Explore Talent.com Good or Bad?

Look - actors are not "discovered". There are not a bunch of open auditions for professional work that you can just show up at. Casting directors for major TV shows are not listing opening on websites for the general public to come to. For most professional work you have to be invited to audition, usually through a talent agent.

Here's how casting works. A casting director (CD) is hired to help cast a show. If they know some actors they think would be good for a role, they'll contact those actors (or their agents) and invite the m to audition. They also write a "breakdown" - a description of the project and the roles to be cast. Then they release these breakdowns through an online communication network like Breakdown Services (http://www.breakdownservices.com/ ). The CD controls who sees these breakdowns. They're not looking for people who walk off the street thinking they can act. CDs want people who know what they're doing. So often they release the breakdowns to licensed talent agents and mangers only (who play big bucks to subscribe). The agents review the breakdowns and then submit their clients to the appropriate jobs. (So they send the client's acting resume, head shot and acting reel to the CD.) If the CD is interested, they'll contact the agent about setting up an audition for the actor.

So these breakdowns are not listed on sites like explore talent. If a CD wanted to cast a wider net for a project, they may list it on a website like actorsaccess.com But even with those - it's not audition. You still have to submit your professional head shot, resume and acting reel (if you have one) and hope to get invited to audition.

Now talent agents are paid on commission - they get a percentage of what their clients make. So they're not interested in trying to book their clients into low-to-no-pay jobs. So, those are the jobs that get listed on websites. Why pay $200 a year for a listing that is not used by casting directors when you can join actorsaccess.com for free (you only pay to electronically submit)?

The first steps in getting to be an actor is training - get some classes. Start to network and get to know people in the industry. Networking is how actors find out about opportunities. Research the industry where you are and lean the business end of acting. An acting career is not a lottery - you'll have a better chance of succeeding if you approach it like a business. Read industry trades and websites like backstage.com. Read book books about the business end of acting and how to manager a professional acting career. Make sure you understand how things work so you can make good business decisions about your career.

Good luck.

Even if you pay, without having at least 2-3 years training from a reputable acting school and years of experience in leading roles in amateur productions (school plays, community theatre, summer stock, student films, et) you won't ever get called in for an actual audition. There are hundreds of thousands f people registered with Explore Talent all applying for the same castings. The first thing every casting director looks at is your résumé. Without years of training and experience your submission will be thrown out

If you want to become an actress, start by taking a beginner acting class and auditioning for every small local performance you can - school plays, church group plays, local theatre companies, etc. Create your own original web series in YouTube and build up a fan base.

It's not an agency - more of a sort of collection of information.

But nothing you couldn't find out on your own for free.

Any auditions they mention are going to be amateur, scams, or out of date.

My advice is to forget it.

If you've had years of training and experience - ask for recommendations at your acting school or look on the SAG/AFTRA list for real agents.

If you haven't - that's what you need.