Hey, Bonnie!
I’m sure you get many, many emails per day from aspiring actors looking to you for guidance, connections, auditions, reassurance, whatever. However, I just joined your mailing list, and received the automated response wherein you asked me to tell you about myself. So… here I am. (Just remember, you asked for this!)
My name’s Clara and I’m 18. With regard to acting, I’m a bit of a late bloomer, since it’s only in the last few months or so that I’ve become seriously interested in the theatre — but I don’t plan to let that stop me. I am now in the process of devouring several acting-related books, including Self-Management for Actors, which is what led me to your mailing list.
Aside from that, my main reason for writing is that I have a question for you regarding casting. I don’t know if you’ve ever cast a film based on a book (IMDb says no, as near as I can tell), but I’m hoping you have at least some second-hand knowledge of these things.
My question is this: How important is physical appearance in selecting an actor to play an established role (e.g., one from a book)?
Wait, I already know your answer: It depends. My situation, in short, is that I recently developed a burning desire to bring the protagonist of my favorite book trilogy to life — by portraying her in a film. Obviously, it’s the very definition of a pipe dream; but at least it’s got me motivated, which is hard to do.
There is only one truly insurmountable obstacle to this pipe dream: The character is described as very tall, and I am only 5’5”. I am concerned that — even if I can master the art of acting and learn all the special skills needed to play this character, and even if I convince someone to fund the film(s), and even if my type fits the role, and even if the part is mine (all of which are very big ifs) — the director, producer, casting director will still choose someone else — someone who may be less suited for the role — simply because they are tall and I am not.
This is highly theoretical, of course, but do you think I would have a chance at getting the part, despite being too short? Is it a dream worth actively pursuing, as opposed to the kind you just hold quietly in your heart and never expect to attain? I’m not sure it’s possible, but I’m not sure it’s impossible, either….
Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Clara Bertaut
Hello Clara and thank you for this email! And thank you for sending it to my column email address, so I could share it (and my reply) with the awesome readers of The Actors Voice. Woo hoo! I *do* love hearing from actors who read my columns and who subscribe to my mailing list. It’s awesome to get to know y’all and of course I always want to know how I can help you along your journey!
The label “a late bloomer” is something that I bet most of my readers would disagree with, as getting started at 18 is just fine! Of course, there are many actors out there who started as kids, but there are also plenty of actors who didn’t begin until their 40s, so you’re on the right track and you’re not afraid of doing the work, so that’s great news!
On to your question! Adaptations of literary characters always seem to stir up controversy in casting, don’t they? I mean, can you think back on any high-profile adaptation for which there wasn’t a TON of conversation, once the possible casting choices were announced? I remember the “scandal” that was casting Tom Cruise as Lestat in Anne Rice’s classic novel, 20 years ago. Fans of her book (and Rice herself) were livid with the selection.
So, let’s put aside the concern about how a particular actor will be received, when announced as the selection to embody a role from a popular book. There will be drama, because the nature of casting an adaptation dictates there will be. Every person who ever read the book created the ideal casting (for himself or herself) mentally, while reading.
I remember hearing that the cast of Pretty Little Liars spent their whole first season of red carpets and junkets being asked about UN-right for the roles they were. Cut to season four: No one talks about the mismatch.
My point in all of this is: Don’t worry about it. More importantly, get down with content creation so that you can put together your own short or scene or fan fiction version of something that shows you embodying the character of your dreams. That’s totally within your control, y’know? So why not have at it, secure rights for the type of scene you’d like to knock out, and see if it’s possible. You may shock yourself with how much fan support you generate!
Keep me posted. I’d love to check out what you put together! 🙂
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001701.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.