How to Book Acting Work Without Living in LA

One of the biggest myths in this industry is that you have to live in Los Angeles to be a working actor. I’m Monica Marie Rivera, and I built the early years of my acting career from outside LA — booking real, paying work through casting platforms, self-tapes, and background gigs. Here is exactly how I did it, and how you can too.

The three casting sites that actually matter

You do not need twenty subscriptions. Nearly everything I have ever booked came through three platforms:

• Actors Access (actorsaccess.com) — where the majority of legitimate film and TV breakdowns live. Set up your profile, upload two good photos, and check it daily. Self-submissions are inexpensive and they work.

• Backstage (backstage.com) — especially strong for indie film, student film, commercials, and new-media work. Student films are underrated: they’re how you build footage for your reel.

• Casting Networks (castingnetworks.com) — the standard for commercial, print, and lifestyle casting in most major markets.

You can take your own headshots at home

Do not let a $500 headshot session stop you from starting. When I began, I shot my own: a phone with portrait mode, a window with soft indirect light, a plain wall, and a friend (or a tripod and self-timer). Wear solid colors, keep your hair how you would actually show up to set, and take hundreds of frames so you can pick the five where your eyes look alive. Casting directors care that the photo looks like you — not that it cost money. You genuinely do not need a big investment to start; upgrade to professional shots after you start booking.

Start with background work — especially in Atlanta, North Carolina, New York, or LA

If you live in or near a major production hub — Atlanta, North Carolina, New York, Los Angeles, even New Mexico or Chicago — background (extra) work is the single most accessible door into the industry. Casting companies like Central Casting and regional background casting offices post calls constantly, and a huge amount of it happens on social media: search Facebook for “[your city] background casting” or “[your state] extras casting” and follow background casting pages on Instagram. You’ll learn set etiquette, watch working actors up close, and get paid to do it.

My first set was Stranger Things — and it changed my life

My very first time on a set was as a background actor on Stranger Things. I walked on thinking it would be a fun story to tell — and I walked off knowing my life had changed trajectory. Watching the machine of a real production, feeling the energy between takes, being surrounded by people who had built careers doing what they loved — that one day made me fall in love with acting and with the entire process of filmmaking. A background gig is never “just” a background gig. It might be the day everything changes.

Stay audition-ready wherever you live

Build a simple self-tape corner (a plain wall, two soft lights, your phone), keep your profiles updated on all three platforms, and treat consistency like your job — because it is. The actors who book aren’t always the ones in LA. They’re the ones who submit every day, tape fast, and keep training. Your zip code is not your ceiling.