Born in New York, and having grown up with two actor parents, Ben Schnetzer never saw acting as any different from any other 9 to 5 job. Starting out in school plays, Ben recalls how his parents supported him from a young age and encouraged him to lead his own way when it came to his craft. Taking a year-long break after high school, Ben attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in the U.K. and recalls the obstacles he encountered during his early years of auditioning.

Landing his first major series on ABC’s “Happy Town,” Ben shares the experience of his first screen test and how he eventually learned to overcome audition nerves. Since then, Ben has racked up a slew of credits in films such as “Snowden,” “Pride,” “Warcraft,” “The Book Thief,” “Goat,” “The Giant,” as well as a lead role in the newly released FX television drama series, “Y: The Last Man.” Today, Ben dives into the art of self tapes and how actors can use them to their advantage as the new auditioning norm during the pandemic. He offers tips on what is helpful for actors to look for when watching playback of their tapes, and what to refrain from agonizing over. Going even deeper, Ben offers insight into what it really means when casting says they know if you’re right for the role within the first 20 seconds of your tape.

More than anything, Ben stresses the importance of taking the work seriously, rather than taking yourself too seriously. He reminds artists that our characters are a construct in another person’s story, and we can only control the level of work that we put into our craft and the rest is out of our hands. Ben knows what it means to be excited about the work, to fall in love with the journey, and reminds actors everywhere that there is value to be found in feeling lost from time to time.

Guest links:

• IMDB: Ben Schnetzer
• INSTAGRAM: @benschnetzer

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