Actor Growth

So something interesting happened recently where I saw that a person whom I have worked with in the past where I volunteered as an actor was again shooting another film. As usual he posted a breakdown of the type of actors he was looking for as well as wanting the headshots and resume.

I figured I would just pop him a message to say that I would be willing to help him if he needed while specifically saying I assumed that he knows me enough not to need my package. Sure enough he told me that he would contact me if another person couldn’t do it as he had already cast the part.

Interestingly enough the original person couldn’t be used and so I got the phone call to play a part in his film. This almost reminds of like a casting director who would simply cast people based straight up on past experiences. I guess it is less likely to happen in the more professional realm of work but I guess when you are at a certain level things like this are bound to happen.

Today I got an e-mail about a casting notice for a film that is specifically looking for ethnic people. One thing I noticed is that in the character breakdown it mentions that they are looking for a person within the 20-40 years age range.

These types of postings always confuse me as a twenty year age gap is pretty substantial in terms of the look. Usually I am told that people post it this way because they are still unsure on exactly what they want. I often hear casting directors complain of actors getting submitted for parts where they don’t fit the age range. Postings like this sure don’t help.

I have been getting quite a few project notifications recently from a particular film school here which happens to be the largest one in Vancouver. I volunteered to act in a film for them a few weeks back as it was one of the instructors who was requesting for the talent. So, I thought that if an instructor was requesting for the talent that the project would be professional to work on.

Interestingly enough, I guess as a result of this I have been getting audition notices that aren’t being advertised first. Obviously these are student films and not professional acting gigs, but it sure shows me how this is what is like with real casting directors too. Example, once the person works with you they try to use people that they know first.

I learned some very interesting tidbit just the other day when it came to casting directors here in the Vancouver area and why it seems like it is so hard to break into the scene as an actor while at the same times it’s always the same people that get the auditions all the time. Keep in mind that in many ways it can be hearsay still, but the results kind of match what I see.

Basically there was a person that came from Toronto and he was so shocked to learn that here in Vancouver casting directors actually do a pre-screen where actors would first tape themselves doing a scene so that the casting director can pre-judge them to see if they have the chops or not to come in the room. Normally one would do these types of tapings if you are located in a different city and therefore it’s like a way to save you time.

Then a point came up on how for places like Toronto and even Los Angeles the casting directors there actually see a wide range and large volume of people as they are used to it. So while here you may see like ten people auditioning for a role in other markets there could be like thirty. While I guess you can say population density could have a factor, it’s more of a mentality it seems.

Basically, I was always told that casting directors want to bring in actors that will make them look good. When you think about it the production is hiring them and the more good talent they present to like the director the better they look. At the same time, you can easily see why it’s only the same people that get seen all the time as many are afraid to bring in new talent as they want to play it safe.

I wonder why that’s the case here in Vancouver specifically though. Business sense to me is that the more people you see the more potential you have in discovering new talent. Can you imagine running like a sports team where you refuse to scout for new talent but rather just rely on the same people as the years go by? Must be disastrous if the only time you look for new talent is if say all your existing people are injured or retiring.

I guess as a positive, for here in Vancouver that can show you how once you get your break then chances are you are going to be taken care of better as if the profession is that tight knitted here that means you will get seen more.

You may remember a few weeks back I went for an audition that I thought went very well. Today, I got an e-mail from the producer asking me to phone him back. I assumed that was good news as in most cases people wouldn’t bother to contact you if they weren’t interested in any way.

While talking to him on the phone, he told me that they auditioned a lot of people and they decided that I could pull off a different character quite nicely other than the one I read for. Therefore, either way I got a role in this independent feature film.

I’m actually excited about this as resource and commitment wise these guys seem like they are dead serious in creating a film that has a high production value quality. At the same time, it is so true in this scenario where doing great and trying to stand out individually can result in the production saying something along the lines of “Okay, we like this guy…….what can we put him in” even though you may not be the ideal person for the particular role you read for.

So I was talking with my agent recently about my growth and direction thus far as I was curious if he had any input when it comes to myself in comparison to other local Vancouver actors who get seen by casting directors. Essentially, I was trying to find out what other people’s competitive edges were where they would be called for something over myself or vice versa.

He began by mentioning how it would make his job so much easier if he knew exactly what a casting director wanted. However, most of the time they just ask for very generic descriptions for a person such as the age and sex of the actor.

Out of that conversation too he addressed that a casting director usually calls 15 actors to audition per character. As well, he estimated that there were approximately 60,000 male actors here in the BC area. Putting that number into perspective should really make you think how competitive this field is.

He even mentioned that even though I’m ethnic, which puts me in a smaller demographic, there is no way to figure out what characteristics a casting director is looking for unless they mark Asian males only in their casting information.

You know, casting directors always say that if you even make it to the audition room you should be super happy. Many times I don’t really think too much of it, but thinking about those numbers sure puts everything in a different perspective. If here in BC we have 60,000 male actors, does that mean LA has like 500,000?

Now I know what my old acting classmate meant when he said he went to New York and couldn’t even get seen.