Actor Growth

Was at another audition today where it was one of those calls that you received no sides for. Basically, you have to improvise it on the spot. Today’s audition was a little awkward as the casting director told us that in the beginning we should talk a little about ourselves in front of the camera so that the person hiring the talent would get a better understanding of you.

She specifically mentioned too that we shouldn’t say basic things such as how we were actors. I really didn’t know what to say at first. Eventually, when it came to my turn I just joked a bit on how since I was Asian Canadian most people joke that I am a “Banana” where it’s like I am white on the inside and yellow on the outside.

After thinking about it, since this was an audition for some game company I should have probably talked more about how I was a hardcore gamer and such. Funny as I am so used to not saying that since most people could care less about that.

Afterwards the audition consisted of us pretending to be playing a game on our cell phones and having people cheering the player on. Each performer swapped where one time they were the player and the other time as the cheering buddy. Was pretty basic and straight forward. Lot’s of yelling I must say.

For this audition I don’t feel that I did anything special that would have made me stand out from others too much. So I definitely don’t expect this one to go anywhere.

I got to go audition today and in the audition room there were actually tables with a bunch of real tools that the performers would have to utilize to try and give a feel as if they are acting in the actual shoot.

It was kind of funny as in the script it mentions the characters are so lazy that they try to play like a ring toss game with some tools. Sure enough, we actually got to do just that in the audition itself. It’s always a lot easier auditioning in these situations as normally you have to try and recreate the space yourself to get you into the mood of the scene.

The other day I was having a conversation with some actors who expressed a common thought that I have heard from many. Basically, obviously every actor wants that principal role in say a TV show or a featured film. There is usually a huge downtime though as you have to wait for auditions for appropriate roles within your category to come up.

However, usually in between there are a ton of commercials that are being shot which requires actors as well. It sounds like it could be a great way for an actor to make some income while waiting for the bigger opportunities. But surprisingly you often hear actors saying that they would avoid commercials at all cost as it will affect their image and worth.

I have even tried asking people before to find out the exact reason for it and usually the most common answer is that they won’t degrade themselves from having trained at say some of the best schools to be used in projects where it is mostly about showing a pretty face. While I guess I can see the argument in that, it does kind of puzzle me as you can technically get an actor role on say a TV show or movie where you don’t say anything at all as all you do is smile for the camera.

It makes you wonder sometimes on whether or not we are simply way too picky about the things we can do in this industry and field.

This was interesting while on set yesterday as the production lasted well over sixteen hours. Now as you know most productions usually have a catering company to handle all the food and drink items to hopefully keep people hydrated and all. In this case though it lasted so long that the catering company stopped catering to various groups as the show apparently did not budget for it.

I was thinking how people must have eaten a lot as my assumption is that companies usually budget these things according to the headcount. Example, each person is say a $40 a day budget which they then bill the production for. Either that or the company got a bit too fancy in its offerings.

Interesting at how much money a production can go through in a day though the more you think about it.

While working on set today I was told about a person I knew who apparently landed a role on Stargate Universe as a result of fans creating a campaign of sort to keep a character alive. Upon further research I found a blog post at http://josephmallozzi.wordpress.com/2010/09/04/september-4-2010-bill-y-w-butt-sgus-vince-kwan-answers-your-questions/ which described all about it.

Wow. lol. I have worked with Bill a couple of times mostly on other sets when it came to background work. I have seen him twice I think on Stargate Universe where we were in different scenes. Reading this story was pretty amazing. I was happy to see too that an Asian actually got this opportunity as there is usually very little for people in this category compared to others.

He had a pretty interesting take on why there are so little Asians in the film industry too. Either way, it was pleasant news to hear. The title he has been dubbed with is just so strange though. lol.

Well this was an interesting week. Just yesterday I had to do a self tape audition for a series regular role on a tv show. It was definitely shocking as I didn’t expect to even get these types of opportunities yet. My assumption is that I would only be considered for like those small one liner type of roles for the time being.

This had me worried a bit and of course I asked for help from people such as my old acting coach. This role seemed kind of interesting as the character was kind of cool and by the looks of it they wanted an Asian. For all the times I hear that if you are Asian you are doomed to play stereotypical weak characters or violent gangster roles this seemed great.

The odds are against me though in this as I would assume there are probably a gazillion other Asian actors with a bigger resume that would get priority consideration. But just the thought I was even consider is great I thought. Casting directors usually say that if you are even called up for consideration you should consider yourself as a finalist type of mentality.