In Hollywood, “look” is also important, but it is a different kind of appearance that counts. We prize beauty in our faces, but not angular planes; we prefer style and grace to awkward, often more realistic action. Which is not to say that Americans cannot get good performances from their actors. It is to say, however, that our star system leads us to hiring some of the same beautiful or handsome-faced actors time and again in order to get “box office,” whereas Italian or German filmmakers hire those special faces and special voices that make that particular film come to life. How often have you said, coming out of a movie, “What a real world that director created,” as opposed to, “What a great performance Brando gave”? The difference may very well be laid to these two entirely different styles of casting. Recently, American film critics (led, I hope, by American audiences) have begun to recognize that films with unknowns (by which is meant actors whose faces have not appeared too often on the screen, not actors who haven’t worked before) can zero in on our emotions and our intellects in a way that films filled with familiar faces may not. Let me call your attention, for instance to the casting genius of Peter Weir in The Year of Living Dangerously, or Woody Allen’s Zelig. Zelig is filled with fine, still relatively unknown character actors. Some of those actors, by the way, were in fact nonactors; they were real people reading lines and being directed by a man who knew his job. What all the “unknowns,” actors and non-actors, gave to the film is a sense of reality, the same thing that that fine war film, The Boys from Company C, got by using sterling actors whose faces simply hadn’t been seen to death, though many have become regulars on the Hollywood scene. (These include Michael Lembeck, who starred as Abbie Hoffman in the 1987 TV-movie special Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 7, who has also directed TV series including Mad About You, Everybody Loves Raymond, and the Emmy-Award-winning Friends; and another “Company C” actor named Noble Willingham, who played the role of Clay Stone in both of Billy Crystal’s City Slickers comedies, who has a familiar face, even if his name doesn’t resonate with everyone.)
All right, let’s assume that you, too, want to cast the best actors for your film, that commercial success (that is, box office) is not your primary concern. In other words, you want to come up with the best actor for the job. Let’s say that you have never cast a film before. How do you go about it?
STEP ONE: VISUALIZING THE CHARACTER
Let your script, your dialogue, and your ideas dictate to you who your character is, what he or she looks like, sounds like, and how he or she moves. Don’t start by rifling through pictures of actors and saying, “Is he right for the part?” Don’t even ask your friends what well-known actor would be right. Just close your eyes and picture the person.
Right away, I hear a voice saying, “Dreamer! You’ll never get someone who looks and sounds like that. You’re ruining your chance of ever being happy with the actors you do get.” Well, yes—and no. Yes, it’s unlikely that I’ll find the specific character I’m dreaming of. But, no, I won’t be foolish enough to refuse all others. And—this is the important part—I’m identifying to myself which characteristics are important to me in the character I’ve read on the page. A stubby nose, a growl in the throat, tall and elegant, short and ugly. Whichever you choose, these characteristics may tell you more about what you want to do with the part than all your script study beforehand.
STEP TWO: FINDING YOUR ACTORS
There are a number of ways to find actors. Let’s assume you aren’t going to use amateurs because you don’t feel confident enough, but you do want to try to find the physical (and psychological) types you’ve been dreaming about. You might start by wanting to cast someone you’ve seen in a recent film, but that may immediately turn into a monetary nightmare. Or someone from a play. Or you might turn to The Book.
The Book
This is the route tried by so many before you: buy the two big sets of books (The Academy Directory and The Players’ Guide), which are divided into categories (“Ingenue,” “Leading Man,” “Character Actor,” “Children,” and “Specialties”) and which are put out for both the New York stage and the film world. In them, actors and their agents have put not only small pictures of the actors and actresses, but short descriptions as well. Here you can find what telephone number to call to get the actor’s agent; here you can sometimes see a second picture, perhaps with the actor wearing a toupee or a pair of glasses. For you, rummaging through these books can provide a quick tour of the available actors in the category you’re seeking. Did I say “quick”? Well, not quite. In fact, the Book can be a very discouraging way to find the person for your role. Among other things, he or she may simply not be in there (not all actors can afford the fees), or the actor may have had pictures taken to make himself look like—well, like everyone else. There are thousands of listings and, pretty soon, everyone begins to look “wrong” or, worse, everyone looks “right.” Finally, and perhaps most importantly, you have no way of knowing how these people can act and, after all, isn’t that the point?
Acting Schools
If you’ve ever cast a film for work in film school, you may very well have gone to the theater department and asked for a chance to cast students who are studying acting. Many of our best actors do come out of acting classes, or continue to take them after going professional, so this is actually a good idea. Broaden your search to include professional acting classes. The teachers and students will welcome the opportunity to try film, even though they may get nothing for it monetarily.
Casting Calls
You could have casting calls. These are very simply arranged. Your producer will handle it for you by calling up the Hollywood Reporter or Backstage (if you’re in New York) and inserting a brief announcement that such and such a film is having an “open” casting call. Or, because open calls usually bring in thousands of actors, you might call a limited number of agents, tell them what you have in mind, and seek a limited casting call. Your producer, if he or she has made a film before, will have relationships with actors’ agents and may even begin suggesting actors. And that, after all is said and done, is how most new directors start casting: with the aid of others. This has its positive side—the producer, your associate producer, the P.M., your friends, all may have favorite actors for your roles. You may be directed to go to this or that small theater, or to see this or that film, to catch this or that actress who is perfect for the part. (You should be doing that on your own, anyhow. I keep Playbills from every play I go to, as references for future films; and I make notes about movies I’ve seen.) There is a negative side to this, too—you may begin to lose control over the casting process because others are flooding you with ideas. So, let’s look for another process.
The Casting Consultant
The casting consultant is sometimes called a casting agent or casting director, and there are two basic kinds: those who operate out of a movie studio or production company, and those who have their own agencies. Some of the latter (you can find them listed in the Business Yellow Pages or, better yet, in the special directories put out by various film organizations such as the Television Academy or the DGA) have done a land-office business casting for commercials, so you may be tempted to doubt their ability to cast your important film. Don’t. Some of the best casting in recent years has come out of these kinds of organizations. Their job is to know every actor and actress around, to do videotapes on new actors or actresses, and to scour the countryside for fresh faces, special looks, great voices. They’ll read your script, listen carefully to your ideas, suggest faces and voices, show you pictures, call the agents, arrange the readings, and make the financial deals. What more could you want? Oh, yes, there’s a price for this, ranging from $500 a day to more than three times that amount. But in my view, if you’re new to the casting game, it’s a price well worth paying. (Try that argument out on your producer.) If you can get an independent casting director to come on salary for a smaller fee, and he or she has proven ability in this area, do so. You�
��ll have to supply office space and your producer will have to deal with agents, but that’s what he or she’s paid for, isn’t it?
What if you think you can’t afford a casting consultant? There are two things to be said about that. One: Don’t be sure you can’t. Some of the best casting agencies get tired of doing commercials and would welcome doing a drama or a comedy or an educational film. They may give you their second- or third-string consultant, but she or he may be better than you at ferreting out fine actors; or they may not give you their full attention, but it will be good work and a good opportunity for you. They may also realize that you’re an up-and-coming young director who will be doing feature films for MGM someday, and they may want to start a relationship with you now. Two: They may give you a big break on the price, down to $250 a day, but you call the agents and make the deals, and that’s certainly worth doing, especially if it’s a small film and you can do the casting in one day
Casting by Yourself
What if you don’t have even $250, or what if you want to do the casting yourself, how do you go about it? Put that ad in Backstage or the Hollywood Reporter or Variety. Have actors call you before you see them, or have them send in their pictures. They’ll be delighted to do so. If it’s a really inexpensive film, tell them you can’t pay—will they still do the film? Or tell them it’s non-SAG—can they do a nonunion film? Then, set up appointments, thirty minutes apart. Read the actors, with at least two other people there (to bounce off). Use the tools for listening that I will discuss in a page or two; keep an open mind—and keep your dreams. If you get tired, take a break. If you have to “let them know,” call them later. There will be a lot of paperwork and phone calling involved. That’s what your producer is for! Your job is to look and listen for the balance, the character, the look, and the sound that will make your film work. Take your time.
STEP THREE: THE READING
Whether you cast by the Book, by casting consultants, or by hook and crook, you will eventually come to the Reading. (There are exceptions. Occasionally, you will land big stars. They aren’t going to read for you. They may sit still for an interview. They may talk over the phone. They will certainly read your script and decide whether they want the roles. But they won’t read for you.) You will sit and listen to actors reading parts; you will take notes; you will do this with some of the production team, probably the producer and the associate producer; you will discuss; you will choose. But how?
An Important Note on Your Knowledge of Acting
What do you know about acting? Anything? A lot? Nothing? Have you ever acted in a production? Was it in high school, college, professionally, summer stock, film, theater? These are not idle questions. There is nothing that says you have to be a fine actor in order to direct actors, but there is no doubt that acting experience helps greatly in understanding what problems and what needs actors have. So, if you’ve had absolutely no experience as an actor, go take a class or two. I’m not going to suggest what kind of a class you take; in fact, I’m going to suggest it doesn’t matter whether you study with a method teacher, a classical teacher, a Chekhovian, or an Alexandrian. What’s important is that you get a chance to experience the kinds of things that actors go through in order to prepare for a role and, more importantly, the kind of language that helps actors grow in a role and deliver in a role.
You’ll find, among other things, that asking an actor to read lines “louder” or “faster” is not only counterproductive, but makes you sound like a dumb director. Why do you want the lines louder or faster? Is it to help out a microphone that’s too far away, or is it because the character is in a hurry and has to get out of there right away? Motivation, in other words, is clearly a crucial matter. End results are generally not helpful; the reason why generally is. That doesn’t mean that you will end up being a psychologist. It does mean that you may learn a few things about what actors need in order to make a role work for them.
Acting classes have another very beneficial result for directors. They enable us to see a variety of actors at a variety of levels of talent and ability. Because we are participating in a class, we hear things progress at a slower pace than during filmmaking; and we can analyze what works and what doesn’t work, not only from the viewpoint of ourselves as actors, but as potential directors. The teacher, on the other hand, is suggesting ways in which to achieve depth in our roles, and this too can be very helpful to a budding director. Finally, in an acting class, you may learn what doesn’t work, and this is just as useful as what does.
I hope after your first experience with the study of acting that you will enjoy it and enjoy actors; that you will stay with the acting, learn some parts, even play them. It doesn’t matter whether you’re any good. What matters is that you’re learning the profession from the inside. Among other things, you’ll find that actors have to work hard. They have to know how to move, so they take movement classes; to speak, so they often take speech or diction classes; to think about roles, so they study texts; to feel, so they work on their emotions—learning not only how to bring them to a particular line or a particular speech, but how to repeat those emotions. There is nothing so devastating to a film as an actor who can feel an emotion on the wide shot but, by the time the close-ups have come along, is dry, or vice versa. Or an actor who cannot be consistent in reading the same lines time after time.
You may hear some jargon, but don’t be upset by it. Theater has a long history. Pay no mind to terms you don’t need; retain those (like “beat”—a particular moment in time) that help you work with actors. Some actors need to talk about “goals”; others work with “as if”; everyone needs to know what “conflict” is involved in any script, whether it’s Shakespeare or the latest TV sitcom. Questions I think you will find valuable to bring to your work as a director are: “Where am I going?” “Where are you going?” “What needs do you have?” “How do my goals get in the way of your goals?” “What experience in my past life can I bring to play in this role at this particular moment in time?”
The Actual Reading
What happens at a reading? You will meet an actor or actress and you will ask if there are any questions, but you won’t give any direction at this point. There are two reasons for this: (1) you want to see what the actor brings to the role, and (2) you want to see what possibilities there are in the role that you haven’t already seen. Sometimes you’ll hate an actor but love something he or she brought to the line or the role. And you will use that later, shamelessly.
At the reading the candidate will read the part. Someone in the casting agency, or the associate producer, will read the other roles. They will read through the scenes you’ve chosen (called “sides”) at least once. At the end of that, you will have some idea whether you want the scene read again. You will listen very carefully to intonation, to understanding, to emotion, to the characteristics that you had dreamed about when you first thought about the role. You may be confused. Some of what you heard you liked, some you didn’t. The voice is right, but the face isn’t. He’s too young; she’s too old. Don’t hurry. Have the actor read again, but this time ask for something that was missing. Don’t be too specific; don’t say, “I’d like the line read like this.” Mimicry can work very well in a casting session, but not necessarily on the sound stage. It’s shallow. If, after the second or third reading, things are getting better, and you begin to see the character, fine. If not, don’t worry, there are others waiting to read.
What if you love what you hear the first time around? Is that cause for euphoria? Maybe, maybe not. There is a curious pronouncement that I’ve heard that often turns out to be true: “A terrific reading means a bad scene.” Why? Because there are some people who are very good readers but who can’t get any deeper than that. And conversely, some actors are lousy readers but have depth and can bring that out when they are worked with. I did a film in which I chose the handsome man who auditioned and who read the first time around with absolute brilliance. I asked him to rep
eat the scene and it was quite different. I asked for a particular change and it didn’t come. I was dumb; I hired him anyway. Each time he played the scene, in wide shot, close-up, and medium shot, it was different, and never any deeper than that first reading. If an actor is fine, ask for nuances; ask for changes; make the actor read with a different actor; probe. Similarly, if an actor is less than satisfactory, give him another chance and listen again.
STEP FOUR: THE DECISION
As soon as an actor or actress leaves the room, talk with the casting people. Is he experienced in film? What has she done? Is he always as casual, as quiet? You like the intensity, but is she neurotic? The casting people may or may not know all the answers to these questions, but they will be able to find out a lot from other people. Next, start asking about whom they have in mind to “pair” with this actor. One of the big problems in a cast is getting a balance—a variety of actors and actresses. It isn’t enough to have fine actors in the film; you must have actors who work well with each other, who don’t all look alike or have the same characteristics. Or, conversely, if it’s a production of Shakespeare, you need to make sure that accents and style can be matched the way you need them to be. All this must go on at casting time; all this can be discussed with the consultants—and, of course, with your producer—during the casting sessions.
Directing for Film and Television Page 7