Fast track to success for young British actors

A talented British actor may have to toil for a long time in the US before hitting paydirt. But when that sought-after role in a primetime drama series comes along, it can fund a year of acting on the English stage, boost an established performer's profile and perhaps even provide a stepping stone to Hollywood.

It has worked for many British stars, from Dominic West, who starred in The Wire and is now wowing audiences in Simon Gray's Butley, to the comedian Hugh Laurie, whose role in House has made him an international celebrity. Ian McShane's delayed US success in the western series Deadwood, meanwhile, has now seen him join an A-list cast in the summer blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Now, following the announcement that Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons is soon to appear as the scheming head of the notorious Borgia family in a new US drama on Sky Atlantic, the British entertainment industry is moving to speed things up for its emerging stars.

Why should actors have to wait several years for a transatlantic phone call to change their lives? Instead, young British actors are to be showcased in Hollywood at the beginning of their careers.

An independent drama school in London is to announce that it is taking show reels made by its students out to play directly in Los Angeles next month to casting agents, while a new British film initiative, set in train by the now defunct UK Film Council, is beginning to screen critically acclaimed small-budget British films in 30 cities across the US.

According to Michael Bray, director of the ArtsEd school of acting, the demand for British acting has never been greater in Hollywood. "There is definitely an excitement about British actors out there for lots of reasons. We produce very good actors who are creative and very motivated. And we may also be cheaper," said Bray, who has recently watched former student Finn Jones go on from appearing in Hollyoaks, Doctors and The Bill on British television to a key part in Sky Atlantic's current fantastical cult hit, The Game of Thrones.

"I recently heard him telling someone in an interview that he couldn't have done it without the specific training he got in television."

Bray believes that learning how to perform for the TV camera has become an essential part of an actor's training, if they want to stay in work. The demise of a thriving repertory theatre network in Britain means that even actors who dream of one day playing Shakespeare in the West End will have to gain their early experience on the set of a TV series.

After showing ArtsEd students' short films in London at Bafta later this month, the work, which includes film and television scenes taken from Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Phoenix Nights, Bright Star and Pulling, will be screened for the first time in Los Angeles at Soho House.

Based on the "understanding that TV and film can kickstart careers – with a lot of work coming from over the Atlantic for new talent" – the show reel films are to become a regular part of the school's BA Hons Acting for Film and Television.

"We want actors who are already proficient at TV and who are not going to waste time on set because they don't understand what is happening," said Bray.

"They need to know that you have to prepare alone and be prepared to perform under pressure. I think theatre is absolutely essential, but there will now be a heavy emphasis on learning TV skills, rather than a half-and-half split. People forget that there is a massive difference between theatre acting, which is organic, and television, where you will often get sent a script and have to work on it alone."

Bray believes that it is getting harder for actors to find work, but that the US offers the best chance of making a living. "It is a much better funded industry there; one might say that it actually is an industry out there."

A complementary initiative from the former export arm of the UK Film Council, From Britain with Love, launches this weekend to bring more British-made cinema and television films to US audiences and critics.

The Film Industry Export Alliance will bring six independent film dramas, including Toast, the adaptation of Observer food writer Nigel Slater's memoir, starring Helena Bonham Carter, and In Our Name, with the Downton Abbey actress Joanne Froggatt. Froggatt, 30, who played the maid Anna in the hit ITV drama series, will be travelling to the US to promote the films.

"The chance for In Our Name to be viewed by a wider audience is fantastic," said the actress from Whitby, who won the most promising newcomer award at the British Independent Film Awards last year for her portrayal of a female soldier who returns to civilian life after a tour of duty in Iraq. The film received plaudits when released in this country last winter. "It is important to get British work seen out there. It is a lot more competitive for actors in America, but that is also where the bigger market is. It would be a fantastic opportunity to do some work out there and this will certainly open a few more doors."

Peter Mullan's hard-hitting film Neds will also be screened during the US export drive this month. The film tells the story of Conor McCarron, a young man who joins a gang of "non-educated delinquents" and has the chance to clutch at one chance of redemption. These independent and uncompromising stories are part of a British film culture that is rarely sampled by the average American cinemagoer. While actors and directors may benefit from wider exposure of their work, winning new mass audiences could be life or death for an independent film industry in Britain.

From Britain with Love was the idea of Sarah McKenzie, the former head of the UK Film Council export unit. She believes that since the US is the most valuable film market, valued at $10bn, it is foolish for the British industry to give it up as a lost cause. Britain had only a 1.9% market share in 2010 and this figure was unusually high because of the success of The King's Speech.

The Film Industry Export Alliance is now calling for lottery funding to fill the gap created by the closure of the export unit. "It would be impossible for any of these films to get this sort of exposure without wider industry support and it is essential to crack the US market in order to survive," said Carey Fitzgerald, chairwoman of the alliance.

"North America is one of the most difficult markets to crack. For most indie films it is even more difficult to get them released there. It is not enough that we have BBC Worldwide as a showcase, as government tends to say. Independent film and feature-length TV drama for other channels needs to be seen. An actress like Joanne would never have the opportunity to get this kind of exposure without this."

The appeal from the film industry to forge links with the US comes at a time when policy on film in Britain is set for a shakeup. A government review, led by Lord Smith, the former secretary of state for culture, media and sport, has been set up to look at the structure of the industry. The eight-strong committee includes Downton Abbey writer Julian Fellowes and representatives from the new Board of the British Film Institute, which recently became the main body for the delivery of film policy.

"If our films go no further than the white cliffs of Dover, then what is the point?" asked Fitzgerald . "It would not matter so much if we had a thriving industry here. And if we don't show our talent to America we will fall far behind all our European neighbours, who do so much to promote their talent.

"The huge potential of the UK film industry has most recently been demonstrated by The King's Speech, which wowed American audiences – but without a big lead like Colin Firth it could have so easily been overlooked. From Britain with Love is giving new British talent that essential extra push."