Keep It Simple, Stupid! How Commercial Casting Directors Don't Care About Your Amazing Acting Skills.

So I was at a commercial audition yesterday. I walked into the room with a few other guys and the director says "Just walk an imaginary dog onscreen, stand there a few seconds, and walk off." That was the ENTIRE audition. Easy, right? Well... not so much.

The first thing I'm thinking about is OMG!!! This is a NATIONAL COMMERCIAL, so if I got this gig it would be the biggest thing I've done with my career so far. Adding to which, this sucker pays in the THOUSANDS of dollars for ONE DAY of work. I just have to show this casting director that I'm the best mute dog walker in LA!!!

Suddenly there's this enormous pressure to knock this guy's socks off. This feeling is worsened by the fact that there are three or four other actors in the room who look exactly like me, doing the exact same thing. I have to outdo them!!

How can I show this guy what an absolute joy I am to work with? Should I laugh really loudly at everything he says? Should I make a few desperate jokes to try to make him laugh? Maybe when I walk on camera I can say something witty so he can see how funny I am! Or I can at least blast him with my best good ol' Kentucky boy-next-door smile! I can't just stand there, holding an invisible leash... That's boring! These guys have seen dozens of actors today and they're going to see dozens more. MUST. STAND. OUT.

So I did something that I'm very proud of: I walked onscreen. I stood there a few seconds, holding an invisible leash. I walked offscreen.

It felt awful. Every bone in my body was like "You're blowing it! You're blowing it!" But I stayed natural. Wasn't even really all that aware that there was a camera on me. However, the guy right after me did all kinds of flashy things... and he looked RIDICULOUS.

Your Commercial casting director probably isn't looking for this guy.

When you get a direction as simple as that, the harsh fact is that they probably aren't looking for your Oscar-worthy acting chops. Several commercial casting directors I know have admitted that in those situations they really just want to see what your eyes look like on camera. Or how your nose looks compared to somebody else. Or, yes, sometimes how stacked your breasts are. In situations like that, there's not a whole lot that you can do to boost your odds outside of being present and FOLLOWING THEIR DIRECTION. Anything extra will probably just give them an excuse NOT to cast you. Show them how professional you are and even if you don't get cast in this one, maybe they'll call you in again in the future. 

I walked out of that room feeling totally confident that I had, in a way, given a fantastic audition. So, you know, score one for the good guys. If this were a fairy tale, my restraint would have been rewarded with a call from my agent telling me that I booked the job. In reality, I spent the rest of my evening sitting beside a silent phone, playing some Zelda. Such is life, I suppose.

Have you ever had a similar experience? Or maybe you hammed it up and it DID help? Maybe you're a pro and you have some advice? Tell me all about it!

Nathan