Career Coach Brian Patacca: Break Your Industry Standard Habits

Career coach Brian Patacca goes against the grain on many of the things actors are told to do from the very beginning, but his reasoning makes complete sense.

Thankfully, he’s sharing all of his advice in his new podcast called Brian Breaks Character which stresses to follow your purpose “instead of playing by a set of tired industry rules.”

Your tagline is that you “help actors get what they want without suffering.” Please give us your background which led up to you being an expert in the field.

I had a successful career as an actor for many years in NY and LA and was always pulling my costars aside backstage to help them with the business. Coaching was my side hustle to acting work but after a while, I realized that every time I got an audition I would get grumpy about it. Auditions that I used to get excited about were actually getting in the way of my coaching time and I hated canceling on clients. When I woke up to the fact that my calling had shifted, I stepped into coaching full-time and never looked back!

Your podcast Brian Breaks Character provides insightful information that all actors will want to learn. What do you hope your listeners will gain from your podcast? What is involved in starting a podcast?

The Brian Breaks Character podcast has been a labor of love and a long time coming. I am so happy it’s out in the world now. I created the podcast as a weekly shot in the arm of inspiration for actors because I want actors walking around feeling GREAT about themselves. It’s so easy to compare and despair or come from a scarcity mindset so I saw the need for something to refuel and reignite creatives on the regular. So on the podcast, we slay the suffering artist myth while offering up wholehearted conversations and coachings that touch on career structure, spiritual purpose, and tangible takeaways to help actors level up and get out of their own way.

A podcast is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I’ll be honest – releasing the first episodes in June was a very vulnerable experience for me! There are so many amazing podcasts and resources for actors out there, so I worked really hard to be sure this podcast was a high-value listen that didn’t waste anyone’s time. It’s a thrill to dig deep with my guests and know that we’re reaching a whole new community through podcasting that I simply can not reach as a coach on my own. As for starting a podcast, It takes a talented team to lead the way! I am so grateful to thepodfactory.co and Sam Valentine from One Broke Actress who is in charge of technical production and my team for execution. We all get really pumped about landing a fancy guest and putting it out into the world! I am a big believer that it is best to allow experts to show me the way on all things technical – projects are always best when they are a collaboration!

Where can readers connect with you and your community and how do you connect with them?

Right now I offer a free training, “Make Agents Want You,” that is available on-demand. When seeking new reps, actors too often puff themselves up, don’t find true matches, and often discount their own worthiness. “Make Agents Want You” is my take on how to turn that sometimes daunting experience around with lots of success.

I also have an active Facebook page and Instagram account @briansaysthat where I share info on upcoming classes and events from myself and other experts, answer questions during live events and connect the dots for actors seeking community and resources wherever they live.

What programs do you offer which can be catalysts for major career growth without waiting around for an opportunity to be coached privately?

The best ways to work with me are through one of my three programs: “Actor Operating System”, #AgentGoals, and “Your Audition Magnet”. Here’s what you can expect:

“Actor Operating System” is a monthly coaching program for actors that want accountability, focus, and motivation in their careers. If you find yourself second-guessing your career decisions or finding inconsistencies in your efforts, this is the place for you. We meet four times a month for coaching, study hall sessions, live copy editing calls, and bonus guest teacher sessions – plus, there’s a Facebook group for members that is a major source of information, feedback, and community.

#AgentGoals is the program that helps you find great reps. You’ll get personal to discover what gives you the unique edge that reps will notice, and learn a straightforward strategy to reach out and follow up so you always remain empowered and never needy.

“Your Audition Magnet” is a self-guided course that uses tools you already have to gain more auditions. You’ll take a good hard look at your materials, your brand, your profile – and dig deep into your submissions to learn what works and what doesn’t. This process is perfect for actors who are feeling stuck and want to take back control of the amount and quality of their auditions.

Actors who coach with me in a group setting get a good sense of where they stand in the business and how to create structures and systems that help them get more auditions, fabulous representation, and a clear action plan for marketing. Too much energy is put into marketing yourself as an actor when in fact the craft is first priority. So, I’ve created systems so actors are not reinventing the wheel every time they need to network or build momentum, but rather creating habits they can stick with and feel good about week to week.

When coaching with me, you can expect lots of opportunities to ask questions about the content and room to feel resistance (as well as empowerment) as we work together. I’m always delivering actionable takeaways and opportunities for check-ins because accountability is the name of the game!

You’ve coached Tony Award-winners, Broadway stars, network series regulars, filmmakers, writers and stand-up comedians. Do you have a different method of teaching for different careers?

Regardless of your chosen career path or art form, there are a few roadblocks that are universal in the human experience: we often doubt our calling and end up fighting for or defending our own limitations… another way of saying that might be “we get in our own way.” You might have a nay-sayer uncle or an overly harsh teacher that plays in your head when it’s time to share your gifts, and this happens at every stage of life and success. Coaching can help realign your focus and remind you that your function on this planet is to step into your calling and that any seeming roadblock along the way should be treated as lessons to get you further. So one of the ways I like to talk about my coaching is that I want my students or clients to have bat-like hearing for The Universe’s intentions. My intention for the actors I work with is for them to have confidence so that they can take action and ditch the habit of second-guessing themselves. Actors are incredibly brave, passionate, ambitious, sensitive, expressive creatures and I am being totally selfish because I LOVE working with them – so every conversation I have with an actor is a gift to me.

You say that having a reel is a waste of time and money, yet actors are encouraged by managers, agents, and casting directors to get a reel. Please explain.

Let me be clear – starting with a reel is a waste of time and money if you haven’t already put your time and energy into training and skills. There are so many actionable and effective steps to strengthening your career that do not include producing a fancy reel scene. Many reps will take meetings with a fabulous self tape, also, so your ability to do your job and communicate who you are with accuracy is what becomes your calling card. Great reels come with bookings and experience, which you will naturally collect over your career.

So I’d like to go on the record saying YES a reel is a fabulous worthwhile tool in an acting career but we don’t always need a Maserati to get where we wanna go.

You graduated from Northwestern University and after school, headed right to New York City where you became an advertising executive promoting Broadway shows. At what point in your career did you transition to coaching? You not only coach actors, butare also a business coach and spiritual practitioner. Please share some insight into how you help others.

Northwestern was such a gift! I grew up in a very white, very suburban small town in Ohio – truthfully in my high school there was one Black person, one Asian person, and one Jewish person and we all knew who they were. Five students committed suicide at my high school due to bullying… it was not a safe place. So I was firmly in the back of the closet! At Northwestern I was thrust into a diverse community where I could finally SAFELY say loud and proud “I’m gay.” More importantly, it was the first place where I had the chance to hear from and be friends with people different from me.

It was also where I got my foundational training as an actor and theatre artist. So it prepared me to be in a city like NYC that celebrates theatre. And my first job out of college was at Serino Coyne which is a legendary advertising agency for Broadway. My clients were shows like Bring in da Noise, The Wild Party, Kiss Me Kate, and The Public Theatre. It opened my eyes to how powerful copywriting is and how necessary writing is to a successful acting career. After over two years at the agency, I was cast in the Off-Broadway hit, The Donkey Show and that’s when my acting career took off.

Let’s talk about beards. How does an actor know if they should attend auditions with or without a beard?

Let’s talk about appearances so it is super inclusive! Changing hairstyles, facial hair, glasses or no glasses – it all comes down to what’s happening in your headshot. Staying current and remaining true to yourself is the best thing you can do to build trust with casting offices.

But there’s this other magic that comes from the actor bringing to the audition/role what they think is right. It’s one of the ways actors can individuate themselves. I’m not talking about doing something weird or wearing something bizarre just to stand out, but to actually have an opinion about the appearance of the character is not a bad thing and if it goes against your headshot, but takes up a lot of space in your gut, I would say to trust that.

What really frustrates you about the entertainment industry? How do you deal with that?

I do not believe in ready-ness. It is a myth that you need to be perfect and have all your ducks in a row to be valued or ready to work. This can discourage so many talented people from pursuing their calling, and simply is unattainable.

In case you missed it! Check out our Instagram Live featuring Brian on our Instagram page here.

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Written by Ilana Rapp

Ilana Rapp is a media-savvy Generation Xer with instinctive wit, quick humor and a taste for deep human emotions. As a former (child) actress with Broadway, film and television credits, she is adept at, well, lots of things. She blogged on The Huffington Post and writes entertainment pieces for Casting Networks, Casting Frontier, NYCastings, Mupo Entertainment and New Jersey Stage. She is a huge fan of the television show V. Ask her why her favorite number is 22. Follow Ilana on Twitter @IlanaSpeaks22.