What I Look For When I Cast Actors

WHAT I LOOK FOR WHEN I CAST ACTORS
by Neil Schell

When I cast I look to the essence of the actor. This essence is character. Like a heat seeking missile, I hunt down with my senses what is in the heart of this actor that I see before me. If the actor truly lets me see that without trying to show me how good of an actor they are, it is easier for me to cast them. Actors who can do this are far more interesting and exciting than those who are trying to be good actors.

If you look at this in terms of rhythm, it might become clearer. If you portray the rhythm of everyday life you will be boring. Entertainment must have a rhythm that is not like the everyday. Finding your own unique, internal rhythm of a scene or a character in the scene will make you stand out. Falling into any sort of ordinary rhythm is fatal because it is boring. People don’t watch TV or movies to see exactly what life is like – to see the day-to-day rhythms. They are already living that. They want a different rhythm, something that kicks them out of the mundane, the plain, the ordinary.

Skill as an actor, I believe, is necessary. Skill has value because a skilled actor is productive and easy to work with. A skilled actor is often needed for difficult roles – highly charged and emotional scenes. Never stop increasing your skills and becoming more professional in your work. But before all of that, before you start beating your brains in with Meisner technique or sense memory work or freeing yourself from your unwillingness to get angry and throw things or spit or being able to pick your nose on camera, you must be interesting and entertaining. Good is BORING. And BORING is the ultimate sin in this game called acting.

When an actor steps in the casting room or walks into a restaurant for a lunch meeting with a producer or is met on the street by accident by a director, their ability to let their true essence come through is what will advance them in their career. It is what is sought after most. For if the director or producer can clearly see an actor’s uniqueness then so too can the audience. That true essence, that character, is what an actor brings to any role. And once that actor knows what that essence is, he or she now knows what they are selling. “Good actor” just doesn’t cut it and isn’t unique and interesting and therefore has little to no entertainment value.

When you walk into my casting room I am watching from the moment you enter.  Within seconds I can see if you are in the running to book this role.  Everything from your mannerisms to your attitude are being observed.  I am open to the fact that you may be the character.  I don’t have some strictly defined image or specific energy I am waiting to see walk in the door.  No.  I do have some boundaries for sure that cannot be crossed but generally I am open to what you have to bring to the character.  You could be the most amazing actor in the world but if you don’t suit what I need in the character in order to tell the story, then your acting ability will not win me over – not if it’s an important role.  I won’t forget you if you have talent and are professional.  But if you don’t “fit” the role, I won’t cast you. The “best” actor does not always get the role.

Regardless of what the critiques and the coaches say, it is the audience who determines who they want to see on the big screen. Arnold Swarzeneggar is a prime example of this. When he arrived in Hollywood and said he wanted to be a movie star, people in the industry stared at him in disbelief. He didn’t look like any other actor working at that time. He couldn’t really act that well. He had a terrible accent (to Americans) and his name was just weird and too long for the marquee. Yet, somehow he got through that wall of “no” from those who “knew best” and connected to an audience of huge proportions. At one point, Arnold was the highest paid actor in the world.

If you know the exact qualities of your character and you know when they are needed or required you are way ahead of the game.

Arnold was not trying to sell the fact that he was a good actor. He was way too smart for that. He knew what he was as an actor but he also knew that he had something the industry needed or would need. Arnold was and is a very disciplined individual. You don’t get to be Mr. Universe four times (or whatever it was) by being a couch potato. His inner character was displayed in what he did to his body. He had a strength of discipline and the courage to be unique. And this came through to the audience. Audiences just love to identify with courage and uniqueness.

This, too, is what I am looking for.  But it must match the character in the story. Being clear about your attributes for the film industry and the characters we need to cast. Knowing what it is you bring to the table and clearly marketing and revealing that in your work helps you and helps the director.  It will be blatantly obvious as to what characters you can play and you will be cast in a role that you are strong in.  Being correctly cast makes you appear to be an outstanding actor as opposed to an mediocre one.  Actors who win awards have been correctly cast.  It truly behooves the actor to understand what they bring to the industry and how they are perceived by industry professionals so they are correctly cast.  When actors get this right, they become in-demand actors.

So what steps can you take to move toward not only knowing what you are selling but also selling it with confidence and strength so you become an interesting actor that directors want in their films? How does one get away from this homogenized “good actor” and start being a unique and interesting actor?

The first step is to throw away this idea of being a good actor. That might be hard to do because, most likely, this is the only thing you have been relying on and aiming for.  Be skilled, be professional but don’t be “good.” Once you’ve really let go of the concept, of that goal, discover how you are perceived by professionals working in the industry, discover where your strengths lie in terms of character.  Then zero in on it and market it and be the very best at it.

Copyright © 2012

revised 2016