“I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin
At an audition the other day I was asked what kind of character I saw myself playing. The question caught me off guard. I answered as honestly as I could by saying I view myself as a chameleon. The response was, “so you see yourself as a character actor?”
Character actor seems like a redundant term, doesn’t it? Isn’t all [good] acting character acting? I do my best to make sure I’m not myself in every role I play. Given the opportunity, I truly believe I could convincingly play any role set before me.
That’s not to say I could be Danny Ocean the same way George Clooney was; I’m not tall, dark, and ridiculously handsome like he is. Nor do I think I could pull off Steve Buscemi’s Fargo role for the opposite reasons. Poor Mr. Buscemi is my go to name when I describe my physical appearance as ‘somewhere between Brad Pitt and Steve Buscemi.’
You know what, though? I don’t think Mr. Buscemi would mind. He’s made an excellent career for himself. How? By being comfortable in his own skin and accepting his niche in Hollywood. Oh, and he’s good.
If we have any hope of becoming professional actors, we have to know our own identity. And we have to be accurate. In her book, How to Sell Yourself as an Actor, K Callan offers the following story from a New York talent agent:
“I had a funny looking lady come in, mid-30s, chubby, not very pretty. For all I know, this woman could be brilliant. I asked her what roles she could play; what she thought she should get. She saw herself playing Sandra Bullock’s roles. Meg Ryan’s roles.
“I could have been potentially interested in this woman in the areas in which she would work. But it was a turn-off because, not only do I know that she’s not going after the right things, so she’s not preparing correctly, but she’s not going to be happy with the kinds of things I’m going to be able to do for her. So I wouldn’t want to commit to that person.”
Know yourself. If you don’t know yourself, ask unbiased outsiders. Find out who you compare to in Hollywood. If you look like Kathy Bates, don’t fool yourself into believing you’re going to play the romantic lead in Transformers 3.
Just be yourself. That’s what Hollywood needs.
6 comments:
Personally, I think I'm kind of like a more attractive Zac Efron.
Oh, yeah... waaaay more attractive than Zac Efron... but you're too old. ;)
Very interesting. Steve Buschemi is an interesting character, and I think you're right in saying that he's succeeded by being comfortable in his own skin. You don't have to look like George Clooney to be a good actor.
But if you do look like George Clooney, don't be afraid to use it to your advantage! ;)
I have an "exercise" that I've used to help actors with this issue of self-perception. I will select one actor, and then I hand out a list of attributes/professions/traits and the others in the class will select the items that they think of when they look at/listen to one of the actors--we then see which attributes come up most and this helps the actor to understand how he/she is perceived by others...and the types of roles for which they could be considered. I think it's also important once you know your "type" to have headshots that reflect that...I often see super glamorous or uber-sexy shots from men and women both, who do not come across at all that way in real life.
Having been on the casting side of things, I am very disappointed - nay, upset - when an actor or actress comes in and looks nothing like their headshot. I call a person in, for better or worse, because in their headshot they look like the character I'm casting. Isn't this a grand business in which superficiality is not only accepted but encouraged? ;)
Post a Comment