Finding the right actors is essential to give life to your film. All the script writting process, the planning, the direction, the shooting, bribing authorities... will be for nothing if your actors cannot deliver the emotions you want. Luckily, we got a team of amazing actors, who believed in the project and they were perfect for each role, both for their talent and physique.
That's a good question, and a relatively simple to answer. There are a couple of websites specialized on film cast and crew. You can look for actors but also technical crew, equipment, etc. They are really good. We put an ad both on Mandy's Film and TV Production Directory and Casting Call Pro.
We explained the story behind each character and their role in the story. We also added some physical description of how we thought the characters should look like. Unfortunately, at that time we didn't have a big budget so we had to add the dreadful line "unpaid job", with the promise of paying the actors as soon as we got funding, which we did.
We were surprised to get nearly 100 applications for the four roles after only one week of publishing the ads. That's how we also found our make-up artist, Siwan Hill. Something to be said about actors: it's a tough job, they need to go to many auditions and compete with hundreds of people out there who want the same role. They deserve the uttermost respect for what they do.
Now we had to find the best Jack, Kim, Girl and Talkshow Host!
This part of the project was really fun because it was the first time we had contact with the actors and we could start imagining how the characters we had written would look like in real life. The first problem we had is that we got too many applicants, we couldn't handle so many. Actually this is kind of a blessing, having so many actors interested in working with us, but we had to narrow down the list somehow and the only way to do it at that point was just looking at their pictures and experience and then discarding the ones that didn't feel right for the role. This is quite an unfair way of doing it, because I'm sure we missed some wonderful actors in the process. But you have to do it or else you would spend months casting actors. So, an advice for actors, get an attractive cv and get a good photographer to take your pictures. You can be discarded just by having a bad picture.
In the end we ended up with 18 candidates for Jack, 9 for Kim, 23 for the Girl and 5 for the Talkshow Host. Of those, we had to reassign some to a different role, because we thought he or she would fit better as a different character. So some Jacks ended up being cast as the Talkshow Host and some Girls became magically Kim. Those look like big figures, but be aware that you need to set an audition date and probably many of them won't be able to make it for one reason or another.
Now you need to find a place for the auditions. You can use any place as long as it has space and is quiet. We were very lucky because Alex Hinx, a friend of Dan's, worked at Fallon Studio, very near Soho, in London, and he was extremely kind to let us use the facilities for the audition. It was very cool because the space was used for real production auditions so we looked super-professionals there, which is an important thing. Probably some of the actors would think "and these guys say they don't have money to pay the actors? yeah, sure".
To do the auditions we had the huge help of Tom McCarron, a really good actor and Dan's friend. He helped us by playing the roles that were not being cast at the moment, so that actors could react better. That meant some funny changes of gender for him. He actually looked gorgeous as Kim! He also played a little role in the film. See more about Tom at Tom McCarron's Casting Call Pro page.
As we explained before, not all the actors showed up to the audition. In the end, we had 3 Jacks, 5 Kims, 1 Girl and 1 Talkshow Host. A bit tight really, but good enough. We then prepared a couple of key scenes from the script and played the action with them, giving some direction here and there, and with the help of Tom playing other characters. It was important to see their acting but also how they reacted to changes by the Directors. This was really also good to tune the script and make some changes when something didn't sound right or some improvements could be made.
One final note. After you do the casting, you'll have to say "no" to many of the actors. It's something hard to say but it's the least you can do. Thank them for their time, try to explain the reasons for the rejection and keep their data for future projects. They are professionals that understand how films work. We did this to all the actors that applied and where selected in the first round. To those that we didn't choose after the auditions we also sent them pictures from the cast and also a video with their performance. They really appreciate this since usually silence is the common reply. That's not nice nor professional.
Find out more about the actors: Jeffrey Mundell, Mark Weinman, Wayne Reid, Angela Costello, Cydney Denton, Oihana Garde, Olga Leon, Veronica Sevegrand, Rosaleen Maguire, Paul Hughes.
Why did we choose one actor and not another? That's totally subjective, I'm afraid. We liked Wayne Reid a lot because we could see him as someone very happy and someone very depressed and still be the same person, as was Jack, his character. We believed him. Cydney Denton was a bit older (not much!) than other actresses and that's what we were after, someone wise, plus she had a sexy look, a lot in the line of Kim Cattrall when playing Samantha in "Sex and the City" (actually the name of her character is based on that Kim). Rosaleen Maguire had a "natural beauty" that matched perfectly with the character plus she took direction very well and very quickly. She could show emotions without dialogue. Paul Hughes has to be in a real talkshow soon, he was so natural, standing in the middle of the audition to point at imaginary screens, that Dan and Jesús looked at each other and thought "oh yeah". His striped socks were a +1.
After the casting was made and all actors agreed to join the project, we made a round of rehearsals a few days before the first day of shooting. Luckily, we could use again the facilities at Fallon Studio (thanks Alex Hinx!). We got together and read all the script through aloud, asking and answering questions about the characters. Then we played a couple of key scenes, making changes and letting the actors know what we needed from them.
We also did a clothing test with some of the actors. Since we had a limited budget and we were not making a period film or "Lord of the Rings" stuff, we asked the actors to bring some samples of clothes from their own. The coat that Wayne wears in the film is actually Jesús'!
BUT WHERE CAN YOU FIND THEM?
That's a good question, and a relatively simple to answer. There are a couple of websites specialized on film cast and crew. You can look for actors but also technical crew, equipment, etc. They are really good. We put an ad both on Mandy's Film and TV Production Directory and Casting Call Pro.
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We explained the story behind each character and their role in the story. We also added some physical description of how we thought the characters should look like. Unfortunately, at that time we didn't have a big budget so we had to add the dreadful line "unpaid job", with the promise of paying the actors as soon as we got funding, which we did.
We were surprised to get nearly 100 applications for the four roles after only one week of publishing the ads. That's how we also found our make-up artist, Siwan Hill. Something to be said about actors: it's a tough job, they need to go to many auditions and compete with hundreds of people out there who want the same role. They deserve the uttermost respect for what they do.
Now we had to find the best Jack, Kim, Girl and Talkshow Host!
THE CASTING
This part of the project was really fun because it was the first time we had contact with the actors and we could start imagining how the characters we had written would look like in real life. The first problem we had is that we got too many applicants, we couldn't handle so many. Actually this is kind of a blessing, having so many actors interested in working with us, but we had to narrow down the list somehow and the only way to do it at that point was just looking at their pictures and experience and then discarding the ones that didn't feel right for the role. This is quite an unfair way of doing it, because I'm sure we missed some wonderful actors in the process. But you have to do it or else you would spend months casting actors. So, an advice for actors, get an attractive cv and get a good photographer to take your pictures. You can be discarded just by having a bad picture.
In the end we ended up with 18 candidates for Jack, 9 for Kim, 23 for the Girl and 5 for the Talkshow Host. Of those, we had to reassign some to a different role, because we thought he or she would fit better as a different character. So some Jacks ended up being cast as the Talkshow Host and some Girls became magically Kim. Those look like big figures, but be aware that you need to set an audition date and probably many of them won't be able to make it for one reason or another.
Now you need to find a place for the auditions. You can use any place as long as it has space and is quiet. We were very lucky because Alex Hinx, a friend of Dan's, worked at Fallon Studio, very near Soho, in London, and he was extremely kind to let us use the facilities for the audition. It was very cool because the space was used for real production auditions so we looked super-professionals there, which is an important thing. Probably some of the actors would think "and these guys say they don't have money to pay the actors? yeah, sure".
Tom McCarron
To do the auditions we had the huge help of Tom McCarron, a really good actor and Dan's friend. He helped us by playing the roles that were not being cast at the moment, so that actors could react better. That meant some funny changes of gender for him. He actually looked gorgeous as Kim! He also played a little role in the film. See more about Tom at Tom McCarron's Casting Call Pro page.
As we explained before, not all the actors showed up to the audition. In the end, we had 3 Jacks, 5 Kims, 1 Girl and 1 Talkshow Host. A bit tight really, but good enough. We then prepared a couple of key scenes from the script and played the action with them, giving some direction here and there, and with the help of Tom playing other characters. It was important to see their acting but also how they reacted to changes by the Directors. This was really also good to tune the script and make some changes when something didn't sound right or some improvements could be made.
The actors who made the audition. From left to right and top to bottom: (as Jack) Jeffrey Mundell, Mark Weinman, Wayne Reid, (as Kim) Angela Costello, Cydney Denton, Oihana Garde, Olga Leon, Veronica Sevegrand, (as The Girl) Rosaleen Maguire, (as Talkshow Host) Paul Hughes.
One final note. After you do the casting, you'll have to say "no" to many of the actors. It's something hard to say but it's the least you can do. Thank them for their time, try to explain the reasons for the rejection and keep their data for future projects. They are professionals that understand how films work. We did this to all the actors that applied and where selected in the first round. To those that we didn't choose after the auditions we also sent them pictures from the cast and also a video with their performance. They really appreciate this since usually silence is the common reply. That's not nice nor professional.
Find out more about the actors: Jeffrey Mundell, Mark Weinman, Wayne Reid, Angela Costello, Cydney Denton, Oihana Garde, Olga Leon, Veronica Sevegrand, Rosaleen Maguire, Paul Hughes.
Why did we choose one actor and not another? That's totally subjective, I'm afraid. We liked Wayne Reid a lot because we could see him as someone very happy and someone very depressed and still be the same person, as was Jack, his character. We believed him. Cydney Denton was a bit older (not much!) than other actresses and that's what we were after, someone wise, plus she had a sexy look, a lot in the line of Kim Cattrall when playing Samantha in "Sex and the City" (actually the name of her character is based on that Kim). Rosaleen Maguire had a "natural beauty" that matched perfectly with the character plus she took direction very well and very quickly. She could show emotions without dialogue. Paul Hughes has to be in a real talkshow soon, he was so natural, standing in the middle of the audition to point at imaginary screens, that Dan and Jesús looked at each other and thought "oh yeah". His striped socks were a +1.
REHEARSALS
After the casting was made and all actors agreed to join the project, we made a round of rehearsals a few days before the first day of shooting. Luckily, we could use again the facilities at Fallon Studio (thanks Alex Hinx!). We got together and read all the script through aloud, asking and answering questions about the characters. Then we played a couple of key scenes, making changes and letting the actors know what we needed from them.
We also did a clothing test with some of the actors. Since we had a limited budget and we were not making a period film or "Lord of the Rings" stuff, we asked the actors to bring some samples of clothes from their own. The coat that Wayne wears in the film is actually Jesús'!
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