November 1, 2010
Casting is tricky on a low-budget project, but it’s certainly possible to get good actors if you’re willing be flexible and work hard.
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Spend some time on your character breakdowns
This is easy to overlook, but I’ve found that if I send out detailed, well-written breakdowns, it lends credibility to the project and gets better auditions from of the actors.[1]
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Pursue every possible casting avenue
I’ve found actors through friends, agents, online services, and by seeing them in shows.[2]. I’m never able to pay my actors much, so my strategy is to cast the net as wide as possible in order to find talented people who are interested in being part of the project. This generally means that I have tons of submissions, but I make sure to send out the breakdowns well before the audition to give myself plenty of time to sort through them. I also schedule as much audition time as possible. For The Drawing I had two full days of auditions to cast 3 roles, and I was prepared to schedule more if I didn’t find the right people.
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Have two rounds of auditions
On Adan, I knew Arturo Castro was right for the main character as soon as I saw him in his first audition, but I wasn’t sure who was right to play Anne, the primary supporting character. I scheduled a second round and had Arturo read with four of the actors auditioning to play Anne. This created a better environment in which to judge each actor’s ability, and also included Arturo in the casting process so I knew I was casting someone he was comfortable with. In the auditions for The Drawing, I knew that the dynamic between the two main characters was going to constitute the heart of the film, so I had my favorite two actors for each role come back for a second round. I had them read two complete scenes in a round-robin format, (each of the four possible pairs did a reading), and at the end there was no doubt about who was best for the two roles.
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Be flexible
During the first audition with Diogo Taveira, (who plays the main character in The Drawing), I wasn’t sure how interested he was in acting in the project, but his personality fit so well with that of the character that I asked him to come back for the second round. In that round he played the character very well and I knew I had my lead. In the article about the premier of The Drawing, Still in Motion commented, “[Diogo] has major screen presence.” It’s tempting to pick the actor who gives the best reading in the first round of auditions, but that’s not necessarily the best choice. In the first sentence of my breakdown I try to capture what I need from a character in order for the story to work. The actor that conveys that best is the one I want, even if I don’t entirely believe him or her in the role during the first audition.
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1 If you’re unfamiliar with writing breakdowns, it’s worth hunting around online to find some samples. You can create a free actors account on Actors Access, which has an enormous listing of breakdowns. back to post
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2 The online services I’ve had the most luck with are Breakdown Express, (which goes to agents), and Actors Access, (which goes to actors). back to post
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Other resources:
- Finding the child actors for Children of Invention vlog post by director Tze Chun
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