Success Stories - Bryan Murph
American performer Bryan Murph has had a successful career on both sides of the Atlantic, but he contacted Skillset Careers because he wanted to change direction.
‘I'm primarily a cabaret artist, but I can see the writing on the wall' he says. 'With karaoke now, venues don't have to pay and the work is drying up. Doing the cabaret circuit has been fantastic but I could see what was happening and I believe in peace preparing for war. My first love is singing and cabaret but I've also done acting in the past. I started thinking about making a change two or three years ago. I kept picking people's brains bit by bit, but I didn't know the people here to ask.'
Bryan read about Skillset Careers in Stage and applied for an appointment. He met advisor Paul Cawley in February 2006. ‘The appointment went beyond what I hoped for. Paul was great. He spent two/two and a half hours with me and tore everything I had apart, in the nicest possible way. It was wonderful. Really great. And it gave me an action plan. I had to change my Spotlight information, re-do my CV, buy books, call Equity about getting my own name - there is another Bryan Murphy so I had to change my name to Bryan Murph. I've done everything on my plan except explore other geographical areas.'
One of the main things Bryan wanted to know was how good his pictures were. Paul had looked him up on Spotlight and explained what wasn't working. ‘We talked about what I needed and he showed me some examples of good and bad pictures. He also showed me his own. Of course it's subjective, but it's helpful that he's in the business. I had wondered about my pictures, but I had nobody to ask.'
A simple piece of advice that Paul gave him was not to smile. ‘No-one had ever said that before. In the US people show their teeth, but not here. They can't look beyond the smile and see you as a serial killer. You need a blank stare.' Since his advice session Bryan has had new pictures taken. ‘I'm anticipating more work when the new photos come out. It's expensive getting pictures done and actors need these first before they ever make a penny. But if you know it's a good service then you feel more secure about taking the advice.'
They also discussed how Bryan could market himself better. ‘I already knew the things about me that were not in my favour - ie. I'm not British, I'm not 21, I'm black. All these things count against me in this country. But for any role I'm good for, there are only five others in competition with me. If you're going upstream you have to be what they want. You have to be able to convince them.'
Sometimes it is just a question of making small changes, for example Paul pointed out that Bryan didn't have his agent's contact details on his CV, just his name, making it hard for people to get in touch.
‘I had talked all this over with my agent, but once I'd had the session I told him I'd have new photos and a new CV. That made him happy. And I like to think he thinks I'm a bit more serious now. He's aware of the things that make me ‘not good' but now we're looking at the areas where I can make an impact.'
Paul also suggested that Bryan should join the Actors Centre. ‘I had never heard of it before but I've joined now and learned a lot. They provide anything an actor needs to learn. You have to audition for it because there are so many actors out there. Some, like me, get full membership; some partial. You do a piece and they look at your track record.
The Actors Centre is based in the actors' area so you can go in between auditions. They have rehearsal rooms; music and dance lessons; courses, such as how to work with camera; and there's also a library and computers. And great tutors as well. It's a very good thing.
Every class I take I'm the oldest one there, but I'm still in the process of learning. I just did a course, ‘how to give yourself a better chance at audition', covering for example the differences between auditioning for commercials (where the product is the star, not you), and movies and TV, and I'm taking a course in how to learn lines next, because you rarely get a script in advance for commercials.'
Bryan had never had careers advice before and didn't know what to expect. ‘Before I applied I saw Peter Hall on the BAFTAs and I thought because he was involved in it, it must be okay. Actors don't have much money and there are too many scams out there. But this was totally worth it.'
It was also important that his advisor Paul Cawley is an actor as well. ‘Because he's an actor he knows the ins and outs, the paranoia and the insanity. He's been there. It's much better when advice comes from experience. He could talk to me one to one as an actor. I knew it was an advice service, but not how long it would be and how involved. I left on a great high. I could see a good future.'
And that high didn't diminish with time. ‘I felt that I was then armed. Before I was floating, but Paul told me which way to go. I'm still very focused. For example, I used to read Stage from time to time, but now I have a subscription and read it more and more. I need to know who people are. I need to know names.'
Since his advice session Bryan has been working on a play and he is currently organising cabaret bookings for next year. He has also appeared on Ant and Dec. ‘I was doing the play earlier this year, so haven't had any more work as a result of the session. But the difference now is that I'm better prepared and I will do better. My photo in the Spotlight book has changed and that will come out next year. The session was like a drug for me. I got everything answered without feeling rushed. It was all useful, every second.'
If you would like to have a careers advice and guidance session with a Performance advisor, please read the details on the Face-to-face guidance pages.