Greg's Movie Post

Not much.

Here is a screenshot from the public actor site Starnow.com. I searched blonde females in their 20’s in one state of Australia.

The search returned over 300 actors. Here are eight.

Even though I am full time casting director, I do not know all 300. So, if I don’t know you, there are two things that would compel me to choose you for an audition.

1. Your agent. Are you repped by an agent who I think “wow, if this actor is with Agent X, they must be good”?
2. Your photo. Look at the screenshot of the thumbnails. What is difference between them? As I said at the start, not much.

They are all portrait in orientation, all head and shoulders, all well-groomed, well-presented, appealing… and to a casting director, uninspiring.

This is Wentworth Miller who was in Prison Break. I do not know if this is his actor head, but for arguments sakes, let us assume it is. If I do not know him, if I am looking to cast actors to populate a new series, if he is with a low-end agent, does this photograph compel me to take a chance and see him?

Maybe, maybe not.

Actors headshots have not changed. Ever. But it is a digital age. It is so easy to take candid shots of you in character, even on your iPhone.

Why? Because in a digital age, a photo is a form of communication and when I look at this photo, I am asking “Can this guy possibly look like a prisoner? Because if I say no, then you don’t get an audition.”

Your photo is an opportunity to send a message to, and to connect to, a casting director. As long as you use the tools of the digital age, as long as you understand how to capture photos that deliver your individuality.

Which is what we do at The Self-Taping School. In my books, a self tape is a piece of communication. It is a message.

And you should ask “What does my photo say to the casting director of Prison Break?” but too many actors do not think about that.

At Self-Taping School, you receive a casting director’s opinion of your work each week for six weeks.

You are in a self taping boot camp.

Get the sides, try something different, make a mistake and try again.

I will teach you how to communicate to casting directors in a digital age