When I first moved to LA, a friend convinced me to go with her to an audition for a reality show. It’s at a studio and when we finally get to the front of the line a woman quickly looks me up and down. She takes a green dot from her pack of multi-colored stickers and places it on my paperwork. My friend gets a blue dot.
We are then split up into lines based on our colored dots. I am sent to the green dot line along the wall and my friend is sent to the much shorter line with the other color dots. I look at her line and everyone is tall, beautiful, and seems to have a fan constantly blowing through their perfect hair.
They look like a Vanity Fair cover.
Then I look down my line and I realize they are not very attractive; I’m talking people with hunchbacks, missing limbs, patches over an eye, and definitely not hot. Then it occurs to me:
I’m in the ugly people line!
It came as a bit of a shock, I mean I know I’m not Angelina Jolie, but I had thought I was at least a Jennifer Aniston. I chose at that moment to accept the fate of being categorized as a character actor, took the green dot off my paperwork and put it on the middle of my forehead for my audition. Owning it. I AM A GREEN DOT!
Now I know who I am. I’m not the one who gets the Prince at the end of the fairy tale: I’m her snarky best friend or the Prince’s secretary. I’m the diner waitress or a school teacher. That is my brand.
The point is that you need to know who you are. Not everyone is the leading man - someone has to be Steve Buscemi. Once you find what roles you are going to play then let that be your brand. Your photos, your reel, all your marketing tools need to be aimed at that brand.
Actors are always afraid of being “typecast.” I always say the most important part of that word is “cast.” Be the go-to person when casting directors need your type. That is the way to get jobs in this town. Once you are Ryan Gosling or Natalie Portman you can branch outside your brand.
YOU NEED TO BE COMFORTABLE WITH WHO YOU ARE AND SELL IT!
Love this, but just don't agree with the green dot line for you. Not all casting directors get it. You are beautiful, plus you have the added bonus of being able to do characterizations, which is a good thing. Versatility is the best line to be in. For example: Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julia Roberts, and yes, Ryan Gosling. All good enough looking, but VERY good actors due to their ability to transform - and not just play pretty. Oh, and James Franco, hello!
ReplyDeleteHarmony said it beautifully, but I completely second that. Thanks for another awesome post, Michelle :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, you gorgeous ladies! I guess I should have said it was a reality show for people to be on a Soap Opera and that's just not my look ... but, I'm okay with that ;). Hey, I spent my last play in a gorilla costume, so I'm not big on looks anyway.
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