Actor Growth

As I expected, there definitely was a lot of gloomy news type of commentary at the film and TV forum. A comment that stuck out to me was from the talent agent Richard Lucas who operates one of bigger talent agencies here in Vancouver called Lucas Talent.

Essentially, all of the panel was asked to start off by telling people something very positive that happened for them this year and something negative. He starts off by pretty much just saying that he has no good news really and brings up a thought about how he noticed there seemed to be a disappearance of middle class actors this year. Basically, you are either killing it as an actor or are getting virtually nothing. This was the clip:

It was kind of interesting too as he commented that his agency made a good chunk of its income this year from what sounds to be oversees and foreign films. Kind of made me think if that meant having say a second language or being a minority should have been a great benefit this year.

If I was an outsider I would personally think that is always the way the acting business has been where you are either super successful financially or you are not. You realize when you start immersing yourself in the business that is not the case. Even when I watch TV or movies now I tend to pay a lot of attention to not just the lead actors but the supporting cast and people that just have small principle roles too.

That puts things in perspective too if any actor out there in this area was wondering just how bad the state of the industry was when you compare it to the more booming times. In cases like this, I’m inclined to say everyone that was not with a very established agency or took initiative to produce your own work must have had a hard year.

Excited to share all the information with you guys as I attended the BC Film and TV Biz forum where basically a panel of industry professionals commented about the current state of the industry here and what to do about it. I think this gives us a lot to talk about too.

While there are a ton of topics that I think will be cool to discuss that are specifically geared towards an actor’s growth like myself, there is a lot of content for me to go over. Everything from comparing the Vancouver film industry to other markets and what we as actors can do for our career growth. So, I’ll start it off with this one.

This is a footage I took during the introduction where it was the casting director Stuart Aikins. He is actually the person that casts the Twilight movie that was shot here. For me, he mentioned what I thought was the underlying message of the night for all actors I’d say. Essentially, we as actors need to take this opportunity to create our own work and to learn other skills as well. Here is a clip of the speech:

Funny thing is too that I actually told my acting coach that I was seriously considering trying to find a group of actors and other people that want to seriously make something on the web so that we can make our own future. Cause in many ways for me personally going to like workshops and doing the same old doesn’t seem to have produced dramatic results thus far.

Guess the only tricky thing about this is that many people are usually super enthusiastic about starting something but then never follow through with it in the end. So, it’s a matter of trying to find people that are willing to be just as dedicated and hungry as you are to succeed. One can argue that you can always just do something solo, but I would love to work with a group of people personally.

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.

What a cool surprise this was. While working on Human Target today I thought that one of the actors looked eerily familiar. Similarly, he saw me and was giving me that look as if we knew each other somehow. Funny enough, it was one of the acting coaches at the audition workshop that I take every week. lol.

I didn’t recognize him immediately at first as he wasn’t wearing his glasses and the makeup made him look lighter than normal. It was kind of cool as he was telling me how he got the part and all during the break which was interesting to learn. Specifically, in this case the person casting for the series seemed to have seen him before a long time ago and for whatever reason was not impressed.

That was awhile ago and of course he has worked on a lot of other film and TV roles since then. He then told me that his agent was pushing for him to get seen which ultimately resulted in him getting seen for an audition again for that casting director. As it turns out, he got a role out of it.

Guess that shows you how the important an agent can be and signing up with one that doesn’t just submit you for projects but rather goes the extra mile to really push you can make a huge difference. Another thing that was interesting was that he said one of the students in the class was actually auditioning for the same part as him too. That must feel really weird if I ever had to do that. Then again, none of the coaches are Asian so I doubt we would ever be auditioning for the same parts.

While working on set I was speaking to an individual that was eager to start auditioning for film and TV roles. Apparently the studio we were at was also the office location of a local casting director. Therefore, he came prepared with a headshot and resume and asked me if I wanted to go with him. My first reaction was “Don’t do that”.

I knew that I had more experience than him and so my concern was that he wanted to do this impulsively as probably no one else had taught him the logistic business side of being an actor. To try and convince him to really think about it, I asked him to show me his headshot and resume. His headshot for the most part seemed fine. But the resume……oh dear.

The first thing I immediately noticed was that the format was all wrong. Basically, his entire resume was like a grocery shopping list where each sentence was something he worked on and when. So no categories, skill lists…….just point for point about various work. As well, a good 90% of what was listed was background work. Another no-no if you are specifically trying to get a principal casting director to notice you.

Fortunately, I was able to convince him not to go through with it as I offered to teach him what I learned and based on my experience. Another point I brought up to him was that just walking up to a casting director’s office will probably put you in their bad book as I’m sure they get tons of requests from actors who wish to meet them while trying all sorts of crazy things to do so.

So really think about it if you are like that person where you thought it would be a great idea just to drop in unexpectedly into their office to introduce yourself.

Interesting rumblings I heard today while on set. Essentially, there is this one casting director who’s name always seems to come up when people talk about someone who they dislike working with or has the worst reputation. Some people commented that because of that they refuse to work for him when they get called.

Similarly, a lot of production staff that I had heard from say the same thing and now the person apparently lost all of his best workers too. That was very interesting I thought as sure enough this casting director doesn’t have the same amount of work compared to the past.

What this really showed me too that as a performer this is an example on how the casting director needs you just as much as you need them. Cause really, productions go with them because they trust that they have the connections to acquire the necessary talent to make things happen for the show.

The relationship definitely goes both ways.