What Does it Mean When Agents Say They Have Too Many of ‘Your Type’?

Most of our posts here on Daily Actor focus on the perspective of the actor, but any experienced actor knows that an agent is essential for growth in the industry. 

In an interview with Yahoo!, agent Mark Measures of the commercial department at Abrams Artists Agency, answered questions about some of the more difficult parts of an actor-agent relationship.

When it comes to getting an agent, if an agent says he or she is already representing too many of your “type,” it probably means that the agent doesn’t see anything marketability-wise different from others that agent already represents.  He explains, “They don’t see money in you. That’s the excuse we’re using when we sit down and talk about it. We may say we have 4 other guys in your category that are getting out more. We don’t just come out and say, ‘Yeah, we don’t see it and we don’t think you’re going to work.’ We’re not in the business to hurt people’s feelings. That’s why agents have these excuses. What we’re saying is we don’t see a million dollars in you. While yes, that is absolutely what we’re saying, we’re not in it to perpetuate the stereotype that all agents are nasty and mean or that we are all Ari Gold types from Entourage.” Read more

Cold Reading: What Every Actor Needs To Know

So, you want to be an actor? 

There are four (4) cardinal rules guiding successful actors from Los Angeles, CA to New York City, NY:

1) Having talent doesn’t necessarily mean you will work.  Ever.
2) Hard work may pay off.  Or maybe not.
3) Sometimes there is loyalty in the business.  Most of the time there isn’t.
4) There is no such thing as fair.

Being an actor involves dealing with a lot of forces which are out of your control.  What can you do to ensure the most successful career possible? Read more

Nathan Lane on His ‘Iceman Cometh’ Pre-Show Preparation

Tony-award winner Nathan Lane just finished his run in Eugene O’Neill’s Iceman Cometh in Chicago where he played Theodore Hickman.

During the run of the show, he and actress Laurie Metcalf (who is currently starring as Mary Tyrone in O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night on London’s West End) exchanged emails about the pressures of working with O’Neill’s text, food before shows and pre-show preparation.

The emails, which were published by The New York Times (go read them all!) are a great read. Here is Lane’s portion where he writes about his pre-show prep: Read more

Daniel Radcliffe Used Radiohead to Prepare for “Harry Potter”

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe prepared for filming of the franchise’s eight installments by listening to music from a select few groups. At the top of his list when preparing to play the films’ titular character: English alternative rock bands Radiohead and Hope of the States.

“A lot of Radiohead and a lot of Hope of the States,” said Radcliffe when asked what he queued up when preparing to play his character. “There are certain songs… that I’ve always gone back to over the years… And I keep going back to them to find Harry.”

Focusing on a group of young wizards, the Harry Potter franchise wraps up this week with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. No word yet on whether Radcliffe would blast “Magic” by The Cars or Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” before the director yelled, “Action!”

“I cannot emphasize enough how far ahead this film is from any of the others,” the actor said about the final movie. “It’s amazing. I am so proud of this film and the way we have gone out in this film. I think people are gonna go crazy for it.”

Actors: Don’t Be This Guy!

I follow Paul Scheer on Twitter (and you should too! He’s hilarious!) and he posted this little gem the other day.

We can file this under: Things Actors Should Never Do.

Fabrice Yahyaoui is an actor of many, many faces (as you can tell in the picture below) and he wants to mother f**kin act!

I have no idea why he isn’t working. I mean, he’s on MySpace!

‘Thank You’ Cards – Politeness Goes A Long Way

There are so many different rumors about how to do something in the acting world, and everyone has their own opinion on them.  Although this industry works for many people in many different ways, it’s important that we take in all the information that we’ve gathered and come up with a general consensus on how you want to approach “your business.”

I was speaking with a casting director (who will remain unnamed for now) the other day about ‘Thank You’ Cards in our industry.  We discussed the reasoning behind this, and it became very clear that these can be important.  Most of all it boils down to the simplest of all mannerisms… being polite.

Yes, something that most of us do everyday: opening doors for people, saying “please”, even saying “bless you.”  Although, I’ve easily seen actors skip this step when it comes to the audition process: Do you greet everyone with a smile and hello? Are you patient, even if you got there early and you’ve been waiting a while? Do you thank your reader? Did you acknowledge everyone in the room?

These are all simple things to think about. [on top of remembering our sides, getting into character, and taking adjustments, etc. ]  With some practice, you can do these simple things and the weird part about it is – PEOPLE NOTICE!  It’s as simple as being polite and giving it your best shot.  This just increases your chance of the producers and casting directors rooting for you to do the great job they are looking for.

Read more

Sir Patrick Stewart’s Vocal Tips

Sir Patrick Stewart is currently projecting his famous voice to audiences 8 shows a week in the Broadway show, A Life in the Theatre.

To keep his voice in perfect condition, he’s stopped eating dairy and talking on the phone. I could handle the no-phone edict. The dairy? I need my Starbucks latte’s.

He recently told the New York Post that “with just us talking onstage for 90 minutes, no intermission, the first line of defence is how to use your voice. Over the years, I’ve visited voice coaches here and in England. I have this same doctor for 15 years who’s looked after some of our greatest voices. I’m one of the humblest of her clients.”

“She first listens to what I have to say, examines the orifice, takes video pictures of the vocal cords, then prescribes treatment. Like being sure there’s sufficient hydration and water. My dressing room is steam-filled with a humidifier. And no dairy products. They’re bad bad bad. They create mucus. And I warm up before going onstage… I’m really avoiding most (press) interviews (as well) because I must protect my voice. The one thing I’m told not to do is talk on the phone.”

John Malkovich on preparing for a role and more

John Malkovich, currently starring in RED, is someone I wish would star in more studio movies. He just elevates everything he’s in, doesn’t he?

He recently shared some thoughts on how he prepares for a part and more.

How does he prepare for a role:
“I always read a screenplay many, many times. Then when you show up (on the set), you get a sense of what people are doing. And I always look at the whole thing not just at what I’m doing. I look at it and see basically, if I’m a point or a counterpoint in this scene, in this story, at this moment. People often ask me about roles. I’ve done a few films where I had a fantastic role, and even maybe I was OK in it, but if the film isn’t good, you’re much better off not having made it, even if it was a wonderful role.”

On how he like being directed:
“I think there are two schools of acting. Some actors are highly reticent to commit anything to celluloid that is not their choice. They have an idea about it and they want pretty much exactly that or only that. I have nothing against that. Then there’s another type of actor – which is what I am. I would prefer that the director make clear what they want from me.”

On retiring from acting:
“They’ll retire me when it’s time to retire. I will have worked with and had the pleasure of having met some of the most incredibly interesting peoples and some of the most gifted filmmakers around the world. So when they retire me, I’d probably miss the people, but that’ll be that.”

For the rest of the article, click here

Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell on the challenges of playing real-life brother and sister in ‘Conviction’

Hilary Swank and Sam Rockwell discuss the process and challenges of playing real life brother and sister Kenny and Betty Anne Waters.

On working with Rockwell, Hilary Swank says, “When you’re working with someone like Sam who is so extraordinary in his craft. You are so in the moment because you don’t want to mess up what you’re seeing in front of you. So you’re on your A game.”

Having seen the movie, he’s definitely on his “A game.” He’s excellent in the film.

Sutton Foster’s advice on keeping roles ‘fresh’

The other night I went to see An Evening with Sutton Foster and the show was wonderful.

I’ve seen her in a couple shows and watched tons of interviews prior to this and was really anxious to see her perform as herself.

Well, she didn’t disappoint. She sang songs from the Broadway shows she’s appeared in – Throughly Modern Millie, Shrek, The Drowsy Chaperone and Annie - along with a handful of other great classic songs.

I could say so many good things about the show but one thing I really to share was this: At one point, she mentioned that she’s been fortunate to be in several shows that have had long runs. To keep it fresh, she pulls out a set of Angel Cards.

Basically, each card has something written on them like ‘Joy’, ‘Drive’, etc. Little statements like that. Before each show, she draws a card and then layers that statement into her performance.

Then she showed us an example. She put her hand in a cup and pulled out “Release.” The audience laughed as she went limp…releasing. She then sauntered to the mike and sang a song (I wish I could remember what it was), with a “release” element to it.

She definitely over-played it to hilarious effect but you can see what she was getting at.

So, the next time you’re in a long-running show, try this out!

Next Page »