How to Cast a Movie – Actors

You got actors to show up when you held auditions. Now it’s time to decide on which actors to choose for the movie.

What to look for

There’s a lot that have to work to make an actor or actress suitable for your production. It might be great to cast a shy person, depending on the role, or an excellent performance may have been performed by an unpleasant person. What you’re after depends on the role, the movie and yourself. If you have filmed the audition, here are some things to think about while watching it:

» Chemistry. Does the chemistry between you and the actor or actress work out well? Often this means that you can communicate well and that the person seems nice, but there might very well be a reason for you to prefer someone nasty. However, think about if this person will cause issues with other members of the crew.

» Looks. Simply, does the person’s looks and movement suit the role? If not, perhaps it’s still possible to make the person look right with e.g. make up or training.

» Performance. Is the person good at acting? Perhaps it was a solid performance, but not what you asked for. A performance that came natural may really make your preparations with the actor or actress a lot easier, but could also mean that if you change some trait for the character, he or she cannot make the change, being an one trick pony.

» Voice. Does it sound right? This is easy to forget with everything else going on, but the voice and accent must fit the character and sound believable.

» Commitment. Does the person really want to do this? As you probably don’t have any money to offer, it’s important that the person is willing to offer their time and even more important have time to offer at all. This will make your life a lot easier and perhaps even your expenses smaller depending on the project. For example, having actors that don’t complain on the set as they really want the movie to become good, is a blessing.

It is a good idea to get a second opinion from someone else about the performances, while watching. But the most important thing is to think through what you value the most and what you could make without. You’re really lucky if you get someone that is both a good actor or actress in all ways possible and is nice to be with.

Callbacks

In many professional productions there will be callbacks, where the you pick the most promising people from the casting and make them show you more. The callback can contain more of what they did during the first round of the audition, but what I find even more useful is to mix and match actors to see what works. For me the callback is a luxury, and I have never yet felt I needed one. Or perhaps I have felt I have needed one, but there’s probably other things I’ve felt was more crucial for the production at the time. Anyhow, it has worked out well, so I do believe that you can do without this part, but in the end it depends on the what you need.

Seal the deal

If you skipped the callbacks or are done with them it’s time to make your pick.

1. Think through your choice once more so that you’re really sure about it.
2. Contact your first picks.
3. Verify that they will have the time and won’t change their appearance to something you can’t accept for the role.
4. If you get a no, you haven’t turned down the next one in line yet, go back to number 2, with your new first picks…
5. Contact the ones you have to turn down by phone or email, preferably with some nice and constructive feedback. The may very well be just what you need, next time, and have given you their time.
6. Seal the deal with some kind of simple contract, often called a release form. This makes sure that you have all the legal rights to show your movie when it’s finished and makes the agreement clear.

The casting process is over! But the work has just begun…

(This is part 3 of 3 in my post series about Casting. Don’t forget to also take a look at part 1 and part 2.)

Tags: casting, how to