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I want to talk about casting directors

to day,

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which admittedly, is slightly dangerous

territory for a casting director.

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Because whenever someone begins a

conversation with, let me tell you,

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what casting directors are really like,

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I immediately think, oh, boy, where's

this going?

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But I want to approach this differently.

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I want to talk about something I'm

calling empathy casting.

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Ok, it's a play on words.

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And no, I am not suggesting that your

casting director needs a hug,

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although some days, ow, we can discuss

that later.

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What I mean by empathy casting is

simply this,

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what would happen if actors had a

better understanding of what casting

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directors actually do,

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not what somebody posted online after a

frustrating audition,

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not what your friend heard from their

acting teacher, who heard it from an

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agent who heard it from somebody

standing outside an audition twelve

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years ago.

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What actually happens?

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Because

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there's something psychologically

interesting that happens when we don't

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have information,

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we invented.

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And actors have plenty of opportunities

to invent information about casting.

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This is casting actor's guest.

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Well, hello, and welcome to today's

episode of casting actors cast.

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I'm Jeff dries, but I thank you for

joining me.

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I'm a casting director with mccorchel

casting in New York, and I really love

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this subject.

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We're going to be talking about casting

directors, but I think we're going to

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take a slightly different point of view

than what you might be thinking.

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But first, this is that moment of the

conversation where I simply get to say,

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thank you so much for tuning in to

casting.

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Actress Cass it's been an honor to

bring these podcasts to you, these

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patios podcast videos to you.

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I invite you to check out the website,

casting actor's cast, all one word dot

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com.

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You can see all kinds of information

there, including the new announcement

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that we are also a television channel.

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Yeah, you can find us on roch, who, an

Amazon fire.

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And there's information about how you

can do that.

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If you have those streaming devices,

please consider checking me out on TV.

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It's kind of fun, and I think you'll

enjoy it as well.

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That doesn't mean I'm going to be

stopping the podcast any time soon.

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So don't worry about that.

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Also.

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You can see that there's a form there

that says, dive into the talent pool.

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It gives me your name and your email

now listen.

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I don't do anything with that.

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I don't Spam you.

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I don't

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take up any bad with.

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I promise.

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I might occasionally send out an

announcement, but you know what, I'd

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spend several months since I've even

sent out a promotional piece.

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So I'm not into that.

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I just don't have the dive in my day to

do that.

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But it does open up some free beasts

for you.

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One is a book on doing voice over work

called conversation pieces out of the

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studio, the voice of a workshop for

professional actors.

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And that also includes a free video

casting secrets.

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What they don't tell you there's all

kinds of additional information and

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material about the podcast.

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My book

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booked it, the actor's play book for

getting cast,

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and also there's a video, um, there's

an audio book there's, I mean, there's

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all kinds of stuff that you can check

out.

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And I would love it if you could.

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There's even a course.

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So anyway, the website's chocksful of

that stuff.

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It would be really great if you could

take a few moments to check it out.

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And then finally, I just would love to

share my thanks to my good friends and

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actor's connection.

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And I would hope also that you might

consider leaving a review if you like

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what you're hearing.

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A thumbs up, a like

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a sharer would be so cool.

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Also, a review, especially on iTunes,

cause that's like,

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I've said this before, the holy grail

of getting reviews.

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It means the world to me.

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And it continues to grow the channel

and now the station.

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So thank you for all of that.

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Ok, let's jump into it, shall we?

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Thank you for auditioning for detective

number three, please stay in the line,

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and a representative

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will explain why you weren't selected.

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Wouldn't that be something?

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Press one, if you would like feedback

about your audition.

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Press two, if you would like to argue

with the director.

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Press three, if your mother would like

to speak to us?

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No, you simply don't know.

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And when human beings don't know

something important to them,

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we tend to fill in the blank.

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Actors are especially good at this

because,

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well,

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you're imaginative people.

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Fortunately, sometimes you turn that

imagination against yourself.

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They didn't like me.

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They already knew who they wanted.

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Casting only uses their friends.

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The casting director looked bored.

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She didn't even smile.

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He barely looked up.

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They weren't interested.

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Casting directors just like having

power over actors.

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And there's another one I've heard over

the years.

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Casting directors are just frustrated

actors who couldn't make it themselves.

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Really interesting for me, because I

actually was an actor

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for more than twenty years,

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and now I've spent many years sitting

on the other side of the table,

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which means I've had the peculiar

experience of being suspicious

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of the people

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I eventually became.

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And here's something I wish I had

understood better when I was acting.

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The casting director is usually

thinking about you considerably less personally

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than you think they are.

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Now I don't mean that dismissively.

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I mean it liberatingly,

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ooh, good word.

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Because when you're auditioning,

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the experience feels incredibly

personal.

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Well, that your face, your voice, your

body, your interpretation, your vulnerability,

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your character, your career, your hope.

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Of course, it feels personal.

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But the casting director is looking at

the audition through an entirely

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different lens.

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We're trying to solve something,

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and that something is usually much more

specific.

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Then.

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Is this actor good?

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In fact, one of the biggest

misconceptions about casting is that

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we're sitting there, judging, talent.

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Good actor, bad actor, good.

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Bad yes, no.

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Next.

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Now that's not how I experience casting.

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What I'm actually experiencing is, what

does this actor bring to this

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particular role, in this particular

project?

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At this particular time

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that's very different.

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I don't need every actor to give me the

same interpretation.

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Well, actually, please don't.

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That would make for a very long

afternoon.

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I want to experience

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your imagination,

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your instincts,

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your relationship to the material, your

point of view, your commitment.

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And then I have to ask another question.

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Does what I'm experiencing

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fit the world the director and the

producer

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are trying to create?

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And suddenly we're not talking about

good and bad any more.

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We're talking about fit

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that distinction matters enormously

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because actors frequently interpret.

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They didn't cast me as, they didn't

think I was good.

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Now, listen, those statements are not

remotely the same.

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You can give an excellent audition and

not get cast.

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You can be completely prepared.

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You can make strong choices.

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You can be interesting, specific,

truthful, funny, moving, completely

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appropriate for the role,

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and still

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someone else fits that particular

vision.

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Better.

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That's not consolation.

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That's the mechanics of casting.

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And understanding those mechanics can

save actors from an enormous amount of

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unnecessary emotional wear and tear.

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Because the absence of information

doesn't have to become evidence

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against you.

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Ok?

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Somebody write that down?

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That was really good.

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Ah, i'll reve that the absence of

information doesn't have to become

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evidence against you.

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That's where empathy comes in.

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Not sympathy,

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not excusing bad behavior,

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not pretending.

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Every casting director is delightful.

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We're people.

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Some people are wonderful.

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Some can be quite difficult.

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Some are warm, some are reserved, some

are terrific communicators,

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and some apparently learned

interpersonal communication from a

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parking meter.

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We're talking about the understanding

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and the function of the casting

director,

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because when you understand someone's

function,

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you stop assigning motives to behavior

you don't understand.

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And that brings us to what I think may

be the simplest explanation of casting

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I've ever found.

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A casting director is essentially

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a personal shopper.

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Stay with me, because this analogy may

completely change the way you think

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about your next audition.

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We're going to talk more about the

personal shopper

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right after this.

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Welcome back.

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I want you to imagine that someone

hires you to shop for them.

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They need something very specific.

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Maybe it's a suit,

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maybe it's a jacket.

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They're looking for something specific.

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They tell you the occasion.

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They tell you something about their

taste.

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They give you parameters.

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And your job is to go into the market

place and bring back choices.

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Now,

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are you looking for the best suit in

the world?

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What would that even mean?

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The most expensive,

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the most fashionable, the best fabric,

the one you personally like?

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No, you're looking for the right suit

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for that client.

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You're considering.

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Fit,

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cut,

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color, style, price occasion,

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what else they're wearing, their

personality,

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what they're trying to communicate.

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And then you bring them choices.

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That's casting.

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The producer and director have a

vision.

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Sometimes that vision is

extraordinarily specific,

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sometimes it's still evolving.

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Sometimes two members of the creative

team have slightly different views.

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And yes, sometimes those differences

become apparent.

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Approximately three minutes before

callbacks,

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we welcome to show business, right?

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But our job is to understand that

vision as deeply as possible, to get

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inside the creative team's head,

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what world they're building,

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what tone thereafter?

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What relationships matter?

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What qualities does this character need

to bring into the story?

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Well, then we go shopping,

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except our merchandise

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happens to talk back

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and occasionally has an agent

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through breakdowns, submissions, head

shots, resumes, reels, self, tapes,

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auditions, call back previous work,

recommendations

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and our own knowledge of the acting

community.

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We begin assembling possibilities,

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not winners,

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possibilities.

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That's an important word, because

casting's obligation is to present

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meaningful choices to the people who

hired us.

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We may have strong opinions, believe

me, we frequently do.

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We may advocate for an actor.

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We may say, I think you should take

another look at this person.

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We might explain what happened in the

room.

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00:12:20,974 --> 00:12:24,310

We might talk about someone's work,

their professionalism,

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maybe their previous experience,

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their ability to take direction,

they're chemistry with another actor.

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We can help move a conversation along.

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00:12:34,254 --> 00:12:38,391

But ultimately the producer and the

director make the decision.

258

00:12:39,693 --> 00:12:43,29

And this is where another actor, myth

begins to fall apart.

259

00:12:44,97 --> 00:12:47,67

The casting director doesn't possess

the mystical power.

260

00:12:47,534 --> 00:12:48,201

Actors sometimes

261

00:12:49,536 --> 00:12:50,70

imagine

262

00:12:52,172 --> 00:12:53,273

we have influence,

263

00:12:54,40 --> 00:12:55,675

we have responsibility,

264

00:12:56,276 --> 00:12:57,610

we have expertise.

265

00:12:58,812 --> 00:13:00,947

But casting is collaborative.

266

00:13:02,115 --> 00:13:04,784

We're serving somebody else's creative

vision.

267

00:13:05,618 --> 00:13:06,986

And here's the fascinating part.

268

00:13:07,153 --> 00:13:09,756

In some ways, the casting director is

auditioning too.

269

00:13:10,990 --> 00:13:11,691

Think about it.

270

00:13:13,59 --> 00:13:17,130

See I've been hired because some one

believes I understand their project.

271

00:13:18,31 --> 00:13:20,166

Now I have to prove that I do.

272

00:13:21,134 --> 00:13:26,706

The actors I present become part of my

creative response to the material.

273

00:13:27,874 --> 00:13:31,845

I'm essentially saying, this is how I

understand what you're looking for.

274

00:13:33,380 --> 00:13:34,547

Does that sound familiar?

275

00:13:35,715 --> 00:13:38,718

Because isn't that exactly what an

actor does?

276

00:13:39,853 --> 00:13:42,88

You receive material, you interpret it.

277

00:13:42,88 --> 00:13:44,657

You make choices, you bring choices

into the room.

278

00:13:44,891 --> 00:13:48,495

And you say, this is how I understand

this character.

279

00:13:50,96 --> 00:13:53,266

The casting director, is doing

something remarkably similar.

280

00:13:54,200 --> 00:13:56,636

We're both interpreting somebody else's

vision.

281

00:13:57,470 --> 00:13:59,506

We're both using creativity.

282

00:14:00,40 --> 00:14:01,141

We're both making choices.

283

00:14:01,775 --> 00:14:04,310

We're both helping those choices

connect.

284

00:14:05,145 --> 00:14:06,346

And while this is important,

285

00:14:07,547 --> 00:14:11,851

neither one of us completely controls

the final decision

286

00:14:12,585 --> 00:14:16,489

that realization might create a little

empathy on both sides of the table.

287

00:14:17,624 --> 00:14:19,826

Actors sometimes imagine casting

288

00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:24,330

director sitting comfortably inside the

certainty of authority,

289

00:14:25,532 --> 00:14:30,537

meanwhile cassing may be thinking, I

really hope this is what the director meant.

290

00:14:31,538 --> 00:14:35,308

I've been in casting Sessions where I

felt enormously confident about the

291

00:14:35,308 --> 00:14:37,444

creative team and what they wanted.

292

00:14:38,345 --> 00:14:39,679

And I've been in others

293

00:14:40,814 --> 00:14:42,716

where the target moved.

294

00:14:44,184 --> 00:14:45,285

That's part of the job

295

00:14:46,119 --> 00:14:46,519

you listen.

296

00:14:46,920 --> 00:14:47,520

You adjust,

297

00:14:47,954 --> 00:14:49,222

you learn the project's personality.

298

00:14:49,856 --> 00:14:51,825

Because every project has one.

299

00:14:52,759 --> 00:14:54,227

Every director has one.

300

00:14:55,128 --> 00:14:56,496

Every producer has one.

301

00:14:57,397 --> 00:15:01,768

Sometimes casting a comedy requires a

completely different energy

302

00:15:02,168 --> 00:15:03,503

than casting a drama.

303

00:15:04,170 --> 00:15:06,72

Sometimes a director wants surprise.

304

00:15:06,906 --> 00:15:08,808

Another wants precision.

305

00:15:10,10 --> 00:15:13,480

One may respond immediately and

emotionally to an actor.

306

00:15:14,280 --> 00:15:15,515

I've seen that happen.

307

00:15:16,16 --> 00:15:16,783

Another

308

00:15:17,317 --> 00:15:19,686

may need to watch the tape again.

309

00:15:20,820 --> 00:15:22,655

We're constantly gathering information.

310

00:15:23,156 --> 00:15:25,925

Which brings me to another

misconception.

311

00:15:26,826 --> 00:15:27,60

The supposedly

312

00:15:28,94 --> 00:15:30,63

cold casting director.

313

00:15:32,499 --> 00:15:34,868

Ah, I understand where this comes from.

314

00:15:35,635 --> 00:15:37,103

An actor walks into the room.

315

00:15:37,704 --> 00:15:40,6

The casting director seems intensely

focused.

316

00:15:40,907 --> 00:15:42,442

Maybe they don't engage much.

317

00:15:42,909 --> 00:15:45,745

Maybe they're looking at a monitor,

maybe they're making notes,

318

00:15:46,179 --> 00:15:47,480

maybe they're thinking about something.

319

00:15:47,881 --> 00:15:51,685

And the actor's internal alarm system

immediately activates

320

00:15:52,519 --> 00:15:53,586

they're not interested.

321

00:15:54,421 --> 00:15:55,188

They hate this.

322

00:15:55,789 --> 00:15:56,956

I made the wrong choice.

323

00:15:57,457 --> 00:15:58,892

I should have done it differently.

324

00:15:59,292 --> 00:16:00,794

Why isn't she smiling?

325

00:16:01,227 --> 00:16:02,262

Maybe I should smile.

326

00:16:02,662 --> 00:16:03,163

Don't smile.

327

00:16:03,697 --> 00:16:04,431

That would be weird.

328

00:16:04,998 --> 00:16:05,298

Oh god.

329

00:16:05,465 --> 00:16:06,866

Now I'm thinking about smiling.

330

00:16:07,934 --> 00:16:11,871

And meanwhile, the casting director may

simply be thinking, would this actor

331

00:16:12,172 --> 00:16:15,208

work opposite the person I cast

yesterday?

332

00:16:16,976 --> 00:16:17,610

That's it?

333

00:16:18,111 --> 00:16:19,212

Nothing about you?

334

00:16:19,779 --> 00:16:23,983

Nothing about whether you're talented,

nothing about whether we like you

335

00:16:24,751 --> 00:16:26,86

we're solving the puzzle.

336

00:16:27,620 --> 00:16:29,789

Casting requires tremendous

concentration.

337

00:16:30,990 --> 00:16:31,291

And concentration

338

00:16:32,492 --> 00:16:34,728

doesn't always photograph as warmth.

339

00:16:36,996 --> 00:16:38,998

Efficiency can look like indifference.

340

00:16:39,532 --> 00:16:40,333

Don't you think

341

00:16:41,134 --> 00:16:43,670

neutrality can look like rejection?

342

00:16:44,671 --> 00:16:47,207

Concentration can look like criticism.

343

00:16:48,341 --> 00:16:53,279

Please don't interpret someone's

concentration as commentary on your performance.

344

00:16:54,748 --> 00:16:58,985

Now listen, I make a conscious effort

to create a warm audition environment.

345

00:16:59,452 --> 00:17:03,356

I really do, because I believe actors

do better work when they feel welcomed.

346

00:17:04,257 --> 00:17:06,426

I know what it feels like to walk into

that room.

347

00:17:06,493 --> 00:17:07,193

I've done it.

348

00:17:08,261 --> 00:17:11,965

But even in a warm environment, there

are moments when the work requires

349

00:17:12,499 --> 00:17:16,636

focus because the obligation isn't

merely to make everybody comfortable.

350

00:17:17,370 --> 00:17:19,239

The obligation is to cast the project.

351

00:17:19,539 --> 00:17:22,709

And good casting directors take that

responsibility

352

00:17:23,209 --> 00:17:24,144

seriously.

353

00:17:26,179 --> 00:17:28,581

Not because we enjoy judging actors.

354

00:17:29,949 --> 00:17:30,350

Quite the opposite.

355

00:17:31,551 --> 00:17:33,153

Good casting directors love actors.

356

00:17:33,453 --> 00:17:36,656

We appreciate what actors bring to the

project.

357

00:17:37,624 --> 00:17:41,461

We understand that every actor who

walks into that room is offering us

358

00:17:41,561 --> 00:17:44,464

something we didn't have before they

arrived.

359

00:17:45,632 --> 00:17:46,332

It could be an interpretation,

360

00:17:47,634 --> 00:17:48,468

an instinct,

361

00:17:48,835 --> 00:17:49,769

a possibility.

362

00:17:51,71 --> 00:17:54,908

And sometimes an actor walks in and

completely changes the way we were

363

00:17:54,908 --> 00:17:56,176

thinking about the role.

364

00:17:56,576 --> 00:17:58,78

Boy, those are wonderful moments.

365

00:17:59,79 --> 00:18:03,850

That's why I reject the idea that

casting is fundamentally about judging talent.

366

00:18:04,984 --> 00:18:06,753

We don't want to judge your talent.

367

00:18:07,53 --> 00:18:08,955

We want to experience your work.

368

00:18:09,856 --> 00:18:11,358

Those are very different things

369

00:18:12,425 --> 00:18:12,759

you see.

370

00:18:12,892 --> 00:18:14,894

Judgment asks, are you good enough?

371

00:18:16,96 --> 00:18:16,996

Experience asks.

372

00:18:17,530 --> 00:18:19,299

What happens when this actor inhabits

373

00:18:20,600 --> 00:18:21,134

this role?

374

00:18:22,836 --> 00:18:24,471

One closes possibilities,

375

00:18:24,904 --> 00:18:26,72

the other opens them.

376

00:18:27,207 --> 00:18:28,174

Casting,

377

00:18:28,808 --> 00:18:29,909

when it's done well,

378

00:18:30,744 --> 00:18:33,113

is about discovering possibilities,

possibilities.

379

00:18:36,116 --> 00:18:37,450

Let's talk about what changes

380

00:18:38,184 --> 00:18:39,986

now that you understand the job.

381

00:18:41,154 --> 00:18:43,957

You could ask the question, why does

any of this matter to you?

382

00:18:44,24 --> 00:18:44,657

You're an actor.

383

00:18:44,991 --> 00:18:47,193

Why should you care how casting works?

384

00:18:48,261 --> 00:18:49,129

Here's my answer.

385

00:18:50,663 --> 00:18:55,235

Because understanding the person on the

other side of the process can change

386

00:18:55,702 --> 00:18:56,336

your behavior

387

00:18:57,704 --> 00:18:59,205

inside the process.

388

00:18:59,939 --> 00:19:02,709

It can remove some of the imaginary

conflict.

389

00:19:03,376 --> 00:19:06,880

You don't have to walk into an audition

trying to defeat casting.

390

00:19:07,380 --> 00:19:08,815

You don't have to impress us.

391

00:19:08,815 --> 00:19:10,984

You don't have to figure out whether we

like you.

392

00:19:11,217 --> 00:19:13,453

You don't have to decode my facial

expressions.

393

00:19:14,421 --> 00:19:17,724

Please don't half the time I don't know

what my face is doing.

394

00:19:17,791 --> 00:19:18,224

Anyway,

395

00:19:19,459 --> 00:19:21,127

you don't have to search for clues.

396

00:19:22,829 --> 00:19:23,997

Did he lean forward?

397

00:19:24,497 --> 00:19:26,232

Did she write something down?

398

00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:28,968

They watch the whole tape.

399

00:19:29,636 --> 00:19:31,371

They only watch forty seconds.

400

00:19:32,572 --> 00:19:33,940

They asked me to do it again.

401

00:19:34,441 --> 00:19:36,276

Oh, they didn't ask me to do it again.

402

00:19:36,743 --> 00:19:37,143

They laughed.

403

00:19:37,610 --> 00:19:38,345

They didn't laugh.

404

00:19:38,812 --> 00:19:39,379

Oh my gosh.

405

00:19:39,779 --> 00:19:40,313

Stop.

406

00:19:41,81 --> 00:19:43,683

You're turning the audition into

forensic science.

407

00:19:44,651 --> 00:19:47,520

Your job isn't to investigate the

casting director.

408

00:19:48,121 --> 00:19:49,322

Your job is to act.

409

00:19:49,956 --> 00:19:52,625

And here's where empathy becomes useful.

410

00:19:53,626 --> 00:19:58,231

Instead of imagining someone sitting on

the other side waiting to reject, you,

411

00:19:59,65 --> 00:20:03,370

imagine another creative person trying

to solve a problem

412

00:20:04,504 --> 00:20:06,573

that is much closer to reality.

413

00:20:07,374 --> 00:20:08,441

I want you to succeed.

414

00:20:09,75 --> 00:20:12,979

An actors sometimes here casting

directors say and think that.

415

00:20:13,313 --> 00:20:15,682

They say, I want actors to succeed.

416

00:20:16,583 --> 00:20:19,853

And you might think, oh, that's a nice

thing for casting directors to say,

417

00:20:21,54 --> 00:20:21,888

no, no, no.

418

00:20:22,22 --> 00:20:23,523

Think about it practically.

419

00:20:24,357 --> 00:20:26,226

Why would I want you to fail?

420

00:20:26,993 --> 00:20:30,730

If you walk into the room and give me

exactly what the project needs,

421

00:20:31,531 --> 00:20:33,600

you've just made my job easier.

422

00:20:34,834 --> 00:20:37,437

You have solved something for me.

423

00:20:38,271 --> 00:20:39,806

You may have solved something for the

director.

424

00:20:40,507 --> 00:20:43,43

You may have solved something for the

producer.

425

00:20:44,110 --> 00:20:48,281

When an actor gives a wonderful

audition, casting directors don't sit

426

00:20:48,348 --> 00:20:50,817

there thinking, damn, they were good.

427

00:20:51,151 --> 00:20:52,185

How can I stop this?

428

00:20:53,787 --> 00:20:57,590

We're thrilled because suddenly we have

something exciting to present.

429

00:20:58,425 --> 00:20:59,993

You remember the personal shopper

430

00:21:00,827 --> 00:21:02,495

I found the jacket it fits.

431

00:21:02,829 --> 00:21:03,863

The color is right.

432

00:21:03,930 --> 00:21:04,764

The cut is right.

433

00:21:04,831 --> 00:21:05,699

The style is right.

434

00:21:06,32 --> 00:21:07,667

Wait until you see this.

435

00:21:08,835 --> 00:21:09,869

That's the feeling.

436

00:21:10,570 --> 00:21:15,208

So yes, the castors director wants

every actor to succeed.

437

00:21:16,176 --> 00:21:18,244

That doesn't mean every actor will get

cast.

438

00:21:18,578 --> 00:21:20,146

Those are completely different ideas.

439

00:21:20,914 --> 00:21:25,452

Success, in an audition, isn't

synonymous with getting the job.

440

00:21:26,119 --> 00:21:28,755

Sometimes your success is giving us a

strong, memorable,

441

00:21:29,856 --> 00:21:31,358

specific piece of work

442

00:21:31,791 --> 00:21:34,561

that doesn't happen to fit to day's

project.

443

00:21:36,96 --> 00:21:38,832

And casting remembers good work.

444

00:21:38,998 --> 00:21:39,999

I can tell you,

445

00:21:41,134 --> 00:21:44,904

that's another reason why the casting

only uses their friend mythology

446

00:21:45,939 --> 00:21:46,840

that gets so distorted.

447

00:21:47,307 --> 00:21:50,977

Casting directors, let me tell you,

they develop relationships with actors

448

00:21:51,478 --> 00:21:52,479

whose work we know.

449

00:21:53,79 --> 00:21:53,913

Of course we do.

450

00:21:54,814 --> 00:21:56,416

If you've delivered excellent work

repeatedly,

451

00:21:57,617 --> 00:21:58,551

we remember that

452

00:21:59,452 --> 00:22:01,321

if you've been professional and

reliable,

453

00:22:02,355 --> 00:22:03,523

we remember that

454

00:22:04,657 --> 00:22:08,828

if we know your work well enough to

understand what you can do, that

455

00:22:09,62 --> 00:22:10,730

becomes useful information.

456

00:22:11,865 --> 00:22:12,499

That's not friendship

457

00:22:13,633 --> 00:22:15,201

that's professional history.

458

00:22:16,336 --> 00:22:17,771

Every industry has it.

459

00:22:18,738 --> 00:22:20,106

Trust develops through experience.

460

00:22:20,740 --> 00:22:23,710

But good casting cannot survive by

recycling

461

00:22:24,744 --> 00:22:26,413

the same small group of people.

462

00:22:27,213 --> 00:22:30,83

Our clients hire us to discover

possibilities.

463

00:22:30,917 --> 00:22:34,921

We need new actors, different actors,

unexpected actors, actors.

464

00:22:35,155 --> 00:22:38,558

We haven't met actors whose self tape

surprises us,

465

00:22:39,159 --> 00:22:42,495

actors whose head shot make us stop,

actors whose interpretation

466

00:22:43,530 --> 00:22:45,932

makes us reconsider the character.

467

00:22:46,666 --> 00:22:49,769

Discovery isn't an inconvenience in

casting.

468

00:22:50,570 --> 00:22:52,172

Discovery is part of the job.

469

00:22:53,640 --> 00:22:58,978

And maybe that's another reason why

actors can approach the process with a

470

00:22:58,978 --> 00:23:00,13

little more freedom.

471

00:23:00,980 --> 00:23:03,516

You don't have to arrive with a

relationship.

472

00:23:04,184 --> 00:23:06,720

You have to arrive with something to

offer.

473

00:23:07,787 --> 00:23:08,321

That's it?

474

00:23:09,55 --> 00:23:10,724

It could be your interpretation,

475

00:23:11,458 --> 00:23:15,695

your preparation, your point of view,

your creative commitment,

476

00:23:16,830 --> 00:23:18,398

that's your currency.

477

00:23:19,632 --> 00:23:21,434

So here's something I'd like you to try

478

00:23:22,268 --> 00:23:23,470

the next time you have an audition.

479

00:23:23,870 --> 00:23:28,808

Notice the story you begin telling

yourself about casting before the audition.

480

00:23:29,876 --> 00:23:30,877

Like, for example,

481

00:23:31,711 --> 00:23:34,414

they probably already know who they

want.

482

00:23:35,48 --> 00:23:35,849

That story

483

00:23:36,983 --> 00:23:37,917

during the audition.

484

00:23:38,651 --> 00:23:39,719

She doesn't seem interested.

485

00:23:40,353 --> 00:23:40,787

Story

486

00:23:41,855 --> 00:23:42,889

after the audition.

487

00:23:43,456 --> 00:23:44,424

I didn't hear anything.

488

00:23:44,824 --> 00:23:46,726

So they didn't like me story.

489

00:23:48,495 --> 00:23:49,295

Catch yourself

490

00:23:49,863 --> 00:23:51,197

and ask one question,

491

00:23:52,98 --> 00:23:54,67

what do I actually know?

492

00:23:54,734 --> 00:23:55,669

Usually

493

00:23:56,269 --> 00:23:57,270

not very much.

494

00:23:58,438 --> 00:23:59,673

You know, you audition.

495

00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:02,409

You know what you brought to the role.

496

00:24:03,209 --> 00:24:04,811

You know whether you prepared.

497

00:24:05,78 --> 00:24:08,14

You know whether you committed to your

choices.

498

00:24:08,915 --> 00:24:13,119

Everything else may simply be your

imagination, trying to create certainty

499

00:24:13,787 --> 00:24:15,989

where certainty doesn't exist.

500

00:24:17,290 --> 00:24:19,359

And if you're going to use your

imagination,

501

00:24:20,827 --> 00:24:22,95

save it for the character

502

00:24:23,129 --> 00:24:24,330

that's where we need it.

503

00:24:25,699 --> 00:24:28,468

There's one more reason why I care

about this subject.

504

00:24:29,703 --> 00:24:32,172

I've lived on both sides for more than

twenty years.

505

00:24:33,773 --> 00:24:35,842

I was the actor walking into the

audition.

506

00:24:36,910 --> 00:24:37,944

I knew the anticipation,

507

00:24:38,978 --> 00:24:39,379

the preparation,

508

00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,516

the hope, the disappointment, the

overthinking,

509

00:24:44,351 --> 00:24:45,752

and, yes, the stories.

510

00:24:47,153 --> 00:24:51,57

Then I moved to the other side of the

table, and I discovered something I

511

00:24:51,57 --> 00:24:53,293

wish I had understood much earlier.

512

00:24:54,494 --> 00:24:56,162

There wasn't an enemy over there.

513

00:24:56,730 --> 00:24:59,666

There was another creative person

trying to do their job,

514

00:25:00,333 --> 00:25:02,402

trying to understand a director,

515

00:25:02,969 --> 00:25:08,308

trying to serve a story, trying to

assemble people who somehow belonged together,

516

00:25:09,376 --> 00:25:12,479

trying to make good choices, trying to

get hired again.

517

00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:14,80

In other words,

518

00:25:15,148 --> 00:25:17,117

not terribly different from me.

519

00:25:19,152 --> 00:25:21,855

That realization changed the way I

understood auditioning,

520

00:25:22,989 --> 00:25:25,792

and it's one of the reasons I wanted to

share this with you to day.

521

00:25:25,792 --> 00:25:28,428

Because empathy doesn't mean you

surrender your ambition.

522

00:25:29,629 --> 00:25:32,165

It doesn't mean disappointment

disappears.

523

00:25:32,732 --> 00:25:35,468

It doesn't mean you'll suddenly enjoy

not getting a job.

524

00:25:36,169 --> 00:25:36,803

Come on.

525

00:25:37,370 --> 00:25:39,839

We're going for understanding here, not

sainthood.

526

00:25:40,507 --> 00:25:41,775

It simply means you

527

00:25:42,275 --> 00:25:45,612

stop spending valuable emotional energy

528

00:25:46,12 --> 00:25:48,314

fighting an imaginary opponent.

529

00:25:49,783 --> 00:25:51,518

Casting isn't the opponent,

530

00:25:52,118 --> 00:25:56,589

the director isn't the opponent, the

actor sitting outside the room isn't

531

00:25:56,890 --> 00:25:57,590

the opponent.

532

00:25:58,191 --> 00:25:59,959

There doesn't need to be an opponent.

533

00:26:00,493 --> 00:26:01,61

There's a project,

534

00:26:02,195 --> 00:26:04,798

there's a role, there's a creative

problem.

535

00:26:05,632 --> 00:26:07,33

And for a few minutes

536

00:26:07,467 --> 00:26:09,602

you get to offer your solution.

537

00:26:10,737 --> 00:26:11,838

That's the audition.

538

00:26:13,239 --> 00:26:17,310

So here's your reset the next time you

walk into an audition room, or more

539

00:26:17,377 --> 00:26:23,49

likely these days, than you need to do

a self tape and you turn on your camera.

540

00:26:24,250 --> 00:26:26,286

Don't imagine someone waiting to judge.

541

00:26:26,519 --> 00:26:26,720

You

542

00:26:27,454 --> 00:26:31,358

imagine another creative person waiting

to discover something.

543

00:26:32,425 --> 00:26:33,960

Don't try to convince us you're

talented.

544

00:26:34,761 --> 00:26:36,629

Let us experience your talent.

545

00:26:37,130 --> 00:26:39,532

Don't try to figure out what we're

thinking.

546

00:26:40,433 --> 00:26:41,935

Give us something worth

547

00:26:42,168 --> 00:26:43,370

thinking about.

548

00:26:43,937 --> 00:26:44,104

Ok?

549

00:26:44,270 --> 00:26:45,105

Somebody write that down.

550

00:26:47,240 --> 00:26:49,943

Measure the success of the audition by

whether you get the job.

551

00:26:50,510 --> 00:26:54,514

Measure it by whether you brought

something specific committed and

552

00:26:54,681 --> 00:26:57,117

authentically yours into the process.

553

00:26:58,18 --> 00:27:00,487

Then you let castel do its job,

554

00:27:00,920 --> 00:27:04,791

let the director do theirs, let the

producer do theirs and you

555

00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:07,694

go back to being an actor,

556

00:27:08,995 --> 00:27:10,196

because empathy doesn't guarantee

557

00:27:11,231 --> 00:27:11,965

you'll get cast.

558

00:27:12,265 --> 00:27:16,436

It gives you something better than

another invented story.

559

00:27:17,137 --> 00:27:18,405

It gives you perspective.

560

00:27:19,305 --> 00:27:23,877

And perspective allows you to stay

creative, to stay curious, to stay

561

00:27:23,943 --> 00:27:24,110

available.

562

00:27:24,678 --> 00:27:26,713

And perhaps most importantly,

563

00:27:27,547 --> 00:27:31,184

to remember that we're not sitting on

opposite sides of the audition.

564

00:27:31,785 --> 00:27:33,586

We're actually on the same side.

565

00:27:34,354 --> 00:27:35,989

We're trying to tell the story.

566

00:27:38,358 --> 00:27:39,459

I'm Jeff your eyes back.

567

00:27:39,626 --> 00:27:41,61

This is casting actor's casting.

568

00:27:41,461 --> 00:27:42,562

I'll see you next time