Tales from the Audition Room: Part 3

Several years ago, we were casting a pilot with well-known producers and a big name director. It was an ensemble cast, but there was a leading man role that you could assume would be offered out based on his description, (40s, male, former hero and “leader of the pack” type,) story line and the people involved with the show. We had our lists of namey-name actors, and we did try to offer it out to a few of them, but nothing was sticking and after seeing some guys read, our producers wanted it to come from someone who would audition. So, we read guys, and re-read them, tested a few with no success, and pulled self-tapes from England, Australia, Canada, the moon and beyond.

As we were getting down to the wire, we brought in an actor who had everything we were looking for: he had a leading man look, charisma, and was age-appropriate. He had been the lead of series previously, (not super recently, but nonetheless,) and he could certainly handle the material.

He shuffled back toward our audition room with his shoulders slightly slumped and his head down. As we were mic-ing him and providing some additional back story, he looked at us and said, “I’m not really sure why I’m here.” My boss and I looked at him, a little dumbfounded. “What do you mean?” she said. “Well, I can tell what you need in this character, and I’m sure I’m just not enough of a name for it, so I don’t really know what I’m doing here.” He didn’t say this with any sort of disdain. He stated it with the utter sadness of not being talented or well-known enough to even deserve a shot.

We spent the next five minutes trying to explain that he truly DID have a shot, for the reasons I’ve already mentioned and many more. We also told him that we wouldn’t just be reading him for the hell of it this late in the game. You could see that he took our emphatic reasoning as lip-service. He listened, acknowledged what we were saying but didn’t truly believe it. Unsurprisingly, he gave a vaguely depressing read with zero heart or energy. He left looking just as disappointed as he had when he walked in.

The moral of the story is this: you will sometimes go out for roles that you think, “I’m totally wrong for this,” or “they might offer this out,” or you may even go in for roles knowing that there is CURRENTLY an offer out on that role. In all of those scenarios, you STILL have a shot at that role, (Casting wouldn’t be reading you otherwise.) And if nothing else, give a great read and Casting will be excited to think of you for something else.

If you think there’s been a MISUNDERSTANDING – something about your headshot or resume made it seem like you were capable of something that you really aren’t, THEN it would behoove you to have your reps call Casting to ask if you should still read. If it doesn’t matter that much, we will tell you to still come in. If it’s utterly important to the character or world, we will appreciate your honesty and read you for something else down the line.

Otherwise, you should always walk into the audition room with the confidence that Casting has selected YOU, out of THOUSANDS to be there. If you’ve gotten that far, you’ve got a real shot at it. Check your emotional baggage at the door and focus on being there, in that moment, and having fun.