Anne Alexander-Sieder, Founder of Act Bold

0:00Actors, everyone, you know, will look at this goal that they have. I want to relaunch my acting career. And they don't just see the very first problem. Let me solve that and then I'll get to the next problem. They see the whole range of the Alps blocking their way. And they think, my God, there's no way I'm going to get over that. We have control over three things and three things only. What we think, what we do, and how we choose to perceive things. That may sound limiting, but there is so much you can do with that. And those are the very same things that we cannot control in anybody else.

0:35Anne Alexander-Sieder: No, you can't control what people think of you. Right. Other people's reactions or emotional responses. Welcome to the Business of Modeling. I'm Tessa Dewing, Managing Director of Sandra Reynolds, a commercial model agency established in 1975. In this podcast, I sit down with models, agents, brands, creatives and industry experts to talk about their careers, their experiences and the future of our industry. Anne Alexander-Seder is an American actress based in Munich, founder of Act Bold, a programme designed to support actors in building their strategic and sustainable careers. But the process she teaches is definitely not limited to actors.

1:20Anne Alexander-Sieder: It applies to models as well, and in truth, any creatives who want to understand positioning and professional branding. Today, we're going to talk about identifying who you are, what will make you more bookable, what performers get wrong about the business, and how to build a career that is sustainable rather than short term.

1:43Anne Alexander-Sieder: Anne, welcome to the Business and Modelling podcast. Tell us where you grew up and when did you first get interested in acting? So I grew up in Detroit in this magical little part of town called Lafayette Park. And I always kind of describe it as Sesame Street in stealing glass. It was like this perfect little utopian, late 60s, early 70s type area with, you know, black people and white people and women were professionals, lawyers, doctors, judges. And I think for young people listening today, they don't realize that that was not a thing back then, that that was really a special place to grow up.

2:28And I am still in contact with a lot of the people that I went to kindergarten with. But what's so interesting is almost all of us have become creative in one form or another. And I think that there was something about that environment. About that environment and that upbringing.

2:42Anne Alexander-Sieder: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And how I got interested in acting was, well, my dad always put a lot of value in a great education. He had gone to Harvard and he was very proud of that, rightly so. And really anything less was not kind of good enough. So it was never even on my radar as a possibility until I got older.

3:17When I was about nine, ten years old, I was going away to sleepover camp. And one year, my sleepover camp was putting on Oliver Twist. And they said that everybody needed to audition. I didn't even know what an audition was. But they marched us all from one room to the next, sing here, dance there, say this, read that, da-da-da. And I ended up with the part of Nancy. and at the time I had really no clue what that even meant. And, you know, I did the rehearsals. I had fun. It was all part of going to summer camp. But it wasn't until opening night. I'm standing there on the stage and I'm singing as long as he needs me.

3:58And, of course, you know, 10 years old, no clue what that means. But anyway, there was this moment where I felt like I had been kind of dropped out of an airplane. and that moment when you're before gravity pulls and you're just sort of floating there. And I was almost one with the audience. And all of a sudden, it was like such a heady power, I have to say. You know, it was like this. And this feeling like they were, like I had them in my hand. There was such a connection, but it was also something so powerful for a little girl, You know, to feel like, wow, all of these people are interested in what I say next or what I sing next.

4:45And then that kind of went on the shelf for a few years. And I think I did take some acting courses for fun peripherally. And it was when I was 17, I found out that my grandmother had been signed to one of the big studios in California. And I had mentioned to her that I would like to be an actor. She was all gung-ho. She's like, well, get the hell out of Detroit and come to Chicago, you know. So that was what I did. And my grandma was always my biggest cheerleader. Was she in Chicago?

5:16Anne Alexander-Sieder: She was. So you could go and stay with her. Well, I didn't stay with her. I had my own place there. But I had someone who believed in me. She also paid for my acting school. I still had to get a job and pay my rent and do all of those things. But she believed in me. And that's so important.

5:36Anne Alexander-Sieder: And then you worked. You went through acting school and then you did well as an actor. So what jobs were you booking? Oh, kind of everything. I mean, mostly theatre, honestly, but also some commercial work. My very first film role was in a Martin Campbell film. So I played, I think, lawyer number one or lawyer's assistant number one. I was all of 19 or 20 years old. I mean, really young. But really kind of anything and everything, a bit of all. But enough so that I was SAG, I was AFTRA, and I was working on my equity card. And you were making a living. And I was making a living. And I even had my health insurance paid for by SAG.

6:23Not initially, obviously. Initially, I was waiting tables and bartending and doing everything that everyone does. The last couple of years before I met my husband, I was definitely making a living as an actor and was planning to move to L.A. and kind of thought that my path was clear.

6:40Anne Alexander-Sieder: But yeah, then life throws you a curveball and mine just happened to be a hot German guy and I ended up in Germany. So how did you meet him? Yeah. So the school, the acting school that I went to was affiliated with RADA. And they were always bringing in the coaches, the teachers from RADA to come and teach us in Chicago. And so when I had finished my studies in America, I wanted to come and do the semester abroad at RADA. And that was my first time ever coming to Europe. And then we did the typical, my girlfriend and I, we just, you know, backpacked around Europe for three months. I really loved Paris, so I was torn at one point.

7:25And I thought, let me just go try Rome, and if it doesn't work, I'll come back to Paris. And I ended up going to Rome, staying there for two years. Yeah, again, doing kind of everything and anything. I worked as doing voiceovers. I did some film work there. I did some commercial work there. I did some live modeling for artists. I did some regular modeling. Just like whatever. But I was young and I didn't care and I probably only needed$200 a month to live, you know, so it was fun. And then I moved back to Chicago again. Of course, when I was in Rome, I fell in love with a Roman, of course. You know, I mean, what would living in Rome be without that?

8:09And so then I was back in Chicago and I could not get him out of my head. And so I'm working. I'm working on my career. This is when my career starts to really do better, when I start to get actual professional jobs in America. But I keep thinking about him. And I know either I am still in love with him or I've just built up this relationship in my head. But either way, I need to know the truth. Yeah. In the meantime, a girlfriend of mine had met her husband during the Chicago World Cup. That was 1996. She came back to Chicago saying, I have met your future husband. You have to write a letter.

8:54You have to send him your picture. You have to immediately do this. And I said, I'm not doing any of that. What do I look like, a Russian mail-away bride? So that never happened.

9:03Anne Alexander-Sieder: She obviously knew you very well. Yeah, well, she was always trying to set me up. So I don't know if it was just a lucky guess. So anyway, so I went to go visit her with the intention of going on to Rome to also visit my ex-boyfriend. And I met him on the way to Rome, my now husband. That was 30 years ago. And she was right. He picked me up at the airport. And before we even left the airport, I knew, yeah. Did you? This is it. And yeah, and that was that. And we've been together for 30 years now. So when did you decide to move to Munich? When I got knocked up. Okay. Yes. That was really what did it.

9:49That sort of, you know, puts the pressure on and it's like either grow up or not. And we both decided to grow up.

9:57Anne Alexander-Sieder: So you moved to a new country again. You didn't speak the language, presumably. Yeah. I'm not afraid of moving to a new country. I'm not afraid of trying to learn a new language. I'm not. I love that, as a matter of fact. That's so important. I think, you know, you never grow inside your comfort zone. It's absolutely true. I think so many times we let the fear of what could go wrong keep us from actually doing something that could change your life in such a great way. And, you know, if I look back and it was a series of events that led to where I am now.

10:39And I moved to Munich, became a mom. And about when he was around two years old is when I started to kind of get the itch, like I want to be doing something. and there was the American Drama Group in Munich at the time. So I went and arranged to audition for them and had a great audition. And he was like, great. Okay. Welcome to the, you know, welcome to the troupe. So he starts pulling out the calendar and he's showing me their travel dates. I was like, wait, what? Back up? Excuse me? What? Travel? I said, no, I have a baby at home. I can't travel. Yeah. And so I just, I felt terrible. I apologize profusely for having wasted his time.

11:24And I'm just about to close the door. And on a whim, I lean back in and said, Grant Lee, you don't happen to know if there's anybody else in Munich who I should talk to? And he gave me two names. And those two names became integral to me getting a start doing voiceover work, which led to presenting, which led to commercials. So I was doing that for 16 years. But I want to stop there for just one sec because make the ask, but make it an easy ask. So it was nothing for him to give me two names. And as a matter of fact, it probably made him feel good to be able to help me in some way. And I think so many times we will stop ourselves from asking for something.

12:14And you have to understand the difference between the big ask that is putting someone out and the easy ask that's a win for both of you. And without that, I don't know if I ever would have had the voiceover career that I had, which was amazing.

12:30Anne Alexander-Sieder: And was that recording for German brands or was that recording for American brands and you were just recording? It was mostly German brands. Yeah. So German brands that, you know, all names that you've heard, Audi and Schott and Mann and, you know, Lidl and all of these big things, right, that are on the world market. Then, and I'm not sure how it works outside of Germany, but in Germany, it was the recording studios for the most part that knew the talent that were, you know, putting together like, here are five people that match your specs. You know, which one do you want? So you didn't have an agent?

13:10I did as well. Yeah. But mostly my work came directly from the recording studios.

13:19Anne Alexander-Sieder: This episode is brought to you by Digital Twinsets. Digital Twinsets provides professionally created digital asset packs of real models and actors for responsible AI-assisted production. Every Twinset represents a real person created with consent, approval and control over how their likeness is used. To find out more, head over to Instagram at Digital Twinsets.

13:47Anne Alexander-Sieder: So when you restarted your career, what did you do differently the second time? I thought, well, my idea of a good time, you know, I'd really just love to take an acting workshop. And it wasn't with any intention of doing anything with it. It was just because I thought that would be fun. And so I sat down and I Googled acting workshop Munich English. And one popped up and there was one spot open and it was going the very next day. And so I whipped out my credit card. I signed up for it. I went to that thing with very high hopes, very low expectations. And it blew my mind. It was amazing. It was everything I had hoped it would be.

14:29What it did was it showed me that there was this pilot light going inside of me for acting that I didn't even realize was still burning. And it turned that flame up into a roaring fire. And by the time I left the workshop, for me, there was no going back. I knew that I wanted to relaunch my acting career. So of course, I looked around. I was like, well, that was amazing. Where can I find more of that? And there wasn't anything.

15:00Anne Alexander-Sieder: No. And so that left me with my first major obstacle. I knew I needed the training in order to get my craft and my confidence back to where they needed to be in order to compete at the level that I wanted to compete at. But there was nothing available in Munich. So either I fly to London, fly to New York, to L.A., or I give up. And giving up was not an option. So I find that so many times the answer to our problem, and I'm saying that in quotation marks, is just the opposite. So what is, first of all, what is the actual problem? The actual problem was that there was no training available to me in the city I lived in that I wanted to attend.

15:55There was amateur training.

15:57Anne Alexander-Sieder: But not at the level that you wanted. So how did you solve that problem? I started bringing people to me. I started reaching out. I thought, you know, if I could just… I'm going to put something together. I'm going to put something together. I'm just going to do it. And I think oftentimes what we, you know, actors, everyone, you know, will look at this goal that they have. I want to relaunch my acting career. And they don't just see the very first problem. Let me solve that and then I'll get to the next problem. They see the whole range of the Alps blocking their way. And they think, my God, there's no way I'm going to get over that.

16:32So I've been a coach now for actors for a number of years. And the kinds of problems that you'll hear are, oh, well, you know, I need an agent or I need a better agent or the casting directors are blackballing me or, you know, there's the pandemic threw me for a loop or I'm still waiting for footage from that last film that I did. Or, yeah, the footage that I got, but they didn't shoot the scene that I need, so now I need to, you know. And it's always these things that are outside of their actual control.

17:06Anne Alexander-Sieder: Yeah. And none of those are actually the problem. The problem, what it always boils down to for an actor is you are not getting enough auditions or you are not getting the right kinds of auditions. It's one of those two, period. So how can you fix that? What can you do about it? I've always I've always believed very much in my talent, but I'm not a fool. And I know that I really had a lot of opportunities that were given to me because I was young. and, you know, people do that kind of stuff for young people. And I happened to be at the right place at the right time and luckily I had enough talent to walk me through the door, but somebody was standing there opening the door for me.

17:56So the very first thing was just even that realization that whatever strategy, and again, quotation marks, because there was no strategy back then, was this time around I needed a strategy. I was almost 50 years old. Nobody was going to be breaking their arm to open the door for me. And so I needed to understand what it is that is going to give me control over my career. And for me, there are five pillars of a thriving acting career. It's mindset, branding, marketing, networking, and community. I don't know that I necessarily had these words when I first relaunched my career, but I understood I had lived enough life and I understood on a visceral level that there were certain things I needed to be very clear about.

18:49And I was really struggling, to be honest, with my brand when I first came back. I wasn't sure what it was. It wasn't what it was when I left. So I was not a woman in my 20s anymore. What does that mean? Am I supposed to be playing an old woman now? I didn't know. I just didn't know. So it took a while for me to kind of come to terms with what it means to be 50 in this industry for me.

19:17Anne Alexander-Sieder: Yeah. Because it means something different for everyone, but what it meant for me. And in the beginning, honestly, I was just doing all the things that I had done before, you know, writing to casting directors, going to go sees, trying to be noticed, be considered, be remembered. but it was really through doing these workshops what I had mentioned right to get my training and skills back to to where they needed to be where I kind of had this epiphany it was really the first one that that was like a head turner for me it was like wait a minute you mean I can use what I need to get what I want so I was bringing in three coaches a month these are what I called my big workshops.

20:05I was organizing little workshops in between for the actors who had attended the big workshop so that we could rehearse. So I was working out anywhere between three and eight hours a day for a year, basically. And then I was like, okay, now I feel good. I'm ready to go. But that presented the next challenge, which was I had no current showreel material. And so I thought, well, why can't I just do the same thing? I can organize something and get what I need in a way that, you know, helps other actors.

20:40Anne Alexander-Sieder: So at this point, you didn't realize you were building your, what your brand is now? Not at all. Not at all. You weren't thinking that far ahead? Not at all. In fact, I had, even though I had gotten, by the end of that first year, I had gotten almost 12 ,000 euros of really high caliber training. And I had gotten, earned almost 50 ,000 euros doing what I would have gladly paid to have done. I still, it was not, it was never my intention. It was like, as soon as I was done with that year, I thought, well, I'll never organize another event. She really did it just for you to get training at that point.

21:17To an end. That's all it was. It was a means to an end. But then when the next problem presented itself, I thought, well, why couldn't I just use the same thing again as a means to an end? So that's what I did. And then later, so I had started to work again. At this point, I have an agent. I'm getting typecast quite a lot as kind of the bitch in charge. they don't see me so they don't know that yeah oh yeah i could see that tessa's like oh yeah i see it

21:55and um and i didn't like it i thought you know yeah sure i can play that but that is just so one-dimensional you know they're not seeing my funny side they're not seeing my maternal side They're not seeing all of me, all the facets of my diamond. They are not seeing this. And so I thought, OK, well, I didn't have the words at that point to say that this was a branding problem. But I knew that I needed to change my image. And so I thought, well, I'll just shoot a short film, one a month, until I get the footage that I need to show them how they should be seeing me. And I'll use these workshops to finance my short films.

22:37And how did you want them to see you? I just wanted them to see my softer side. So it was really like, I'm, you know, I'm the mama bear. So just less the high heels and spiky rednecks.

22:48Anne Alexander-Sieder: Yes. And yeah. Yes. Sprayed hair. Which is so not me. You know, it really isn't. I mean, it was, and it was always like playing this really reserved, cold, leaned back. I'm a lean in. I'm not a lean back. and it was always playing this and it was it was it was just I just wanted to play someone that was freer was more fun was more I guess closer to who I authentically am so at that point did you take off any footage or images of you looking like the person that you've been typecast as to start again Well, honestly, I had never shot footage in that. I mean, so I was getting cast that way. Yes. But I had my headshots.

23:35Anne Alexander-Sieder: You haven't been real together with that footage. Well, of course I had. I had that as well. Yeah. Yeah. Of course I did. Because that was what I had. And at the time, I didn't even know you could, you know, use, create your own footage. It was only through necessity. Again, necessity has always been, you know, the mother of invention for me. Always. So whenever I've been presented with a problem and people are telling me, well, this is just how it is, you are cast off your, especially in Germany, you're very much cast off your showreel. Yeah. So, you know, doing one type of thing just leads to more of that type of thing.

24:12More of that same thing. Yes. And I don't think that I meant to do things differently, but I just kept looking at the problem and saying, what is the actual problem here? And what can I do about it?

24:33Anne Alexander-Sieder: When someone comes to you frustrated that they're not booking, what are they usually getting wrong? You know, we have control over three things and three things only. What we think, what we do, and how we choose to perceive things. And that may sound limiting, but there is so much you can do with that. And those are the very same things that we cannot control in anybody else. No, you can't control what people think of you. Right. Other people's reactions or emotional responses. If you want somebody to think differently, you must make a change. And then based on that new information, they may have new thoughts.

25:17But you cannot expect to continue doing the same thing and have someone have a different opinion. Mm-hmm. That is the thing that, you know, most actors get wrong. Most people get wrong, frankly. It's not an actor thing.

25:32Anne Alexander-Sieder: It's a people thing. So, Anne, we're now going to talk about your SICK framework, S-I-C-K. So let's take them one by one. So it stands for skills, industry proof, connections and knowledge. So skills, how honest are performers about their actual level of skill? Do people overestimate where they are? So skills. Yes. So we'll start with that. And in the UK, skills might be a different thing than it is in the US. Because in the UK, if you're on Spotlight, you are a trained actor and you do have an agent. So the baseline is there. But do you have the skills that you need to help you get the career that you want?

26:15This is also something I think that many actors, many creatives get wrong. And the question is, what do you want?

26:28Anne Alexander-Sieder: Yes. What would you love to happen? What does your perfect career look like? Because what I always hear is, oh, I just want to work. But what does that look like? Do you want to work on the West End? You want to work on Fringe? You want to work on, what, reality TV? You want to work on prestige TV? Because otherwise you're not pitching yourself. Right. What are you doing? And what does your reel look like? And I left yesterday, and I didn't know this, there are 90 ,000 people on Spotlight. Yes. Yes, there are. 90 ,000. 90. And yes. You need to know who you are within that. Yes, you do. Yes, you very much do.

27:05And if you are not clear in who you are presenting yourself to be, you are just confusing them and that is wasting their time and they move on. Because so many actors are just like, oh, I don't want to limit myself. I'm an actor. I can play anything. And so. Then it's confusing. It's so confusing. I had this one actress who came to me. She had 10 different headshots, each representing a fully different type. and they were beautifully shot, beautifully styled. But...

27:41Anne Alexander-Sieder: Which one is she? Which one is she? And she could only be, I mean, maybe she could be three to four out of those ten. So for me, she was a very, very kind of, she was a woman who led with her head, you know, with a heart a distant second and her body really a distant third. And that really changes who you are. You know, there are people who lead with their heart. They wear their heart on their sleeve. And you can see that. The same in life. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And that same person is not going to believably play someone who is the mastermind of some diabolical plan. Not without some, you know, very good writing.

28:27Not to say that it couldn't happen. But in the beginning, you have to go after your low-hanging fruit. And you cannot expect casting directors or anybody who casts to infer from your leftover footage, because at the beginning, most actor showreels are made up of leftover footage. You cannot expect them to infer how talented and all of your potential from substandard materials.

28:58Anne Alexander-Sieder: You need to show them where you are going and not just where you've been, because that is all they see. You've probably got five seconds to make an impression. Oh, I think it's even a casting director in Atlanta had said four seconds, which is insane. And then they don't. They say, oh, we watch all their reels. Yeah. Yeah, sure you do. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. With your eyes open. You've switched up to somebody, you've switched up, there's no point. Right, right, exactly. Yeah. So the sick factor is skills. Do you have the skills that demonstrate where you want to go? And then I is industry proof.

29:37Anne Alexander-Sieder: What does that mean in practical terms? How can someone create industry proof? Industry proof is very simply your footage. Does your footage represent you at the level that you want to play at? And connections. So how important is it to make your own connections with decision makers? Connections, not do you know who the people are, but do they know who you are? And do they know what you're capable of? And then the K finally is knowledge. And knowledge is do you have the knowledge of the movers and the shakers and what is needed in that specific genre or area of film or television or theater that you would like to move into?

30:27Anne Alexander-Sieder: how important is it to make your own connections with decision makers because i think actors think and models as well will think well that's my agent's job yes so oh well you're an agent i'm an agent and actually yes what people think that they once they've joined an agency that once they've got their agent, that's fine. They can just go home and sit and wait for the phone to ring. Yes. So I have so many thoughts on this. But, you know, word, yes, you should definitely be cultivating relationships beyond casting directors and agents, because casting directors and agents are people who let you into the room, but they are not that it's they let you into the foyer, but not into the room that really matters.

31:15And so, yes, they're important. And they're really important when it comes to negotiating contracts and things like that and making sure that you're being treated fairly. But you need to be cultivating the relationships with people who actually make the decisions. Because if you have a relationship with a director, a screenwriter, somebody who can say, you know what, you should take a look at this person because they also have a relationship that is peripheral to, or sometimes right next to, the person who is actually making the decisions. And they have hired them. So if it's the director on a film, they have hired the DOP and they trust that DOP to hire their crew.

31:59Anne Alexander-Sieder: And it's so important to make friends on set. You never know who's going to be making the decisions for the next. Exactly. And you don't know what their ambitions are. I mean, the gaffer probably does want to be, is tomorrow's DOP? And the first AD is tomorrow's director. Just like, you know, the assistant casting director is tomorrow's associate, who is tomorrow's casting director. So be nice to everybody. And it's just as easy for them to go, don't use that person. They're a pain in the ass. Yes, very much. Very, very easy to get that reputation. Absolutely. Someone isn't great to work with.

32:38Anne Alexander-Sieder: Yeah, yeah. So, you know, you had mentioned that there are 90 ,000 actors on Spotlight, which I always say that there's this front door, right? And everybody is trying to get in through the front door. All of the actors, I would say, of the 90 ,000, probably 89 ,000 of them are all trying to get in through that front door. They're waiting patiently because we've been conditioned to work on your craft, keep working on your craft, and someday somebody, if you're good enough, is going to notice you and you will be rewarded for it. This is what we're told. This is how I was schooled. And this is still how people are being schooled.

33:21The world's very different. The industry is very different now. Yes. And it is just mind boggling. In America, there's 1.3 million people on Actors Access, 2.5 million or something like that on backstage. Mandy, I think, has 3 million people. I mean, it's just insane, the numbers. So you must be doing, you must.

33:47Anne Alexander-Sieder: You've got to do something different to stand out. Yeah. Yeah. And people like to work with people they like. So create those relationships. Yeah. Do you think performers understand how casting decisions are made? No. No. I think that they think that the casting directors hold all the power. For one. You know, that's big mistake, number one. I don't think they realize in the hierarchy of film and television at any rate, agents are just a hair's breadth above actors and casting directors are just a hair's breadth above them. They are also, you know, trying to make an impression and trying to keep their job and trying to position for their next job.

34:35Anne Alexander-Sieder: Yeah. And I think actors forget that, you know, they're just people who also love this industry. and who are also fighting for their place in it. And I've had so many conversations with agents and casting directors, and most of them, I would say 99.7 % of them love actors, you know, and really, really want to help them. But they feel overwhelmed, you know, with the need, with the amount, with the numbers, you know, that just come at them on a daily basis. And they also need to protect themselves. And this is why sometimes they don't, you know, actors get upset when their emails don't get answered, when, you know, whatever it may happen to be, their phone calls don't get returned and they take it personally.

35:30And I get it. I do. I really do. I mean, It's hard not to take it personally, but you cannot let that kind of a thing determine your worth because it's not about you. It's about them and what they're dealing with. And just trying to have some compassion for them can go a long way. But you had asked as well about should actors rely 100 % on their agents? And my answer to that is obviously no. but your agent has anywhere between 50 and 400 other people on their roster. And so if you were to call them tomorrow and say, you know what, I think I would actually like to become a dentist after all, they're going to say, oh, too bad.

36:17Well, Godspeed, you know, have a good life, kid. It was nice knowing you. And they're going to move on to the other people because it's not their life. It's not their career. It's not their dream. they have other horses in the race. But if this matters to you, this is your life, your dream, your career.

36:35Anne Alexander-Sieder: You need to make it happen. Anne, thank you so much. That was a great conversation. You can find Anne and act bold online. Thank you for listening.