World famous in NZ

Hollie Smith. Photo / Supplied

It is not just those with perfect genes who can get ahead in the acting biz. Even if you feel really "normal", downtrodden and just plain joe-or-jane average, you too could become a star in New Zealand.

Mandy Jacobsen, director of Auckland's Red 11 Management, is on the lookout for "all sorts" to join her talent and modelling agency. This includes babies, centenarians, tattooed and bearded blokes (think character TV and film roles) and, of course, tall, slim and stunning teenagers dreaming of gracing runways.

"One of our biggest earners a couple of years ago was a 60-year-old who did a lot of television commercials," reveals Jacobsen, whose books boast Good Morning TV's Brendon Pongia and model Emma Champtaloup, 20, whom Georgio Armani chose to appear on the catwalk at Milan Fashion Week in March.

A fresh supply of faces is always needed for commercials, films, magazine adverts, high fashion editorials, runway shows and print campaigns. And, strange as it may seem, one of the gaps in her talent pool is those aged 35-plus – to appear in commercials selling everyday products for everyday people.

Some roles pay well and are worth the wait, such as the child actor who earned $9000 for a single American ad, a sum repeated when it received airplay the following year. However, the downside to the business is irregular work. Clients on Jacobsen's books pay between $75-$150 a year to appear on her website and some do in-house workshops to learn camera and casting skills to supplement their income.

Agencies Karen Kay Management and Gail Cowan Management also aim to nab the seriously talented. Kay wants people who can "act very well", like US-based client Martin Henderson, who started on soap Shortland Street – the launch pad for most Kiwi actors – and now has a string of heavyweight films such as The Ring and Little Fish on his CV. She claims to be able to pick stars "within a minute", adding "their eyes say something and it's the way they use their faces."

Cowan, who has Keisha Castle-Hughes of Whale Rider fame on her books, advises starting actors to go with smaller agents so there is more chance of getting work. "If you aim too high too early in your career you might end up on the bottom of someone's books," she says. Castle-Hughes admits she counts herself lucky to be an actress. "I literally got plucked out of school and into acting," says the 19-year-old. "I loved it. I always had a feeling I would be an actress. I just didn't realise it would happen so young and so fast."

Love of the craft is essential for those wanting to walk in her shoes, Castle-Hughes advises. But even someone with her fame calls the income "sporadic" and jokes that it is all about getting a great accountant.

As a child, Outrageous Fortune's Antonia Prebble always looked for opportunities to be in shows, searching newspapers for auditions. At age 11 she landed an agent and then auditioned for professional jobs. "Getting an agent is an essential step," she says, warning the industry can be a "hard slog" and to expect rejection often.

"Only do it if you really love it, if you really feel like you have to do it, otherwise it's just too difficult." Part-time jobs are usually essential, she adds.

Talent, patience and a sense of humour also help, says Odd Management director Liz Delaney. She recommends drama schools such as Wellington's Toi Whakaari and Auckland Unitec for aspiring thespians.

With 40 years' experience behind her, drama teacher Jay Saussey laughs heartily and declares "Don't do it!" when asked for advice for those starting out. But the director and founder of Aspiring Young Actors (AYA) academy has helped hundreds into the film and TV industry, including coaching child performers in the first Narnia film and nurturing then-youngsters Claire Chitham and Dominic Bowden as performers. They stood out early: he for being a chatterbox with an ability to entertain and she for being so "directable" and able to "pick up anything." "People ask if you can recognise big talent when they're little and I think, yes you can," she says.

But not all good child actors are born show-offs, say our insiders. Some observe quietly and then can transform on stage into intense and convincing performers. Celebrity Magazine darling Joe Cotton thinks it's relatively easy to get noticed in insular New Zealand. The 30-year-old first struck the limelight as part of the televised girl-band TrueBliss but she learned her craft through singing at church. The Mermaids singer and The Edge radio host has a list of ways to quickly gain fame: from sleeping with a celebrity; turning up at Auckland's Pony Club (owned by Target presenter Brooke Howard-Smith "who seems to know everyone"; being cast on a reality TV show; or simply doing something outlandish at the Big Day Out festival in front of C4's cameras. But she warns these tricks are not good for long-term limelight. Her Treasure Island TV gig only lasted a short time so Cotton has a regular role on radio – another passion – which also helps her profile.

Sara Tetro, host of NZ's Next Top Model who also runs 62 Models & Talent, says it comes down to a wannabe's fundamental choice: "Do I want to be famous or notorious?" As well as Cotton, her clients include Zane Nicholl and Paula Stockwell, the couple who entered a controversial radio competition to marry a stranger a decade ago. They've been a huge success story, followed closely by women's magazines ever since. Tetro, however, argues a technical point, that New Zealand does not actually have celebrities, rather "well-known people."

It's an opinion echoed by Radio ZB host and Herald on Sunday columnist Kerre Woodham. "Celebrity is Brad and Angelina – people you do not know who have some mystique – not someone you might see at the gym or could have known at primary school."

Former celebrity wrangler Wendyl Nissen, a women's magazine editor turned columnist, says the job requirements of a celeb are straightforward. "They can never be slim enough" and must have a personality that'll enjoy entering a room. A good agent will keep them on the right track but – warning! – being single up to age 40 is not a good look. Magazines always need engagements, weddings, babies and holidays to "feed off." She sees people employing interesting tactics to make the social pages. Some women spend three hours getting made up and appear at an event, eye up the photographer, get snapped and then leave. That way they can make three events and raise their exposure in a single night. Others cosy up to celebrities in the hope of being photographed. But is it worth the effort? Nissen thinks the celebrity factor in New Zealand isn't a lot of fun.

"Many complain that they do not get enough privacy, their marriages don't last long, their kids get screwed up," she says. "It's like a sickness."

Music

Unlike the celeb world, it's less easy to fluke a lack of musical ability, well, for long, anyway. Many musical Kiwis have made it big, and not just at home, either, and we've drawn inspiration from the likes of Neil and Tim Finn, Bic and Boh Runga, Scribe, Anika Moa and dusky-voiced songstress Hollie Smith, 26 – who didn't mind revealing her secrets to getting into the music industry.

She was inspired by her guitarist dad's taste in music and started out singing in choirs and small bands, progressing to professional gigs by age 13. Rather than being 'discovered' she was "adopted into gigs."

Networking and working with different musicians helped her become confident and develop her skills. "If a gig came up with strangers I would just do it, rather than freaking out about it," she says. She has since released an album, and she's hoping to record her second under label EMI in September, and has supported music greats such as Bob Dylan and Coldplay.

Smith recommends people work smart, and learn ways to generate income and protect their music. People should only be in it for the music and not money – even she struggles. Performing is in her blood. "It's not a decision, it's fate," she says. If it wasn't, she might have found it easier to leave what can be a tough business.

Scott Maclachlan, talent scout for Universal Music, the biggest record label in the world, has the enviable job of finding, signing and developing the music stars of tomorrow. "New Zealand's not short of talent. It's just getting it to a level that can go global," he says.

He has been in the job just nine months and is already eyeing four names he thinks have serious potential. Talent honed from years of practice is one criteria, as is tenacity in finding an audience. "You could be the best guitarist but you're not going to get discovered playing in your bedroom," he says. While he's not advocating people come into Universal with guitar in hand, send him your demo CD and he promises it will be listened to, eventually, and feedback given.

Maclachlan also attends gigs, taps into industry players who can recommend talent and frequently checks out the My Space website.

View music reviewer Paula Yeoman agrees that using My Space as a launching tool is becoming big. Some bands have huge followings online. She also recommends using Facebook to let people know about gigs and bands' updates. Incredible rags-to-riches tales are usually reserved for international acts, she says. But lucky breaks can happen to Kiwis, too. Take, for example, South Auckland singer J. Williams, whose first album, Young Love, debuted on the charts at number five recently. The soul/R'n'B singer was discovered singing an Al Green classic in the back of a van on his way to a dance competition last year and quickly signed to fame, and hopefully, fortune.

Top 5 tips

* Love your chosen field of endeavour
* Practice makes perfect
* Get good representation
* Be seen at the right events
* Promote your wares (eg through Facebook and MySpace)