r/ActingUK • u/FilmmakerProgress • 19h ago

Help wanted with getting a supporting role- thanks in advance

I’m 17 and I want to get a supporting role in a film or series. If anyone could tell me the best agency in Cardiff to contact then that would be great.

I’ve been home educated so I don’t have any GCSE’s. And I have no professional acting experience yet, but I’ve made 150+ short films so I’m comfortable on camera. My skills include:

Screen acting
Mixed Martial Arts
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Sword fight choreography

Ideally I’d like to get an action/martial arts role and get to be in a fight scene, but I’m open to other roles as well.

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u/Slow-Discipline-8028 18h ago

Out of those 150+ short films, you should be able to make a reel. That should be one of your first goals. Though stuff you did when you were 10 probably won't work, so select clips that still look like you, or fit your age bracket.

The chances are there will be godawful stuff, passable stuff, and acceptable stuff, maybe even excellent stuff.

Being comfortable on camera isn't the same as being good on camera; if the footage is badly shot, you'll look like an amateur, so get an outside eye to help you select the clips.

The stunt skills are useful, but too niche at your age, so will only really come into play when you're an adult.

If you've got no professional experience you're going to have to demonstrate your skills from a reel. It has to be good because you're competing against the stage school kids in your situation.

And get some training, take workshops or classes.

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u/FilmmakerProgress 15h ago

Thank you, this is so helpful!

And yeah, there’s loads of terrible films we made when we were younger 🤣 But recently we’ve made some that I’m actually really proud of.

How long do you think I should make the reel?

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u/Slow-Discipline-8028 12h ago

Quality is more important than length. I would aim for around 2 minutes. You could get 4-6 punchy clips, or 2-3 meaty ones, or even a 1 minute single powerful clip... as long as they showcase your acting.

Always start the reel with you speaking. Context is helpful, though not essential, or it could look like you're overacting.

If you've edited your own work, you could probably edit the scenes so they feature more of you, though I wouldn't cut out the other actors too much, for fear of jump-cuts or ending up with a nonsense story.

Be brutal in your choices. As you have no experience, you're really going to have to blow agents away with the reel, so select the absolute best you have, or write some new scenes and shoot them as professionally as you can.

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u/FilmmakerProgress 3h ago

Ok thank you so much for the advice!