For some time, one idea has kept coming back to me: I wanted to talk more openly about the acting profession. Not only about roles, sets and the visible parts of the work, but also about everything around them — the choices, tools, auditions, periods of doubt, relationships and decisions that shape a career.
I did not decide to write a definitive manual. Quite the opposite. I kept thinking about the moments early in my career when I would have appreciated clearer information, a straightforward account of someone else’s experience or a reference point that actually reflected the reality of working here.
Sharing what I wish I had found earlier
Acting is learned through training and through the work itself, but a great deal is also learned simply by moving forward: one audition at a time, one contract at a time and sometimes one mistake at a time. Over the years, certain things become easier to read. You understand the value of strong professional materials, an intelligently maintained network, representation that fits you, and the ability to keep going when the phone is quieter.
I wanted to put some of those reflections in one place. Not as a teacher explaining the correct way to do things, but as an actor who is still learning and who can say: this is what I have observed, this is what I wish I had known, and these are the questions I think are worth asking.
A 49-article series as a starting point
That is how a series of 49 articles about the acting profession in Quebec and Canada took shape. The topics range from professional materials — headshots, résumés, demo reels and casting platforms — to training, networking, auditions, unions, agents, mental health and career longevity.
To make the series easier to navigate, I brought everything together on one central page: the Actor’s Guide. That page is now the map for the series and the place to browse all of the different subjects.
Talking about the profession without pretending to have all the answers
That distinction matters to me. There is no single way to become an actor, build a career or move through this industry. People’s paths are too different, markets change, and a strategy that works well for one person may be irrelevant to someone else.
What I can do is share real experience, organize useful information and open a conversation. If one article helps someone ask a better question, avoid a mistake or simply feel less lost at a particular stage of the profession, then the project already has a reason to exist.
A conversation I want to keep alive
I see the guide as something that can evolve. Some subjects will need updates. Others may deserve to be explored in greater depth. The profession changes, the tools change, and my own perspective will continue to shift with the work.
For now, I mainly wanted to explain where the idea came from. I wanted to talk about acting with the same curiosity I try to bring to the work itself: without a magic formula, but with attention, experience and a desire to understand the profession a little better.
Explore all 49 articles in the Actor’s Guide
