Don't Fear the Competition

I have a bad habit of walking into the lobby of an audition and immediately sizing up the room.  I look over everyone and find the person who by looks alone, I would give the part.  In my head, they are my main competition.

Jenna Fischer talks about being at the studio test for "The Office" and there were two other women up for the role.  She says one was gorgeous and obviously not right for Pam and the other perfectly fit her image of what Pam should look like.  She figured she had already lost the part.

You can see how trying to guess what they are looking for is wrong and if you let it get in your head it could hurt your audition.

A casting director once said to me that there really is only one person right for every role and it's their job to find that perfect person.  What that means is that you are never in competition with anyone else for a role.  You are either perfect or you aren't.

Besides it is not your job to book that one part, it is your job to book the room.  Never worry about getting one role in one film.  Instead focus on making fans of the casting director and anyone else in the casting room.  If they become your fan they will call you in for everything they can, eventually finding that role that you are perfect for. 

It is time for actors to stop looking at each other as the competition.   This is a tough enough business as is, we should all be supporting each other.