How does the casting process work? Here’s a complete breakdown.
A few very frustrated actors contacted me recently. They have been auditioning like crazy. Sending in self-tapes weekly and even getting some in-person auditions. They feel like they’re spinning their wheels, constantly preparing, memorizing, falling in love with these characters, putting hours of effort into these auditions….. to only hear crickets.
They mentioned feeling like these casting directors were wasting their time. Clearly, they’re not really interested…. so why are they asking them to spend hours preparing just to get their hopes up and then stomped on?
I asked them if they understood how the casting process works. Like, what the actual inner workings looked like, from start to finish.
They had no idea.
No wonder they were frustrated! They didn’t even realize how amazing it was that they were getting these auditions! They had no clue how many casting profiles had been sifted through, and theirs was still chosen to be given an opportunity.
Understanding the complete casting process is extremely important for actors as they build their careers in the entertainment industry.
There are around 1.3 million actors with casting profiles on Actors Access… WHOA! And a recent report came out that the average audition has around 2.4k actors that get submitted for every single role that’s released for a project.
In order to stay sane in this industry, understanding how the casting process works, who is involved, and how decisions are made – is vital.
So let’s dive into what’s happening from the time a project has a role that needs to be cast to the time an actor walks on set!
Here’s a complete breakdown of the casting process for actors
Step one: A project has a role(s) that needs to be filled
A project has made its way through pre-production and is ready to hire a casting director to cast the actors needed for their project.
Once the casting director and their team are selected, they will release a role breakdown. This breakdown has all the information of what the project entails – the name, production team, union status, filming dates, location, rates, etc; As well as a character breakdown.
The character breakdown includes a description of the type of actor they’re hoping to cast. The character breakdown can include some storyline elements of the project, personality traits of the character, physical descriptors, or specific things they’re looking for – Must be able to play soccer, must have expert level knowledge coding, must be a local hire of Atlanta, etc;.
The casting team will release the project and character breakdown on a casting site.
Step two: Actors will be submitted for the role
Agents and managers will start submitting the talent they feel fit the role/character that is being cast. If the breakdown is offered to actors as well, they can submit themselves for the project. When agents and managers submit your profile, they will pick one of your headshots and one reel link that they feel best represents you for this character. Agents and managers will have access to your entire profile, with all of your headshots, reel material, and resume if they want to look into your material further.
Casting directors and their team will start sifting through the different actor’s profiles on the casting site and narrowing down who they would like to audition for the role. They will either invite these actors to submit a self-tape by a certain deadline or to attend an audition in person on a certain date.
Like I mentioned in the earlier paragraph, hundreds if not thousands of performers get submitted for every single role. So, to even get chosen by a casting director to be invited to audition is a HUGE WIN!
Step Three: Actors will audition for the role
The actors who got invited to submit a self-tape or attend an audition will get their opportunity to audition for the role.
If actors submit a self-tape, the casting team will review the self-tapes.
If actors attend an in-person audition, they will usually be taped during the audition so their tape could later be reviewed by other members of the casting team that were not in the room during the audition, or so producers can see the auditions at a later time.
Step Four: Casting narrow down their selections
The casting director and their team will narrow down the actors who they would like to keep in contention for the role. Sometimes they will invite you to audition for the project again or have a CALLBACK. If you’re invited for a callback, it’s a much more narrowed down group of performers that you’ll be auditioning against, and sometimes producers or other members of the project that are involved in the decision-making process will also be in attendance.
The casting director is the first person to make the decision to continue to keep you in the process.
Usually, there are many people involved in the decision making ranging but not exclusively: The producers, director, and writer. And if it’s a commercial, the client of the brand definitely has a massive say as well.
Depending on the type of project you may have another callback. If it’s a commercial with multiple people being cast, they may want to mix and match different talent and see how they fit together before making their decision.
Or if it’s a theatrical project, you may be brought in for chemistry reads. This allows the producers, director, and writer to see how well the different talent work together, look together and fit for the project.
Step Five: Getting Pinned or put on an avail
From here the producers and director may narrow it down to 2-5 people that they are interested in hiring for the job. If you’re one of them you’ll be put on avail for a commercial – meaning the producers have checked your availability for the filming dates and want you to hold the dates in case you’re the one they book.
Theatrically it may be called being “Pinned” for a role. Meaning essentially the same thing, they really like you for the role and have “pinned” you as the potential talent and want you to stay available for the filming dates.
Whether they “checked your avail” or “pinned” you, it means there are multiple actors in the mix that will potentially be hired and you’re one of them! Which is great!
Step Six: Booking the job
From here, you’ll either book the job, or you won’t.
Regardless, you’ve gotten through multiple phases of the casting process and numerous people had to continue saying YES to you which is huge.
You booked the room, essentially, which is definitely something you should be proud of. You’ve also created new fans that are in your corner. Between the casting director, director, and producers. For example, your representation can use this as ammo when they go to submit you for another one of the casting director’s projects. They can submit you for a role, and then call the casting director and be like, “Hey remember how my client just got pinned on a project you were casting three months ago?” It helps continue building a bond between you and the casting director and they’re more likely to bring you in on future projects.
A few things to keep in mind….
1.) Your introduction to casting starts when they view your casting profile or when your rep calls them to pitch you for a job. This is the only thing they have at their disposable to decide if they should give one of the few audition slots they have to bring you in.
Your casting profile is the MOST important marketing and sales tool you have at your disposal.
It needs to be awesome and showcase who you are as a storyteller. Your headshots, reel material, and resume need to be specific and showcase your special sauce to the casting director. Also – think of it like this – if your manager goes to pitch you on a role and is like, “She’s so funny, she’s done stand-up for a year, she’s hilarious, she’s perfect for this extremely funny character….”, and the only reel footage you have is super dramatic, it doesn’t help your manager pitch you for that role. They don’t have the material to help pitch you to casting and give them PROOF that you indeed are really funny and can play a funny role. This is what your representation has at their disposal to pitch you – what is your headshot, reel material and resume selling to casting?
2.) If you do get the audition, that’s fricken great. Because as mentioned right above… there are only a few spots that casting has to fill for the purpose of time management. If you got one of those slots, they saw something in your casting profile that made them think you could potentially be a good fit for the project or character and they’re excited to see your casting potential.
3.) After the audition, the decision-making of who gets booked is almost completely pulled out of the casting director’s hands and goes into the hands of the producers and director. There are so many people involved in the decision-making process. Sometimes it can be the one person who has the most power saying no to you booking a role. You can’t take it personally. It will hurt, there’s no denying that. But you have to process the pain, shake it off, and realize that you made some new fans in an industry where fans are really important. I heard this quote a LONG time ago but it still rings true…. “It’s not about who you know, it’s about who you know that likes you.” – And getting that far in the casting process means some people most definitely like you.
Want to create your casting potential and design an amazing casting profile? If you’re looking to strategize about your career or your craft, book a FREE 30-minute free consultation with me. We can instantly elevate where you’re currently at in your career and put a mini-action plan together that you can start working on by the time our 30-minutes is up!
