Professional actors act like professionals
February 8, 2011 | 0 comments
I don’t take booking deposits.
Some of us do, some of us don’t. I get asked about it all the time and people are often surprised to hear that I trust them to be professional enough to show up on the day of the shoot, when I have equipment set up, precious time set aside and my makeup artist booked.
Only about 7 times in the 7 years I’ve been shooting actors has someone simply not shown up. That’s pretty insignificant when you consider the hundreds of actors I’ve shot, but it still completely floors me when it happens.
It’s tremendously inconvenient, but that’s not the reason. The reason is that actors so frequently fail to see how they have a reputation for lack of professionalism, and that that reputation discourages casting directors from working with new actors as much or more than anything else.
“And don’t even think about feature films or episodic TV, where in addition to all of those factors you might also have a significant amount of actual acting to fuck up.”
Agents (and sometimes casting directors themselves) ask me for feedback on actors I work with all the time. Sometimes they’re concerned with their confidence or how they look on camera, but nine times out of ten they want to know about a new actor’s professionalism. Did they show up on time? Were they difficult to work with? Were they condescending or rude? How did they treat my makeup artist? Could they follow direction or did they think they knew better? Were they constantly distracted by their phones or Blackberries? Did they pay me promptly?
I’m patient and polite (among other wonderful qualities). Plus you’re my client, so it’s my job to be accommodating and manage the stress of a headshot session for you in order to get fantastic pictures and make the experience fun and rewarding. Whether it’s working out a payment plan or dealing with a little pre-shoot insecurity attack, I’m ultimately here to help you.
But consider for a moment how casting or production sees the issue.
When you step on the set of a TV commercial, for example, a tremendous amount of time, effort and money has been invested in that one, delicate moment. Clients have sat through hours of pitches and presentations at an ad agency. Those pitches have been crafted and honed based on hours of market research. A director has been hired and consulted with. Casting has taken two full days and a team of a dozen people, and callbacks and editing the audition tapes have doubled that. Keys have been hired, and crews. Locations scouted and booked. A catering company has been hired, and then fired, and then replaced. Payroll, accounting, ACTRA agreements, wardrobe fittings, set building, lighting, camera rentals, postproduction contracting; by the time the actor steps onto their little taped-down ‘T’ upwards of $1,000,000 and hundreds of man-hours have been spent for each day of shooting.
And what if you’re two hours late? What if you’re hungover? Or texting constantly? Or hitting on extras? What if you insist you “need to run out to an important audition”? What if you’re up the 2nd AD’s ass the second you’re into meal penalty, or on the phone to the ACTRA steward every time the caterer forgets about your gluten allergy? God forbid, what if you just don’t show up?
And don’t even think about feature films or episodic TV, where in addition to all of those factors you might also have a significant amount of actual acting to fuck up. Without a pre-existing relationship, a casting director is taking a huge risk every time they book an actor, and it’s a risk they (and your agent, for that matter) are keenly aware of.
The fear of flaky actors might be exaggerated, but it’s unfortunately not completely unfounded. Those green actors who can’t take the business of acting seriously ruin it for everyone, and to work in this city it’s imperative you’re not one of them.
Being a professional is something you can do instantly. Work on your craft, become a better actor, but be a professional right away.
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