How to Become an Actor in Phoenix

Leslie Infalt got her first acting agent when she was still a teenager, living in Colorado. Though there weren’t a vast plethora of jobs there at the time, she was able to get her feet wet with professional acting experience—so much so that by 17, “I knew this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life,” she recently recalled. Eventually, Infalt made her way to Phoenix, Arizona, where she has been working steadily as an actor for about 14 years.

Photo courtesy of Leslie Infalt.

Three agencies and many jobs later, Infalt hopped on the phone with Casting Networks to talk about all things related to making it as an actor in this admittedly peculiar though incredibly robust market: How do you land an agent in Phoenix? How do you find a headshot photographer in Phoenix? Where should actors live in Phoenix? That and much more below!

Now is quite possibly the best time for actors to move to Phoenix.

The industry out here right now has a very strong commercial market. Up until the tax incentives went away around 2008, we did have an almost mini-Hollywood going on out here. That has not been true for a while, but they recently passed our tax incentives again and the film commission is really revving up. There’s a movie studio being built as we speak. I’ve been biding my time knowing this is a goal for everyone, and I am cautiously optimistic that Arizona will soon have a much more bustling film market again.

There’s tons to love about the Phoenix acting market.

Even though it isn’t the most robust film market, the location of Arizona makes it so easy to jump over to Los Angeles or New Mexico for a job. The other thing that makes Arizona so great is the acting community here. There’s always going to be competition in any market, but this is a really small market and you know who’s who and what they’re working on. So while there is that competition it also creates an openness and support. There is a lot of great talent out here and there are so many great filmmakers here, too. The bond we have all created here over the last several years is very unique: Phoenix is a big city, but it’s also a small town, if that makes sense. You know everyone if you are working in this industry and if you need something, you can reach out and you will receive help.

Phoenix can be a great stepping stone or a career-long acting home—with caveats.

The fact of the matter is, right now, the consistency is just not there to pay your bills with acting jobs alone here. It would be nice if we had some more, bigger projects. To be a working actor in Arizona is just quite challenging, honestly, because you do not have that consistency that you have in a bigger market like L.A. But if you are an actor who really wants to make good money doing acting alone without a support job, you are looking at Arizona as a stepping stone. However, if you are willing to have a side hustle or pursue other work to pay your bills, I know many actors who are here for the long haul and are very happy to be working here.

The acting agency scene in Phoenix: In short, it’s complicated.

I have an agent here who also works in New Mexico. I don’t yet have representation out in L.A. yet; that’s kinda the next step for me. But because I am close enough being in Arizona, I am to self-submit for jobs on my own, which I have been doing. If you’re looking to land an agent in Phoenix, again, it is a small community here. So interview as many that want to talk to you as possible.

People have such strong opinions on agencies. My thinking is, find the agent that feels like the best fit for you. Do your due diligence, check the Better Business Bureau. Arizona is a weird state because we have SAG agents, but not all agents are SAG, and we don’t have a ton of SAG jobs coming in right now. But I think it’s a good idea to sign with one that is SAG, especially right now, because our market continues to grow and is about to do so in a big way. Those jobs are going to be popping up more and more and you want to be able to go in for them.

You can get started without an agent in Phoenix. But ultimately, you’ll need one.

If you are really wanting to make a career out of this, you will need an agent in Phoenix. There are some casting directors who will post on public sites or on social media that they are having auditions, but I know several casting directors in town who will only work with the talent that are signed and the jobs are never posted publicly. So if you want to make a career here and grow it, you should have an agent. That said, if you want to start out on your own, there are a ton of indie films and smaller projects, and also student films here. And many if not most of those are jobs you can get without an agent.

Here’s how to find your headshot photographer in Phoenix (and the number 1 rule for when you get your headshots):

If you have an agent, get a headshot photographer recommendation from them. Again, it’s a small town and your agent will absolutely have someone in mind and they will also have a strong preference about what they want their clients’ headshots to look like. The photographer who shot my current headshots was recommended to me by my agent. Make sure you see samples of the photographer’s work before you proceed, of course. Also, in Phoenix, you do not need to spend a ridiculous amount of money. You really only need one great headshot in this market.

This is the networking trick for actors new to Phoenix.

The way I find my classes is frankly just from having worked here for so many years. If you are new to Phoenix, you really need to network. Post-COVID, folks have really been bringing back networking happy hours and other events like that, and I cannot recommend those kinds of things enough. There’s also this thing called the Arizona Production Association, which is an amazing resource for those in the industry to connect.

There’s no one place actors should live in Phoenix—but there is one place they shouldn’t.

Phoenix is kind of weird because the main city is Phoenix and then there are suburbs everywhere around it. A lot of the auditions and filming will take place in either Scottsdale or North Phoenix. If somebody is moving here, they want to just be close enough to the central Phoenix area that they are able to hit any of those other suburb areas. It’s not like in California where you want to be close to Burbank because that’s where the industry is concentrated. You just want to be close enough to Phoenix so you can get to where you need to be—I live far out from Phoenix and regret it every day! But you don’t have to live in Downtown Phoenix as an actor.

Every Phoenix actor—and person on earth—should visit this place:

This isn’t in Phoenix, but Sedona is a place that everyone on earth needs to go and it’s about three hours from Phoenix.

Phoenix Cost of Living Statistics for Actors

Phoenix versus… | National Average | Los Angeles | New York City
Cost of Living | +7.7% | -38.3% | -35.5%
Average Rent | +2.7% | -29.3% | -44.6%
Gas Prices | +10.8% | -20.7% | +5.8%

Sources: BestPlaces.net, Salary.com, Zillow, AAA, Rent.com

Are you looking for a fantastic role in the Phoenix area? Check out our Phoenix Casting Calls and Auditions and make the next big move in your acting career!