I would set up the video camera. I didn't even have a tripod at the time. I would just like put it on, on a table and then I would go and edit them together and edit them basically by connecting the video camera to the VCR, pressing record on the VCR and stop and play on the video camera to try to edit stuff together.
I even added in the sound effects of gunshots by connecting my James Bond video game to the VCR and pulling the trigger on it at the same time as it was going. And so I was obsessed with like, movie-making back when I was really young. Yeah. As I got older, I kind of, you know, I started working with actual actors and I was shooting events and weddings and stuff, doing like video work and actors started asking me, would you take my headshot? And I had a camera. So I said, sure, I got into the headshot game and just really loved working with actors through that. And I guess like one thing led to another, I would have actors asking me like, oh, now that I took my Headshots, do you know how I can get an agent?
And so I just kind of help like give them some tips and stuff, but I never really knew much about the marketing side and how the industry worked until a number of years later when I really got interested in figuring out how I could help actors, that sort of a deeper level. So one thing led to my own studying of business and marketing and reading all kinds of books and investing in courses. I've learned so much about business and I've found a way to sort of apply it to actors, to help them get booked with more work. And it's just been really fun, you know, like I started in the industry filmmaking and I'm continuing in the industry through working with actors, even though I'm not an actor myself, I just love working with them because they're fun.
They're cool. They're different than most like boring. You know, there's a lot of like corporate people who aren't as passionate when you, when you get to an actor, lots of times, they're just passionate about their work and they love in and of it. And that's why they do it. And so many of them, you know, do it, even though the pay isn't very good when you're starting out. And that's what I most enjoy is working with people who are passionate about what they do.
It sounds like you really answered a calling for people's needs. I that's a, that's a great intimate skill set to be aware of. That's that's really cool. And then you took all the initiative to do all the research and you just really ran with it. Wow. That's so cool. That's so neat.
Yeah. It's, it's really fun. When someone comes to you with the challenge every day, people join my mailing list. My newsletter, I have thousands of actors and they like people sign up every day. And the first email that goes out says, basically, I have a simple question for you. What would you say is the single biggest challenge you're facing right now in your acting career? And people reply to that. And I usually almost always write back to them because they come to me with deep challenges. I mean, I had one guy recently who emailed me saying like, honestly, I feel like there's some sort of stigma in the industry for people who are older and casting directors.
Sometimes I get this feeling like they don't take me as seriously as they take younger actors who understand technology and things as well. And I just find these challenges so interesting and I love to dive deep on them and do research and speak to other people. And I just find it really fun to try to help people figure out and solve these unique problems,
Actor in the industry. You know, when I was first starting out, it was like younger, younger, younger. So there's this stigma about like being useful and available and just being so like young. And then you get stuck in these patterns, these invisible patterns that are so unhealthy. And then we get stuck in our own head. So it's great to have a coach or someone like you, you know, who's educated who has, you know, the right morals and values in mind to help these actors get out of their own way, you know? Cause they're so passionate and, and that's the passion's cool, but then all that energy and all that excitement can be drained if they're, you know, thinking the wrong thing. So by asking those kinds of questions, like, yeah, you just hit the nail on the head with the question that's great.
And then people are receptive to it and they're just like, oh, it's, it's chit to emotionally connect. And like, this is my frustration. This is what's going on. Yeah. I'm sure that elderly people that way, or not only elderly people, but I guess it's more, you know, with the technology. I mean, but I mean, even us we're, we're super young and it's just, it just, it goes so fast and there's so much like, I'm so impressed because you were mentioning when you were a kid, how you were editing and I'm like, wait a minute, you were editing. And like, you even knew what a tripod was like. You're like, no, I didn't. I did. Did you know what a triple
I mean, I, I knew like about them, but I didn't really have one. And you know, it just, I don't even remember honestly, like all of the things that I didn't know back then, because some of them are so basic that you can't, you know, it's hard to be like, did I not know what that was? I was already even possible.
And are your family members, your parents, are they creative?
No, actually my family, so my dad works in finance. I mean, he, he had always been involved with like stuff like that. He also like studied law and everything. My mom mostly had raised my sister and I, while we were growing up. So no one in my family is at all related to the film and television or photography industry. I kind of entered this industry, like without any connections.
That's great to me. So I want to talk about how that's been for you and your family, going into an industry where, you know, they don't understand the creative aspect in the business. Were they very supportive of you? Like, can you talk a little bit about that?
Yeah. This was a great question. And I think you're, you're hitting the nail on the head right now because a lot of actors obviously deal with this. I was fortunate in the sense that my family definitely did support me. My dad actually wanted me to be a golfer though. When I was really young, he was like, oh, you should. Because I used to play golf when I was really little, I still play. But so he was like all into me golfing, but eventually I went to, you know, I really wanted to do filmmaking. And so they supported me in that. And I went to, I got accepted in NYU, which was like a huge big thing. And then of course, as I moved along and NYU and I sort of, you know, I was still doing films, but I started to kind of grow this headshot business and it was making money, but that was kind of like a thing that, you know, my parents were like, oh, we just spent all this money for you to go to film school and you're not making films.
You know, that was definitely where there were some issues. Also back at the time, my girlfriend who's now my wife first told her that I was interested in building my own business and I wanted to create like a production company and shoot photography and video. There was definitely a little bit less support on her side at the beginning, just because no one in her family ever had own business. And so like, she was like, oh, I didn't even know about this. And there's definitely, I mean, now she's like fully supportive and everything, but it's hard because when you're doing your own business or when you're getting into acting or anything where you're kind of a freelancer and there's no one breathing down your neck saying you got to do this or you're fired it's you gotta be really, really, really like on point in terms of getting things done on time, following, through figuring out what to do and then actually doing it, you know?
And that was fortunately something that I had, I work like all day on all kinds of stuff. And even all weekends, I'm sitting, you know, building new courses and doing customer research calls and stuff, just because I love it. It's so fun to me. So I was fortunate in the sense that I loved it so much that I constantly followed through and gave my family and you know, my girlfriend at the time, you know, the belief that I would be able to survive in this industry and kind of like make it, but if I hadn't work like every day and I was kind of like, you know, just sort of like half asking at all think they would have been supportive at all.
okay. Yeah, definitely. I mean, it is just an uphill battle without the support, but thank God you have that you had the support with the education, you got the education and then there was like, oh yeah, there's actually a process to the education part after.
Yeah. Sorry. The, the whole thing that you're saying about the education NYU and getting the right education is definitely important. But one thing that I've learned is, you know, we're taught that education is it's like if you go to the right college and you make the right connections that, you know, you will get a job and be able to move your way up, but as an actor, especially, and there shouldn't be any freelancer, you're not the education doesn't even matter really. I mean, yes, sure. Like some people like, oh yeah, Martin, he went to NYU. So he's a little bit more trustworthy than some random guy, but honestly, no one's gonna pay me money to take their headshot or to help them with their marketing and positioning.
If they just hear that I went to NYU, they need to see success stories. They need to, you know, see some sort of stuff to give credibility and that, you know, that it doesn't matter where you go. Like, honestly, like as an actor, I know number of actors who never had any formalized training, I know actors who, you know, they didn't, they went to college for like a couple months and sort of dropped out and then pursued their acting and they trained and made connections with people. And just through building up their resume, they made it, you know, so it's definitely interesting, like the whole belief, like, oh, we have to go to college to get something. I actually, even though I went to college, I believe that, you know, my business, the biggest thing for me was just getting dropped in New York and having to figure out how to make it, you know, going to college.
Yeah. And he, I mean, yeah, like you sat there, there are people who haven't even finished high school. Like I remember Adam Sandler gave a speech one time and I mean, he w I don't even think he finished high school. There are so many people who you're not, I'm not saying not finish high school, but yeah. And I guess, I guess there's within going and being educated. There's a stigma with that as well, because sometimes it's like, okay, you meet certain players. And it's like, oh yeah, we're cut from the same cloth. Cool. But then also there could be other players who are like, think, oh, you're like, oh, you think you're too good? Or they're, they're being judgmental because there's so many people being judgmental out there. So it might actually, there might be a lot of like proudness, but there might be some shame coming from that as well.
Cause it's like, you have to prove yourself even more. You know, it's like, if you have certain privileges, people are like, oh, you have to prove yourself even more. So
One thing that actors listening to this should take away is that I know a lot of actors have that in their mind that they're like, well, who am I to be competing or trying to get this role? When people who've trained at the best schools are going for it. The truth is at the end of the day, casting directors don't care so much about what your training is as they do about what you can do for them. Like pretty much anybody who's going to hire you for a job or for a freelance, like thing. Like my clients don't care that I went to NYU. They wouldn't have cared if I took the best, like headshot courses in the world. If I can take a great picture and have them have a great experience while they're doing it, they'll pay me more than if I went to like the best school in the world.
But I don't do, you know, the best work because there's so many actors who train at great schools. But even with all that training, they still, you know, their acting doesn't look natural or whatever. So if you're worried about that and you have it in your mind that like, you know, somebody else is better trained, so who am I to do this? And you're getting in your own way, that way, that's something that you have to sort of step back and think, well, what is the real value on providing the real value on providing is not my training and not my credentials. Cause that's sort of, self-based, self-centered thinking it's what am I able to do for them? And that's bringing the character to life.
Yeah. Like, I guess I'm also like, like value and understanding your worth, knowing your worth and what you can bring to the project. Exactly. Yeah. Cool. Speaking of casting directors, what are some things that they're looking for that they won't ever tell actors?
This is a great question. I'm actually in the process of writing an article, that's going to be released in casting networks in about two weeks, specifically on this it's, Y it's called Why casting directors will never tell you what they want. So this is the perfect question to ask. Basically, a casting are looking for two things and it helps when I give an example as a headshot photographer of what I'm looking for when I hire someone, because when it comes down to it, pretty much, for the most part, anybody who's hiring somebody, who's generally looking for the same things. They're looking for someone who's professional on time, good at what they do reliable, you know, makes them feel good about themselves.
You know, all of those general things that like being a good person means, but they're also looking for certain things that they can't tell you, because if they do, it's going to make their own job of narrowing down their pool of actors, way more difficult. And what that is, is telling them specific, telling like an actor specifically what it is that they want out of the character. So to give you the example that I said about my headshot business, okay. I work with a few different photographers. I've trained them personally. I've created like video in depth courses. And I work with actors for a few months, really going deep on their training before they start shooting actual clients.
But I'm always looking for certain personality traits about them that I'm never going to put in the job description. And one of the specific traits that I look for is an actor or I mean is a photographer who is really fun to work with and talkative and makes you laugh while you're getting your picture taken. And so like basically being able to talk while you shoot. So being able to like, oh yeah. So I want you to just tilt your head down, chin down a little bit. Nice right there. Let me see that. Okay. I need to make a couple of adjustments on my camera, by the way, tell me a while I'm adjusting this. How long have you been working in your industry? You know, and so like having a conversation like that, being talkative and funny and engaging with the client rather than just quietly being like, okay, turn your face to the side.
Okay. Give me a nice smile. Excellent. No, like that is really boring to people. I said it very specifically in my job description that I'm looking for someone who's talkative, engaging, fun, and outgoing and you know, can talk while they shoot. If I posted that the people who come to the interview, when we do their test shoots, they would probably try to fake it. They would like, you know, try to figure out like, or practice on their own, how to like talk and do this. And when they submit their application and I asked the question, like, what is your shooting style? Of course, they're going to say, oh, I'm talkative. When I shoot, I, I make people laugh, blah, blah, blah.
When in reality, maybe they don't do that. But because I said, I wanted that in the job description. Now they're going to try to fake it and say that they do that. It's the same thing with casting directors. When they're looking for an actor, they don't want to be super specific with the character type that they're looking for or how they want the character to be played. Because they're for someone who is naturally that character who's brand fits perfectly. So they want all the actors to bring in their unique, their own unique play on it because they're either looking for someone who is going to just naturally fit the character without them having a talent so that they're not like faking it later on, on set and doing a bad job, or they might not even be fully sure of what they're looking for yet.
And they just want actors to come in and bring their own unique take on it. Why it's so important for an actor to have a clearly defined brand and know exactly how they play their characters and how they act. Because as long as they keep on going out for the auditions that fit their brand and they just play themselves, the casting directors will pick up on the fact that they're extremely natural and they're being themselves. And they're going to get booked for a lot more work than the actors who keep going to different auditions, trying to be someone new every time trying to give the casting director what they think they want.
Yeah. So it's kind of like, I love that. Thank you. And then, so it's kind of like a, if I'm going to make a soup or you're going to make a soup, the recipes I use may be different than the rest of the piece that you use. And then when we taste it, it's going to taste differently. And that's what the casting directors want to see and taste as well, because it's like you put your own gems and recipes into those holes that need to be fulfilled.
Yeah. You've been making your soup the same way for years and you've been working to refine it and your soup is amazing. And you're going to make that soup, even if the casting director, like, or if you think the soup tastes or wants something very spicy or whatever, but you're not sure. And you're just like, oh, maybe they lot want it. And then you try to make up a brand new soup. You're always going to lose out. So the person who's been making spicy soups for years and they just submit their natural soup that they have developed all this time. So it's better to be yourself.
Yeah. Be yourself. And then, you know, authenticity and finding out who that self is is, is a lifelong journey. It's not like you just made it fine. You just know cool. But then also it's a process of, you know, seeing what you're interested in and not interested in sliding right. Into being an effective actor and branding, What makes for an effective actor brand and how do you find yours?
So I have a couple of key elements. I mean, I'm not going to try to say that, like my branding process is perfect or anything, but one advantage. I think my branding process has over a lot of what's in the industry is I frequently get actors who email me, you know, in response to that question about what's your biggest challenge. And many of them say like, I've been to Brandon classes, I've gone to typing classes. And I just find it difficult to really like hone in on what my brand actually is because I have so many different things that I've learned. So many words I've gotten so many and everybody's always telling me different.
So what I've done is I've sort of taken that. And rather than having the world tell you what you are, I've flipped it on its head to use a couple of psychology techniques to have your own unconscious mind tell you who you are. And I combine that with how the industry sees you, which I call your type. And I add in four other words. So it's basically a mixture of three words called your pride words. Then one word called your type. And then one word called your dark word. An example would be a strong, driven and funny cop who can be condescending at times. Okay. Strong draw driven and funny cop who can be condescending at times that might be an example of a brand.
Now the word cop is your type that can change based on how the industry sees you, how you're dressed on a day, how your hairstyle is, you know, whether you've gained or lost weight, literally the industry can see you differently based on all of those factors. And you might not just be able to play a cop. You might also be able to play like a, an army Marine guy or whatever. You know, there's a lot of different types that you can play. Now, the pride words, strong, driven, and funny, right? Let's say those are words that you would discover through this, like, you know, unconscious process that I have people go through. It takes like about 20 minutes or so, and have a video on it online.
But basically you would discover these words and they're words that make you feel extremely proud of yourself. So you might have a really deep connection to the word strong, and that might mean something different to you, Katie than it does to, you know, John who's the cop, the word strong can mean something different based on who you are, but you know what it means to yourself like driven and funny would be other pride words. One client who worked with me, Tyrone, his brand was, well, we use the word cop for him, but he basically had, I believe it was strength, compassion, and pride.
So his would be a strong, compassionate and proud detective, I think has his negative word who could be selfish at times, right? So his pride words, strong, compassionate, and proud. Whenever he walks into auditions. Now he closes his eyes and really imagines each of those, those words, he thinks of themselves like strong and he feels strong and then compassionate. He feels compassion and then proud. And he stands up strong and walks in and he just owns the room when he does that process, just using those simple pride words. And it was enough to get him booked for his big role on Broadway in the Disney show frozen.
I was like really, really excited by that. And he can use his dark word to sort of make it more interesting. Like if he wants to add a negative aspect to a character in an audition, he could use the word selfish. And now suddenly he's got like, you know, a character who's got multidimensions and stuff. Okay.
This is so exciting. So a couple of things, one, so you have built some online courses for this and then people can find it on your website.
So the, the finding your brand in this way, the three pride words type and dark word is a free video. That's directly on my website. I believe. Yeah. It's, it's a little bit of a weird link. I don't, I don't think I currently have a direct link to it, but it's, you know, if you're posting a link or whatever, we can definitely include it.
And the process is about 20 minutes. It's like a 20 minute video where you go through this process. Okay, cool. And then the person can write out and come up with different brands and, and types that they are for acting. Cause there's multiple, there's this not one. So they might come up with who knows three to nine. I mean, what's the, what's the most you've seen that one person has come up.
So your type is really supposed to be the only word that changes your pride words are words that are gonna stay with you probably for at least five to 10 years, because generally people's personalities don't change. And your cried words are what, describe your personality at the deepest level. So you're type again, you could be a cop, you could be a, an army Sergeant. You could be a detective or like a lawyer, whatever those words are that the industry sees you as you can come up with as many as you want, but ideally they should be the ones that over time that you've noticed you've been called in for most frequently. So you wouldn't want to submit to a role that's outside of your type, because chances are, it's going to be a waste of both yours and the casting directors time.
Well, let's get a little intimate here for, with your experience and expertise and hearing me and knowing me for the short time you've known me. I'm what you've seen. What would you say? Like my three words were, or how would you psychologically speak with me to have me come up with those proud words?
So I can definitely do this. I mean, it's a very simple question. The thing is, is sometimes knowing the way the question is going to go kind of influences people's answers. I could do it anyway. And if you decide that you want to cut it out of the, the video later or whatever you can, but there's to follow up with your pride words, it is a little bit more in depth of a process than what I'm going to take you through right now, but I'll do it. So here's the question that I'm going to ask you. I want you to really, really, for just a minute, think of someone that, you know, in your life that you really, really admire, you should have
That I have, that I have that
You've got someone in mind. Okay. So now, while you're thinking of that person, I want you to tell me three personality traits about that person that you most admire.
Unconditional love, the way they cook culture, their smile.
Okay. So personality traits versus like, you know, so loving would be a personality traits. Okay. Maybe unconditionally loving, unconditionally
Loving, unconditionally understanding. So would
You say unconditionally loving or unconditionally understanding which one would you feel like is more something that you admire and that
Maybe I'll go with the first one. Okay,
Perfect. Now cooking and cultured sounds like someone who is like, what, what would you call that as a personality trait?
I guess it, it it's it's, I guess it comes from love again
And they like very talented or are they very, you know,
Intuitive,
Spiritual. Okay. So they're very intuitive. Would you say spiritual or intuitive? Do you prefer more spiritual? Okay, awesome. So let's do spiritual. Now, pick one more personality trait about this person that you, that you
Admire. Adventurous loves to
Travel. Nice. Let's use adventurous for now, and you can always go through this video later for everybody. It's a very unique process that kind of takes a little bit of thinking. And again, there's more questions that go way deeper on this to help you come up with more words. But just for the sake of time, we're kind of shortening it a little bit. I want you to really quick now to think of the opposite. So think now if someone who you really dislike. Okay. And again, don't tell us who it is, but just come up with someone in your mind for a second. Tell me when you're ready.
It disliked the person or can you still love them, but you just dislike maybe the way they treat you or is it someone you like dislike, like someone who you want nothing to do with
Really, it would be someone who you want nothing to do with, even if like, you've sort of forgiven them at this point or something, but like, you know, like thinking about this person, it's like, yeah, I don't really want to be involved with
Them. Yeah. I have someone.
So I want you to tell me what are three traits about that person that you most dislike? Okay.
Unethical. Egotistical.
Okay, great. Now I want you to think about the words, mischievous, unethical, and egotistical. Okay. And I want you being 100% honest when you're at your own worst when you're like being, you know, like pissed off or whatever is going on. And you're like, ah, you know, I shouldn't be like this, but I do this occasionally. Which of those words, mischievous, unethical or egotistical, would you say you have been
Ego for sure.
Perfect. Excellent. So now the last question is when you're playing characters, what do you, what type of role do you tend to go out for most as it like, you know, teachers, students, interns, professors, you know, like what kind of role, like, how does this person act in life? Like what is their role in life? The characters that you usually get?
Well, two things because I do voiceover. So I go out for a lot of different things all the time. So are we just talking about maybe on screen Actor here or is this for
As well
On screen? I just got a few weeks ago, a new onscreen agency. So I had an agent, I have an agency in Atlanta and they had me go out for this Leonardo DiCaprio film, like right when the lockdown started, it was like, like a beautiful girl, but it was like very 1930s type. And she's like, she was the receptionist and she was delivering important information.
Okay. So do you find that you go out for receptionist type of roles frequently?
No, not frequently, because like I said, I haven't been going out for on screen stuff in a while. I've kind of transformed. I remember when entourage was on, I went to, I went out for some receptionist thing there, but I guess, I guess, I guess where I'm at now is like college roles. So I, to give you a, a pool probably, and you know, the mean girls tight, those kinds of roles.
So we'll say let's, let's just go with college students, right? Because this can, this is your type and this can always change. Now, basically the brand that we came up with in a very shortened version of this would be a loving, spiritual and adventurous college student who can be egotistical at times. Okay. So now what that means, of course the word college student can change based on what you go out for, but you can even play like, let's, let's pretend that you were like, oh, I don't really like going out for receptionist roles as much, but sometimes the industry makes me go out for this. Right? Like some, some guy recently was like, yeah, I hate that the industry sort of boxes me into applying these like, you know, troubled kid roles who's like out on the streets.
So I'm like, well, guess what? Even if it was the word troubled kid or, or receptionist or something, if you didn't like it, you could still say I'm the loving, spiritual, and adventurous receptionist who it can be egotistical times. And then you can explain a way the negative side. So like, if it's, let's say again that you're like a troubled kid on the, on the streets. And you're like, I don't like that. I don't like playing those roles. Well, you say, well, really I actually am a loving, spiritual and adventurous person, but my environment forced me into this job or this role. So like I had to get money and put money on the table.
And so because of that, I'm working as a receptionist or I had to, you know, help my family or something. And in order to get money, I had to start selling drugs on the street or something. Right. And so when you explain a way, the character type that you're playing, even if it's one that you boxed into by the industry, what happens is you're able to connect with and, and say, deep down, this is a loving, spiritual and adventurous person. Sure. I could be egotistical at times and maybe that's like my negative traits, but really I am a really good person and society, or the environment has sort of forced me into this, this life. And now that's why I'm playing this role today.
And once you explain a way and you connect it with your deeper pride words, you can theoretically play any character just as good and have just as much fun with it as you would for a character that you're just super excited to play because like right off the bat. And when you're doing that, you go into auditions and do like 10 times better because you love the characters and that's the way to use the pride words and all this stuff.
Yeah. Yeah. It's such a psychological process and I love this. Thank you for playing that game with me. Yeah. And I think it's like really important because when you take the time and you answer the questions and you're get, you get connected to your core, into your brand and who you value and who you respect and admire, and then, you know, the exact opposite of what you want nothing to do with, and then finding it in the balance and the realm of the characters that come along, and then you choose if you want to do the project or not. But if you accept it, you're like, yeah, I want to go out for the audition. Or I want to do the project. Then use those branding techniques and those psychological, you know, terms that we just went through. Cause it's already like a laying the groundwork. So when the, when the auditions comes up, you can focus on making choices for the characters and like putting those keywords in.
Cause you've already laid the foundation.
Yeah. And you'll always be playing your brand when you go in, which goes back to our question about casting directors earlier, we're always going to play it as loving, spiritual, and adventurous. And then if you want to make it more interesting, you can add bits of the egotistical to it. But since you're always playing what you are at the deepest level and something that you're extremely proud of, not only will you do way better, but you'll also be way more natural. And you'll give casting directors some like, you know, the soup that you make best, so to speak. And they will, if they like it, they will give you a second shot. If they are not like, oh, this isn't how I envisioned it. It's like you make someone a great soup.
They're going to be like, you know what? I was hoping for something more spicy, but this is delicious. Let me give you another chance to try making one spicy this time. You know? And that's when the casting director gives you that chance to play at a different way. And now you get to be even more creative with it, but at least you've made the choices and you've played within something that's totally you. And that you're going to do better than anybody else in the world's could do
Rich. So, so rich. And so we're having this conversation and I have a beautiful actor friend, Jules Blackwell, and she used to be my roommate and she was in class and she did a lot of branding work and I, you know, identifying and everything, but along my journey, thus far of two decades in the industry, it's been very rare that people actually spend time for their brands. And do you find the same thing and that's why you provide, you know, this experience for actors or how has it been with your experience with actors? Do they focus on their brand or do they not know how to focus on their brand or do they even not know that they need to like develop a brand?
I mean, how is it, what do you think
My mind went in so many directions when you asked that it's funny because actors definitely most actors, if you've been in the industry for at least like six months to a year, you know, you've heard the word brand thrown around before a lot of people actually come up with, they, they say that your brand is kind of like too much of a marketing word. And, you know, you need to be more like natural and just kind of free flowing and all that. Here's the thing, the brand that I just gave you is a very I'm I'm, I'm talking about this casting network article, right? So this one that I'm writing about casting directors is good, but I have another article that's going to be coming out.
It's scheduled, I think for a couple months from now. And it's called why having a brand is slightly outdated and what to do instead. And this is, I'm going to talk about this concept. I haven't shared it publicly anywhere before, but basically like one of the things with Brand branding is that actors feel like it's very complicated and takes years to figure out. So of course, in order to help with that, I came up with this, this video, I created this 20 minute video. That's again, it's completely free. It'll take you through this process. And people walk away having like a much deeper understanding of the whole thing, but there's something that's missing from that video.
And I'm going to be including it in like a deeper course that I go into. And it's essentially about your acting purpose as I call it. And if you've ever seen the Ted talk by Simon Sinek, he talks about finding your, your Y you know, a deeper reason for why you do what you do. So you can actually take your brand. And one op-ed, if your brand is, you know, let's say the loving, spiritual, adventurous college student who can be egotistical at times, we can actually turn that into something that makes you inspired to work way harder and do a lot more in your acting career there shouldn't made than you ever would on your own without a deeper purpose.
So I want to ask you right now really quick, just kind of thinking about your own work in the world. What is like a cause that you're very passionate about? We'll just like, kind of, you know, very briefly, is there any sort of cause or thing like beyond yourself that you're like, you know, I, if I could, I would spend my time, you know, in this for no pay just because it's helping people or whatever.
So also I have a new one, but I'm not going to go with the new one. I want to go one that I've been focused on for many years, which has mental health.
Okay. Okay, great. So mental health right now, so loving, spiritual invent and adventurous, what you would want to do is find a word that's related to mental health. Now, again, I haven't, this is a very, it's the first time that I'm sort of sharing this concept, but the reason that I bring it up is because one of my clients, I was talking about Tyrone earlier, his brand, again, we came up with a, I think it was a strong, compassionate and proud detective who can be selfish at times. But what we did was he's very passionate about helping move forward.
The African-American male humanity, and getting people to understand like their background and you know, how their life is and all of that. And so we added a word to his brand and we cut out the dark side and we also cut out like the type, because we want it to just kind of create something that's like ham at the deepest level. And so we just added the word African-American and then we used his three pride words. So African-American strength, compassion, and pride. And when he came up with that with me, it was like game changing for him because suddenly he was like, shoot, this is why I do it, because I want to be able to let people see and understand, you know, my, my background and how I live and my family and not just mine, but, you know, I stand for all African-American males.
The society has this view. It's not correct. You know, so it was just like really game changing for him. So like, if you were able to take a word that's related to like mental health, I don't know exactly what it is, but then you add like loving, spiritual, and adventurous to that, you know?
Well, I stand for African-American culture and so I definitely am learning. And so I would, I guess I would put allyship because I'm an advocate. So I could even add advocate or allyship because I aligned with that same realm that you were just speaking of with the other actor. So, yeah. So, so that would be, that could be one of the purposes.
It's something that, you know, you, you think about and you find out what is your current passion and it can be anything, you know, it doesn't necessarily have to be, it doesn't even have to be a cause for a certain group of people. Like, you know, for me, it's really about helping people see what's possible for them and becoming a leader in their, in their life and in a career. You know, I love the whole idea of being like, you know, especially with actors, like hold yourself to the highest possible standard and take ownership of your career and stop letting people push you around and tell you what to do, make your own rules and, you know, carve your own way. Well,
I love that. I love that. And the whole point of where are you going to say something? I'm sorry.
No, no. I was just going to say that that's, that's exactly what you have to do. You combine your brand with whatever that, you know, step beyond yourself is that other people can get behind. And what happens is suddenly you have way more to fight for than just like yourself in the audition. You know, it's not, it's like, I'm not going in to just get this role. I'm going into advance this cause in the world.
Yeah. Well like exactly what you're saying. For example, like the podcast that we're on right now, the one of the platforms I wanted to start this podcast six years ago. And here I am, imagine if I would have started six years ago, Joe Rogan started nine, 10 years ago. Imagine if I would've started six years ago, but I didn't know how to. And I got so distracted, but Hey, we're here now and it's happening and the ball is rolling and it's hot and it's cool, but like the main purpose and the reason why we have this platform is to be a voice. And to, for example, I am a midwife. I am a person who can pave the way for others. I can be a person to say, Hey, this is my experience. And go down this direction. And I want you to contact Martin because look at Martin and he's sharing what he's sharing and he can add value and be an asset for your life.
And maybe when I got started, I didn't have someone like that. And so that excites me because I see like the younger version of myself, of what I wanted, you know, two decades ago. So it's, it's, that's a bigger purpose as well, you know, to be a ripple effect. So to be a ripple.
Yeah. That's awesome. I think the only thing that people who are listening to this need to keep in mind is that sometimes when you hear things like this, that sounded really big and grand and like, wow, this is amazing. You can get freaked out and be like, shoot, but I'm not ready for it yet. Or if I can't be perfect with it, I don't want to do it at all. And I would really like push you to just be like, no, you know what? I'm going to just watch this video. I'm going to going to go through this process. I'm going to pick the cause. Something that I care about, even if it's not perfect yet, who cares? Just pick something that you believe in, no matter how small it is or how insignificant you might think.
It seems because you got to start somewhere. And you'll notice that over a couple of months, as you start thinking about it and you write your brand down and you see it every day, you're going to be like, you know, like I think that I can tweak it this way. I think that I could tweak it this way. That's like a process that you should apply to your whole career as the whole iterating. As you go, you start in like the crappiest worst situation is great guy, Jay Abraham, who I follow. I've mentioned him earlier to you before we started the interview, his book and stuff, his podcast. He talked about how, if you take one of those little robots, like the Roomba vacuum and you stick it in the middle of a huge room with only one door and you pointed away from the door.
If you leave it on long enough, eventually it'll find its way out the door, you know? And that's all about that. You keep on iterating and you keep on testing and seeing what doesn't work and what does, and you know, figuring out how to make it better and better and better. So are afraid that you know, your brand isn't perfect yet. And you know, you don't know a cause that's good enough for granting off, pick something really small, start there, and then just keep thinking about it over time. And it's going to come after a couple of years.
Yeah. And it's just like one step, just take the first step. So it's one step after the, another, another just step by step, you know? And it's like, one day you may not emotionally be okay or me maybe one day it's too hot or maybe, you know, you're feeling great and you take a couple more steps, so it's just be okay with it. And it's like also there's other things, right? So it's like, who do we admire? We can watch a TV show or an animation or a film and get inspired that way. And maybe just keep a log. And you know, if you feel better writing it down, journal it. Or if like you feel better putting into a Google drive and just having it all, like, you know, have different pages for different things. But it's, it's like a lot like, like a Michelangelo, right? It's like you, you chip away, it's a work in progress.
And like you said, it takes, it takes years because you know, we're in it for the long haul here. It's, it's a career and it's a journey. It's not, it's not a nine to five job. It's, it's just, it's really not.
Yeah. I, I say if there's anything that you want real results in, there's, there's three different types of people. There's dabblers. There are stressors and there's masters. This is something that Tony Robbins talks about. And he says, a lot of people, most people are dabblers. They want to get into something. They want to play around with it and see how quickly they can make it. Or, you know, whatever it is, whether it's tennis or whatever, like acting, you know, and they get in, they see all these results right away. You know, they get their headshot done. They shoot footage for their reel. They do all these cool things. Maybe even they get lucky and they get an agent.
But then eventually what happens? You hit a plateau and you get stuck and you feel stressed. And so dabblers quit. Now the second group, the stressors they go. And when they hit that plateau, they're like, oh shoot. And they get super stressed out and freak out and start trying everything. And they eventually, after all this stress and all this trying of different things, what happens they break through and that's awesome. But eventually what happens? They get, they get to another plateau and they get stressed out again. And it takes years and years, and years and years of stress and anger and all of that. But maybe they do eventually get to where they want to be, but they're not happy along the way.
Finally, there's the path of the master. And that is the person who understands that other people have been there before. They are open to either investing in themselves and learning more and spending time, educating themselves to really understand. And they think outside the box, they try different things that most people try and the master does hit the plateaus time and again, and get stuck, but they don't have the stress. And so they enjoy the process and they're usually the ones who go the farthest,
You know, and I'm, I'm being so honest. I appreciate you mapping that out and giving us detailed explanations. I feel like I'm all three. And I think a part of being the master is the dabbling to see what works and what doesn't work and taking the step and trying things out and then getting stressed out and be like, oh, it's not my thing. So I think, I think to become the master, you really have to, you know, know all three with within and without
Yes, you definitely do. And it's also a life journey, you know, like you can be a dabbler and all different things. Like I'm a dabbler in random hobbies. Like I'm learning how to brew my own beer right now. I've learned how to roast coffee and stuff. And I get to a point and once it starts to get hard, I'm like, you know what? I'm far enough from a happy here and then I'll move on to something else, but I'll have a new skill. There are certain things that if you really care about it, you have to be willing to go all in, you know? And that's definitely one of them.
Yeah. Well, thank you so much. And with that being said, I want to circle back around. You mentioned the, these articles that you've written, that, that are coming up with Cassie networks and the other one, the, with the purpose I write on Arianna, Huffington's thrive global. And if you send me those links, I would love to honor you and share your writings and your teachings on the thrive global platform. It would be my complete honor. So yeah, we can make that happen. So please do send those to me and you know, it'd be really cool. Maybe in the near future, we could have you back and we could talk more branding and talk about more Actor stuff and life that'd be really neat.
Absolutely. I love talking about this stuff. It's my total pleasure to, to chat and, you know, whatever I can do to help those that you are already helping and join in the discussion I am down.
And then thank you. And then how can the viewers gain contact with
You? The best way to get in touch with me is to visit my website at Martin Benson, M a R T I N, Benson B E N T S E n.com. And on there, you can see a bunch of free content, including that branding video, which I will try to make, have a easier to find link. There's also some other free videos that go into depth on a strategy and how to move forward in your acting career. Plus, my free mini course called the practical performer, which is a really very easy to follow fun, but in depth course on how to Book More Acting Work and think about it strategically.
So definitely check out my site. You can reach out to me even by email to
Wonderful, wonderful sounds good. Okay. Thank you so much, Martin. And you know, I really look forward to having you back on again.
Absolutely. Thank you so much. Okay. Take
Care. Bye bye. Thank you so much for joining us. We'll see you next time. Kyriaki, over and out.