June 7, 2016
Trying to be something you’re not never works. Not in life, and especially not in the casting world. Paradoxical as that may seem, as someone who has spent some time in the industry, this is an important concept to grasp if one wants to maintain a positive reputation. You see, much like nearly any other profession, time is money for casting directors. Therefore, there are very few decisions that will blemish your image like upsetting a casting director. A surefire way to upset a casting director (AND YOUR AGENT!) is to lie about yourself in an attempt to get a role.
Picture an audition as a first date; the casting director is your partner. You may really want to seek a partnership with them, but if you lie about who you are and what you can do, you are building a relationship on a foundation of lies. Crafting a relationship with a false foundation will always lead to an inevitable collapse, like a tower in the game of Jenga, or a house of cards in a room with a ceiling fan. With that being said, be sure to think of that the next time you feel like you are perfect for a role that requires you to breakdance, if your only move is the ‘scuba-diver’.
Here are some other examples of what NOT to do:
Write that you are good with animals, but refuse to ride a horse because you are allergic. You may love the idea of animals, but if your body hates them, for all acting purposes so do you.
If your only time in the pool is spent where you can stand, or doing the doggy-paddle, you are not qualified to say that you can swim.
Riding a bike means doing so without training wheels.
Despite what some will say, if you can freestyle rap, it means you can do so without rhyming racial slurs and swears with each other. (Lil Wayne is the only exception, and we do not represent him).
Being polite, nice, or intelligent are things people will figure out & determine the validity of as they get to know you. Just do not list these traits, it’s presumptuous and undermines the overall validity of your claims. Let your actions speak louder than your words, and the world will be your oyster. (Unless, of course, you have a shellfish allergy. In which case, the world is your pizza).
-A Dylan Dinho piece