Skip to content

Sometimes for a month, things are quiet, so I spend more time on my accounting.

The reality of actor entrepreneurs

Céline Camara

Professional actor and improvisation trainer since 2018

Getting your name out there

If you really only work in the movies, the reality I see is that it’s tough, especially if you don’t have an agent. And when you don’t have an agent, what are your options? You mainly have public casting sites, and being in various databases. For example, there’s a website here in Luxembourg called “actors.lu” that groups together the profiles of professional actors either from Luxembourg or who have some connection to Luxembourg. Maybe they live in France, for example, but who spend a big part of their careers here. So there’s that website, and there are other casting sites too, like “Casting Lux,” which is a bit broader, where you also have profiles for extras, for silhouettes… so not necessarily “pro” profiles. It depends a bit… I’d say that these places where you find profiles, activities, languages spoken, etc., are platforms that enable professionals to contact us directly. Generally speaking, for both theatre and cinema, the “actors” site, when it comes to local projects, is where it all happens.

The reality of the “intermittent” status

There are also times when, and it’s kind of funny, there are times when you might have a lot of things at once, and there are times when it’s quiet. So sometimes for a month, things are quiet, so I spend more time on my accounting.

Money

At first, I was working part-time for a Belgian action-theatre company where I gave workshops, so I had enough to pay my rent. That was that, and it was big. I had some savings from my previous life and I’m also lucky enough to have a spouse who has a stable job with a stable income. So, I was fortunate to have all that starting out. I didn’t have to worry about not being able to eat or not being able to pay my rent. Then, thanks to my first year working as an actor in Luxembourg, I was able to get an “intermittent du spectacle” status where when you work in entertainment, you’re eligible for subsidies when you’re in a period of involuntary non-work. So like we said earlier, the work of an actor comes in waves. It’s “intermittent” really. There are times when you work full out for three months, then maybe you won’t work for two months in the summer, etc. So today, that clearly allows me to live when I can’t work, I have that. It also allows me to devote myself entirely to projects that are meaningful to me because I don’t have to say to myself, “I have to do something because I’m going to need it to live.” On one hand, the mix of different disciplines I work in, which allows for variety and to have an income, and having the intermittent status which allows me to have a financial balance. Not to have to worry.