We all know their names so well: Robin Williams, Kevin Kline, Laura Linney (just to mention a few of the high-profile alumni of Juilliard's Drama Division). But what does it take to become a star these days? Hard work, perseverance, and a little of what we all wish for in life—lucky breaks. And of course, coming from Juilliard certainly helps.

Juilliard does not have any formal ties to Los Angeles, and can only help its graduates by connecting them to alumni in the area or to good New York agents with bicoastal offices. According to Kathy Hood, the administrative director of Juilliard's Drama Division, the School is hoping to put together an L.A. showcase in the future, providing fourth-year students with an opportunity to perform in front of agents looking for new talent. (Currently, New York-based agents are invited to attend such events at the School.)

Anthony Mackie Photo by Chia Messina

Some drama students do manage to break into Hollywood quickly after graduating. Anthony Mackie (Group 30) credits his Juilliard training for much of his recent success as an actor. Mackie's most recent brush with stardom was his role as Papa Doc in the film 8 Mile. "I had auditioned for the role of Future, but [director] Curtis Hanson decided to create another role for me. Because this film was about hip-hop, which Curtis new nothing about, he let us write our own rhymes and original music for the film. It was great to have gone to Juilliard, and do rap!" Mackie has also finished shooting a film with Harrison Ford called Hollywood Homicide, scheduled for release this June.

His role as rapper Tupac Shakur in Juilliard playwright Michael Develle Winn's Up Against the Wind (presented at Juilliard in 2000 and at the New York Theater Workshop the following year, when Mackie was a fourth-year student) helped him get noticed quickly. It was during this show that Mackie was spotted by the prominent New York-based Gersh Agency, which signed with him soon after. (Mackie has recently switched to another agency called Endeavor.)

Christian Camargo

But Mackie's speedy entree into Hollywood is not the norm, according to Christian Camargo (Group 25), who says that his own experience is probably more typical of Juilliard actors. It took Camargo five years to break into film; his most recent big role was Pavel in K-19: The Widowmaker, in which he starred with Harrison Ford.

Camargo—a lacrosse jock and art history major in college, who had had little acting experience prior to entering Juilliard—believes the way to get into Hollywood is to be noticed in New York. Therefore, he was not in a rush to go to L.A. After graduating from Juilliard, he was fortunate to get leading roles in the Public Theater's summer productions of Shakespeare in the Park and in David Hare's Skylight on Broadway. He then moved to England and worked with the inaugural Globe Theatre for a year and a half. Upon returning to New York, he did four or five independent films. While each of these roles was a wonderful experience, five years of low pay took their toll, and he decided it was time to try his talent in Hollywood. By this point, he had a bicoastal agent, so making the transition was fairly easy.

Robyn Cohen

The decision to head for Los Angeles soon after graduating from Juilliard was a natural one for Robyn Cohen, who earned her B.F.A. in dance in 2001 but knew she wanted to be an actress. She moved to L.A. after starring in several musicals on the East Coast. "I wanted a clean slate, since everyone around New York knew me as a musical-theater person, and I didn't want to be pigeon-holed," she explains. Cohen says that "L.A. is like a mysterious machine—and you just have to dive in and figure out how it works." She has been there for the past year, and has recently signed with a prominent agent whom she hopes will open doors for her in film and television.

Los Angeles can be an overwhelming place. Even though Candace Edwards-Holub (Group 27) had lived there for 10 years prior to attending Juilliard, she still felt slightly lost when she moved back after school. "You have to hustle: be on top of every contact you make, every piece of mail you receive—even stay in touch with all your fans," she observes.

In addition to keeping on top of contacts, Cohen recommends continuing to take classes and performing as much as possible. She has taken non-paying parts and short-term gigs for the exposure. When she isn't working on stage, she studies at a local acting school, which also hosts workshops with casting directors. Basically, she says yes to almost everything that comes her way.

The importance of being seen is critical, and showcases are the best places to get noticed: writers, producers, and directors are in the audience, scouting talent for their respective television networks. But showcases can be costly for striving actors, since one must pay to be in them as well as audition for them. Edwards-Holub suggests keeping one's presentation light, funny, and contemporary in the allotted 5 or 10 minutes that you'll have to show your stuff.

Candace Edwards-Holub

Theater offers another avenue through which to be noticed, as more people are seeing plays, and smaller theaters are thriving. This is the world that Robyn Cohen has spent most of her time in, and she has loved the diversity of the work—from classics like the role of Masha in Chekhov's Three Sisters (for which she was recently nominated best actress by the L.A. Weekly's Theater Awards and leading female performer in Backstage West magazine) to three current Playhouse West productions, one of which is a play written by and starring Scott Caan (James Caan's son) called A One-Act Fairy Tale. (Cohen plays opposite Caan as his wife, in a ludicrous portrait of a highly dysfunctional couple.)

Anthony Mackie also believes strongly in diversifying his work. Although he has had offers to do other films after 8 Mile, he is now rehearsing for the role of Sylvester in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, directed by Whoopie Goldberg and due on Broadway in February. Mackie will also play the lead role of Levee when the show's star, Charles S. Dutton, takes a break to shoot a film. When asked why he has turned down big-money films since 8 Mile, he says the roles were not interesting or challenging enough, and emphasizes that he never wants the artist in him to be compromised. (Nor does he want to be typecast as the "black rapper" actor.)

Even with a good agent, however, it is not always easy to get auditions for roles you want. When Edwards-Holub found a manager with contacts in CSI, the number-one drama series on C.B.S., it took her an entire year to get an audition for the show. She now has a guest-star credit in several recent episodes—a major breakthrough for her—and is hoping her role in C.S.I. will lead to more television work. (Her agent has gotten her work in commercials, including one for Sprint.)

The challenge is to not get too consumed by the Hollywood "machine." Christian Camargo has accomplished this by starting his own business in Brooklyn, a vintage muscle-car shop and photo studio called Fast Ashley's (www.fastashleys.com). Mackie's side interest, apart from acting, is composing hip-hop music.

Regardless of how quickly it takes a Juilliard graduate to achieve his or her goals in Hollywood (or New York, for that matter), it certainly helps to be part of the talented community that Juilliard represents. "It's like a family thing," says Mackie, referring to the frequency with which he meets fellow Juilliard alumni in the acting world. "They're all over, doing everything."

Sarah J. Roth is director of national advancement and alumni affairs.