Writers need actors
A few readers have asked whether I’ll weigh in on the SAG situation. I won’t, except to relate an interesting conversation I had with a TV showrunner a month or two ago.
He said his casting people were having a hard time finding actors of a certain age, especially minorities, for episodic parts. These are the “day players” — roles in which an actor might have a scene or two in a given episode, never to return. Shows like Law & Order or C.S.I. require a bunch of these: witnesses, specialists, etc. The nanny who discovers her employer impaled on an icicle — that’s a day player.
Day players aren’t extras. There is actual acting required. Casting directors will bring in a few candidates to read for the part, and the producers/director will pick. A good day player can really elevate a scene. A bad day player is a disaster. 1
In Los Angeles or New York, if you’re trying to cast a day player in their 20s (say, a car wash attendant), it’s easy. You’ve got thousands of people to choose from. Even if you need a specific characteristic — say, Russian-speaking — you’re going to have great candidates.
But what if you need an intimidating Chinese woman in her 60’s? Or a really, really old man you can believe is from Nigeria?
Well, you hope they’re out there. And increasingly, they’re not. (At least, according to this showrunner, and two others who concurred.)
So what’s going on?
At the risk of getting Freakonomics, it appears there’s a point at which it’s not economically viable to remain a day player.
Consider the career arc of an actor. In one’s 20s, almost anyone can afford to be an actor, by waiting tables or doing other piecemeal work in order to buy ramen and pay for headshots. At some point in one’s 30s, that lifestyle becomes less possible. Actors get married, have kids, or have other responsibilities that require a more steady paycheck. Which means getting a traditional job. At a certain point, you find many actors have become plumbers or teachers or dog trainers just to keep their kids in school and family in health insurance. 2
Luckily, there are some actors who are able to remain actors because they book just enough jobs each year. They’re not making much — probably scale — but it’s enough to keep them working in their craft. These actors have a sense of how many days of work they need to book in order to stay solvent.
So consider our Chinese woman in her 60’s. If she works a certain number of days each year, it makes sense to continue acting and living in Los Angeles. If not, she might as well move to Tucson, where it’s cheaper and closer to her grandkids.
The showrunner told me that the studios are increasingly insisting that producers shoot out day player roles in fewer days, in order to save money. Episode-by-episode, this makes sense; why spend more than you have to? But in pinching pennies, the system may be squeezing out the actors it needs. And you really notice it in groups in which you didn’t have a lot of actors to choose from in the first place, such as minorities. If you write a role for a woman in her 60’s, and race doesn’t matter, you can cast anyone, including the Chinese woman. But if you write a role for a bossy Chinese grandmother, you really need that actress in town and available.
If you look at any one actor getting economically forced out of the craft, oh well. Sad story, but Hollywood’s full of ‘em. But when you apply that loss across a swath of your talent pool, suddenly it’s impossible to find that African man in his 80’s you need for your episode. So you’re stuck rewriting it for a white guy, or a younger guy. The product suffers, and TV gets a little more white and boring.
I bring up this anecdote because it’s the kind of issue you really wish the industry was addressing in their ongoing negotiations with the actors’ unions, but they’re not. Instead, we get a three-way shoving match.
Anticipating the first dozen comments on this thread:
- Please don’t send your Chinese grandmother’s headshot. I’m sure she’s a terrific actress, but the example above was purely illustrative.
- I’m not claiming this situation is causing a lack of diversity in television, but it makes it harder to combat. As writers, we can create rich, multi-ethnic worlds. But if we can’t find actors for those roles, it’s all for naught.
- Obviously, the same economic pressures apply to plain old white actors as well. But there are more of them to begin with, so you don’t notice their absence as quickly or as acutely.
- You don’t notice the problem as much in features because there’s so much more time to do casting, and (generally) more money.
- I don’t have a solution to the situation, but it’s almost certainly not DVD residuals. Bumping up scale minimums will help, but only to a degree.
- We can’t conflate raw numbers with talent. When a showrunner and her casting directors are pulling out their hair because they can’t find a Pacific Islander for a part, it’s not because there are no actors in that category. There may simply be none with the chops to pull it off. Doubt me if you want, but 95% of Americans could not convincingly say four lines of dialogue on Law & Order. It’s tougher than it looks.
- One anecdote: We shot my first show mostly at stages in Toronto. We quickly learned to check any dialogue to be spoken by a Canadian day player to avoid the ooo problem, and beyond that, we found most of our day players to be terrific. Except for one. She had two lines of dialogue with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and no force on heaven or Earth could get her to say them properly. It turned out she was drunk. Because she was nervous. Because she had a crush on Mark-Paul Gosselaar. The truth was charming, but she was recast on the spot. ↩
- Obviously, you could substitute “screenwriter” for actor in this thought experiment. But it’s not a perfect analogy. For instance, an actor can’t work on spec. ↩
Articles
July 13th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
This problem has been largely created by the same showrunners who are now upset. They weeded out many actors years ago. There are many quality actors who, if they did not book a show by a certain age, have their headshots and resumes tossed in the garbage. Taking risks leads to rewards.
I am an actor in my 40s (white). I have many colleagues who were good actors but never got a chance. They are no longer in the business. Personally, I wouldn’t be able to survive if I was not also a writer – and I work a decent amount. If I was just an actor, I think I would have moved on by now. The two incomes allow me to live the kind of lifestyle I desire.
So, showrunners can look themselves in the mirror when they see an actor’s resume and believe she or he doesn’t have the “chops.” I saw this coming years ago and am not surprised to read your entry.
July 13th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
With the miracle of plastic surgery, I too can become an intimidating Chinese woman in her 60s.
July 13th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Part of the problem, too, has become that most of the guest roles on shows such as Law and Order or the CSI’s are now being taken by “established” actors, i.e. that guy that had his own series ten years ago and a couple bad movies that tanked, or that former child star who once had a substance abuse problem and is now cleaned up, or Robin Williams comes in and plays a psycho.
to which I’d ask, why Robin Williams? He’s a brilliant actor, but does he really need a guest part on L&O SVU? Well, he’s a fan of the show (it’s a great show) and it makes it easy to market.
Now you have film stars, who used to not do TeeVee, now stepping in to do three days on CSI because it’s fun. And makes a hell of a promo.
So that I get, it makes it easy to market. But what used to happen (at least in New York) is that an actor would get in the door as a day-player, get a couple lines, and then find him or herself under consideration for a larger, guest-starring role (maybe two or three scenes) on another one, and each one became a stepping stone for actors of a certain type and age.
Now, however, most of those meatier (and, in terms of dollars, choice paying) parts go to film and TV actors who are already established, so there’s less money to do to developing a pool of talent, who fight over scraps of a line here or a line there and then eventually, they stop.
Because they hit a wall that they can’t get over.
It’s too bad, too. It was a sign of arrival for an actor, once you finally made an appearance on Law & Order. And the original show still casts a great deal of New York actors, true . . . you can still get the foot in the door with them, though they too have often brought in the “guest-star” . . . it was more fun when they were unknown, because then you truly didn’t know who did it. Now if the Fonz shows up (or Jerry Lewis, on one episode) you know that they’re gonna be a major part of the show, and usually the killer. Takes the surprise away, too.
Oh my, I just ranted. Sorry.
July 13th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Interesting entry, but one minor correction: Canadians are usually —if not drunk — at least a little skiffed.
You don’t think we’d go around saying aboot if we were sober, do you?
July 13th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I don’t think it’s just a question of pay. I think that as actors get older they want better roles and more respect. If you’ve been in the profession twenty years and you’re only getting bit parts it gets boring and unfulfilling.
So the trick to have the actors available for this stuff is;
a) stop calling them ‘day players’ ALL actors are ‘actors’ so show a bit of respect and treat them like every other actor on your set
b) write more great main roles for these diverse types and the actors will be there filling the large and small roles (as the stars are happy to do)
Actors are like any other artist. They want to work and create and be respected and have fun with big and small parts. It’s not just about the money it’s about the craft and appreciation too.
July 13th, 2008 at 8:24 pm
At Grey’s Anatomy, they write just about every character without regard to race, and then bring in a wide net each and every time for a part. And even after they’ve cast an amazing actor to play the “wife,” and need to find someone to play her “husband”… they frequently still keep casting a wide net. (which is why the show probably features far more mixed marriages than other shows on TV — they really do believe in finding the best people each and every time out).
July 13th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
Hear hear. Or read read, whatever.
I’m one of those still booking just enough gigs to get by…that’s been 7 commercials since Feb, and I’m back at $100 in the bank and a maxed-out credit card. (Finally something’s airing.) Last month’s miracle check which kept me afloat was the economic stimulus bribe. This month, I’m SO grateful for a residual from a network broadcast that’ll ensure rent is paid, and the internets don’t get turned off again.
Cause I sure as hell won’t be reading anything like this in Variety.
July 14th, 2008 at 1:02 am
“stop calling them ‘day players’ ALL actors are ‘actors’ so show a bit of respect and treat them like every other actor on your set”
At the risk of repeating the offense, a decent day player is gold dust. When the camera’s on them, in that moment they’re carrying your entire show.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Stephen -
I know what you’re saying and it’s a nice sentiment.
But the idea that someone is only decent and important as a day player is soul sucking.
The reason stars enjoy doing those cameo roles is because they are not pidgeon holed into them all the time. And it provides a pleasant relief to carrying a main role.. actors need a wide variety work to remain stimulated. It’s neither beneath a professional actor to do a cameo or above them to do a main part.
Who does what should be down to the audition process which is horribly flawed right now. Most actors are only seen for the same old work they’ve always done.. and you keep at it when you’re twenty because you believe that if you do the fringe theatre and the bit parts you’ll get to move on to other stuff too… but if it hasn’t happened by the time you’re forty and you are still doing two line roles (however valued and important that is) you’re bored and you get out to do something more interesting.. like screenwriting.
July 14th, 2008 at 6:16 am
GEISLER Ever act?
BARTON . . . Huh? No, I’m –
GEISLER We need Indians for a Norman Steele western.
BARTON I’m a writer. Ted O -
GEISLER Think about it, Fink. Writers come and go; we always need Indians.
(From “Barton Fink”)
July 14th, 2008 at 10:02 am
A friend of mine is an actor who has appeared on Battlestar Galactica a few times and he commented on how shows tend to use the same actors over and over again for different parts. It’s apparently not because of lack of talent, but simply due to the shows wanting to stick with people they know. It makes it VERY difficult to break in, but once you’re in, as long as that shows is running, you’ve got a semi-regular gig. I don’t know if this is true in Los Angeles, but I know others have said the same thing about Vancouver. It explains a little why you see the same people popping up all over the place, but can’t figure out why you recognize them. With a smaller pool to choose from, you certainly would have problems keeping a diverse pool of actors afloat, unless the afore mentioned 80 year old Nigerian is among the smaller talent pool that always gets work, he’s not going to be available when you need him.
I read some of the comments on the accent thread from a few Canadians who were apparently offended at the mention of our accent. Note: EVERYONE has an accent. Everyone. It just depends on where you are as to whether it’s different from those around you. Speaking of which, I am a Canadian and have been mistaken at different times for British and American. Apparently my accent fluctuates a bit.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:31 pm
Eric, thanks for mentioning Grey’s Anatomy. It’s significant, I think, that creator/show runner is an ivy-league educated African-American woman who created a show that reflects the world she lives in — a world in which people like her (and like everyone else) exist. It’s also proof that you can do whatever you want to do if you really want to do it badly enough.
The key to Grey’s Anatomy creator/showrunner Shonda’s success is that she doesn’t see people as types, she sees them as people and casts accordingly. If showrunners follow Shonda’s example and cast actors to play characters regardless of the actor’s race, then African-American, Asian and Latino actors will have robust careers and showrunners will be able to find a 60 year old Chinese woman when they need one. The secret, of course, is to recognize that non-white people are not “types”, we’re people. Which means you don’t have to wait until you have a ethnically specific role to give us a job. Not only can color-blind casting create opportunities for actors of all races, create more diverse television, and provide a diverse pool of actors to choose from, it can also have a positive impact on the world — all laudible goals.
July 14th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
John, I found your first point to be interesting.
“Please don’t send your Chinese grandmother’s headshot. I’m sure she’s a terrific actress, but the example above was purely illustrative.”
You used an example of a hard-to-find type of person and then anticipated receiving a bunch of queries with available people that fit said description. Maybe the problem is studios are looking in the wrong places…or not looking at all.
I would imagine most actors are found because they found you, not because you found them. What if studios payed some aspiring actor/writer/producer/director or someone with “aspiring” preceding their name to be a day runner hunter. It seems that through the internet these days or people you know, you could probably find several of the demographic you are looking for. And I’d bet at least some small fraction of those found would have the ability/interest to act.
July 14th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
@Joshua James:
Isn’t it amazing how that’s happened with independent film, too? Several years ago, a film got buzz at Sundance because it had great writing and acting. Now, a film gets buzz because it’s got great writing and acting AND they somehow got George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Alec Baldwin to appear in it for scale.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
I’m Canadian and the only time I ever hear “aboot” is on American television. The stereotype needs to die already.
However, Newfoundlanders do tend to say “kahr” instead of car.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
@DA:
I think you’re over-valuing the resume. Credits are great. But for these roles, all that matters is the audition. I watch the tape and hire the best person.
@Joshua:
I’m not sure stunt casting is really sucking up that many roles on a show like Law & Order. Will & Grace, I’ll give you.
@Leilani:
“Actor” includes everyone from George Clooney to the background players. I’m not worried about George Clooney paying his bills, and to be honest, I don’t really fret that much about the background players. Either one can work as much as wanted.
“Day player” is a functional description for a type of role, and the actors who get these roles are in a unique situation. To call me out as disrespectful is ridiculous, and to suggest the solution is to write more interesting roles for That Guy Who Saw The Accident is naive.
If someone quits the craft because they’re bored and/or frustrated, that’s unfortunate, but it’s not called Happywood. If they quit the craft because studios are squeezing out day player days, that’s an industry problem that needs to be addressed.
@Steve:
Get a job as a TV casting director. You might be fantastic at it. Or you might find your soul crushed in the first week.
@Graydon:
Sigh.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
Everyone has an accent. Canadians, Americans, everyone.
Like America, the Canadian dialect differs from region to region. The people who live in the prairies don’t sound the same as the people who live on the east coast who don’t sound the same as the people in the far north.
The main difference in the about/a boot thing, is that Canadians pronounce the “u”, Americans for the most part don’t.
Which ends up making us all look funny, because Americans think Canadians say “a boot” and Canadians think Americans say “a bit” when we’re all saying “about”.
Everyone has an accent. Some are stronger than others (Maritimers, New Yorkers, Deep South).
You just don’t think you have an accent because it’s normal to you.
And for the record — born and raised Canadian.
Though I have been known to embellish my accent when I’m in California.
It’s aboot time we got some maple syrup for our bacon, eh? (Even though that’s not how we use “eh”)
/end semi-rant
July 15th, 2008 at 2:39 am
Isn’t this just a question of supply & demand? If you need a bossy Chinese grandmother but don’t find her, you just haven’t paid enough money for her.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:33 am
When I watch TV or movies, and see the same actors getting hired over and over again the play the same types of roles, I am getting very tired of seeing that. I wish the TV/movie industry would hire different people to make it seem like I am not watching the same stuff again.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:49 am
A day player currently makes 759.00/day (this is an eight hour day). Most shows need a day player to work for longer than eight hours however. So by a very broad guess most day players make a 1000.00 for a day’s work (with meal penalties, overtime etc.) That means that a day player can work 35 days a year and make what a teacher makes in Florida. I think that is a pretty good compensation. I think most people would be happy with 98.75/ hour. Just a thought.
July 15th, 2008 at 6:55 am
Naturally day players must be able to make a living. I don’t really know what the answer to this dilemma is, but I’m not sure that it is that day players should work more days. Sometimes it feels like (to continue the analogy, nothing else) the angry old chinese woman who witnessed a crime on CSI one week, is the same angry old chinese woman who was questioned the week before on Law&Order, had a heart attack on ER and caught a rich kid shop lifting on Gossip Girl. At some point they are used so often that you get a problem with suspension of disbelief. Maybe they should be paid more without having to work more days.
(I work in Europe and here we get most of our day players from the stage. Actors who make a (slim) living playing theater in the evenings can do day parts during the day time).
And regarding how shows sometimes have favorite day players that they bring back in different roles… I think I heard somewhere that Buffy the vampire slayer used to reuse their dayplayers a lot since it cut down on their monster make-up costs when they already had a good head cast on file for the actor playing monster-of-the-week.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:43 am
@Leif:
I was waiting for someone to bring that up.
You’re forgetting about substitution. Supply and demand only works to the point buyers are unwilling to substitute (margarine for butter, white actors for Pacific Islanders). In the case of TV, you end up substituting, because schedule and budget demands it.
Also, certain things may be unavailable at any price. If I need a 98-year old man who can breakdance, no amount of money will make him available.
@Dave O:
We’ll get right on that.
@John:
The actors we’re talking about are doing exactly that calculation: I need to work X number of days — and it’s probably more than 35, because LA and New York are expensive cities. Don’t assume it’s easy to book that many days of work. Let’s say you did two days on each job. That’s 18 shows you’d have to book a year. That’s a ton.
@Alex:
That’s also true in America. Particularly in New York, TV actors are also working in theater. Not that the pay there is incredible.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:04 am
@ Leif, No. The problem is, you need her to have chops and the inability to sustain a career often leads actors with the necessary chops to leave the business.
@ John, Most people would be happy to make $98.75 an hour if they could rely on making that consistently enough to survive. A day player cannot count on 35 days of work a year. In fact, the day players I know never work that much in a year, which is why everyone’s so keen on getting a series regular part. I guess at the end of the day, no one can or should count on day player work to make a living. It has to be a stepping stone to somewhere else, or part of a larger equation (the day player/screenwriter or the day player/stay at home mom). Another thought… there are studies showing that how happy we are depends upon how we are doing relative to our fellows. So a school teacher who has other school teacher friends is likelier to be happier with his $35k than an actor making $35 whose peers (and friends) are series regulars and successful movie actors. Also, when you sacrifice up the wazoo to get a career going, you kind of want it to pay you more than if you’d taken a sure and certain path. One hopes that with great risk will come great reward.
July 15th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Silly. If you need a 98-year old man who can breakdance, you need only call Pixar.
July 15th, 2008 at 9:09 am
$98.75/hour seems like a lot, but you then have to subtract their agent’s cut, and possibly a publicist. And how many unpaid auditions is this actor going to in between paid gigs. And how many unpaid gigs is this person doing in order to hone their craft and pad their resume? Plus, there are the acting classes, the headshots and other expenses that go along with being an actor.
It’s not as if most actors simply hang out at the beach until they get work, work a couple of days and then go hang out at the beach again. FINDING and GETTING work has to be factored in. A teacher usually gets a job and keeps it for many years. And they get summer vacation, by the way.
July 15th, 2008 at 10:42 am
John’s wrong. Writers don’t really NEED need actors. We can employ animators, hand puppets and george clooney. Just sayin’.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:01 am
I agree with the point that regular people would be hard-pressed to say four lines on a TV show. I had a feature produced in 2006 and it was amazing how many day players, with looooong resumes, couldn’t follow simple direction or alter the inflection of a line on request. But, as the director said, “They had the look”.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
@John
You said:
“A day player currently makes 759.00/day (this is an eight hour day). Most shows need a day player to work for longer than eight hours however. So by a very broad guess most day players make a 1000.00 for a day’s work (with meal penalties, overtime etc.) That means that a day player can work 35 days a year and make what a teacher makes in Florida. I think that is a pretty good compensation. I think most people would be happy with 98.75/ hour. Just a thought.”
Well: Do you have any idea how impossible it is to get 35 days as a dayplayer in one year? I’ve been on big shows. I recently did a big part in a big show. So far, it hasn’t translated into anymore work. I’m hustling my A$$ off and I’m lucky if I can get a day player gig twice a year.
July 15th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
And day player who books 35 jobs in a year would not be a day player after job #10. That would be like someone hitting 100 home runs in a season in Triple-A. At some point, he’d be called up.
July 15th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
John August:
I fully admit to being naive and I didn’t intend to call you out in particular as being disrespectful, but maybe the industry attitude in general. I apologise if I came across as insulting.
I think (and have experienced) that there’s a stigma attached to being a day player that George Clooney won’t get tarnished by but other actors might.
So the day players end up being the guys who, for whatever reason, don’t end up getting regular (or any) big roles, and they struggle to survive, and more successful actors with plenty chops (presumably including older minorities if enough suitable roles are being written and cast to keep them in the industry at that level) don’t seem to include day player roles in their cycle of work once they get to a certain level. Even though they don’t work all the time and it might be a good way to earn extra income and get the same enjoyment with it that the likes of Clooney would.
Should actors get paid what they are worth, or what the job is worth? And how does that affect where casting people look and cast for their talent and what level of talent is willing to take the part?
I could be wrong, but for actors with chops it’s maybe not just about the money. And if that means the necessary talent isn’t available for shows then maybe that’s an industry problem that needs addressing too?
July 16th, 2008 at 4:11 am
I feel unbelievably slow for not noticing this earlier, but if it’s true that most dayplayers traditionally came from the stage would it not seem probable that this is the origin of the word. Day player wasn’t a derivative term from the producers separating them from regular cast but a term that they used themselves to differentiate between their normal work – theater/night work – and day work. In Europe you often find among actors a certain attitude that theater work is “art” and tv is “selling out” – so I’m not sure that (traditionally) it was the producers disrespecting the actors with this term, but actually the other way around. Of course nowadays it’s mostly a budgetary term where within a shows budget each episode is allocated a number of days for dayplayers.
July 16th, 2008 at 10:41 am
It was funny to go back and read the canadian accent article and see all the Canadians insisting that none of them say “aboot”.
So I guess all us americans who have heard that many times are hallucinating or something? Bizarre. Sure, not ALL do, but you hear it very often.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:21 am
In my seven years of casting GILMORE GIRLS I didn’t have to cast a bossy Chinese mother, but my casting partner and I had to cast seven seasons of very unique co- and guest-stars including those of Korean decent. Many times those actors were required to speak fluent Korean. We never had a problem. Never. And the age ranges were children to late 60s. Frankly-everything is funnier in a foreign language.
There are always more good actors out there than there is work. “Can’t find” is bullshit.
Studios dictate casting budgets as well as actor bumps in their quote. In the first few seasons of GG, if there was money available, we would always raise an actor’s quote. In the last few seasons of GG, Warner Bros. insisted we could not raise actor’s quotes, and if the person was a recurring actor on our show, their quote could not be raised until after they appeared in 5 episodes. Many times agents would take issue with this rule and many times we would be referring them to call Warner Bros. directly.
A policy networks share-is not allowing an actor to appear on more than one show on their network in a span of 3-4 months. So-if Joe Actor books SUPERNATURAL and then GOSSIP GIRL wants him down the line…guess what? Joe Actor doesn’t get that second gig and the Casting Director gets in trouble for even putting him in the mix and introducing him to a new set of producers who may want to hire him.
In my nine years of casting I can promise you—the actor you want/need is always out there. If a show can’t find an actor-it’s one of two things (in my experience)–the writing isn’t clear-isn’t strong OR there are so many cooks in the kitchen, so many hoops to jump through to get approval, so many people to please, so much FEAR and so much money at stake, that what is most important gets lost. The truth and soul of the story gets lost and the best actor rarely gets the job.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:54 am
There are plenty of actors “of a certain age” who want and need a day’s work. The Screen Actors Guild has a Skills and Talent data base that includes actors of many ethnic types, language skills, physical skills and age range. Producers and casting directors should call the SAG Affirmative Action/Diversity Department at 323.549.6644 and request help in finding actors to fit their needs. Sumi Haru SAG EEOC National Chair SAG National Board Member
July 16th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
@ Mara and Sumi: Wow. So I was giving the benefit of the doubt where perhaps it was not due. I guess it really does come down to whether you really want to do something. Sounds like Gilmore Girls did just fine, and so does Grey’s Anatomy.
July 16th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
@mara –
Your experience doesn’t match the three showrunners I spoke with, two of whom have been at it long enough to comment that it has become more difficult in the past few years. If you’re saying they should fire their casting directors, fine. Evidently, you’re available and can always find exactly the actor the showrunners want. Neat.
Too many layers of approval? Too much fear? That sounds familiar. But blaming bad writing for the problem seems a bit misguided, considering who hires you. Still, thank you for sharing your experience with it.
@Sumi –
Great that you have a department. Do you have any data to show whether what these showrunners are finding is accurate? The only statistics I’ve seen measure the diversity in recurring roles.
July 16th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Uhh, one thing most of the those shows don’t have, including “Greys”, are are any notable Asian-American male characters (if any).
And by that, I mean something other than a Chinese delivery guy or some wise old Asian man espousing “words of wisdom”.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
This is baldly self-serving, but I’ll say it anyway. The other category of employee affected by this same corner-cutting mentality? Assistants.
I worked recently for an Emmy-winning writer who announced to the writers’ room that when she was an assistant in 1993, she made exactly the same weekly salary I was making at that exact second.
I can tough it out because I’m learning a ton and I think television is a robust wonderland that one day will give me a few hours of my own to play with. But among 40 some tv-oriented screenwriting MFAs I know/trade emails with, exactly five have been able to make ends meet working as an assistant. And two of those are at an agency.
The other 35? A least a couple of them could be future Ken Levines, future Ron Moores, future J.J. Abrams. But if they don’t get their foot in their door, don’t get to see how a room works, make friends on writing staffs and generally accumulate that juju that makes executive producers give you a shot at a freelance script, they’re all going to end up tutoring @ Kaplan.
(Some cynics may feel tempted to comment something along the lines of ‘ah, fuck ‘em if they don’t have the determination to pursue their dreams! there’s lots of people who would kill for those jobs.’ Much with Mr. August’s point on actors, it’s not whether you can fill a day with auditions/interviews. It’s whether you can find people with the ability to do the job. Having seen a couple shows staff up in the last two years, I’m not convinced that’s always the case.)
July 16th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
“I’m Canadian and the only time I ever hear “abootâ€? is on American television. The stereotype needs to die already.”
I guess you need to meet more canadians then, I’ve heard it plenty in person. Sure, not ALL canadians say that, but it’s silly to insist that none do.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
How about truly creating acting opportunities for ethnic actors instead of relegating them to day-player roles such as “Old Black Man #2″ or “Asian Stripper”? By creating true opportunities for minorities in Holllywood, roles with depth and development, you’d create a vibrant acting ecosystem that would encourage more actors to hang around, even if only to occupy day player roles. You can’t have it both ways — complaining about the lack of minority day players when the lack of promising roles means there’s no reason for them to stick around!
July 16th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
This web posting was very useful to read over for someone just gettiing started in the feature film industry. I mean, I made short independent productions, but never was aware why there are so few minority and older actors working in Hollywood and featured in films and television. This blog post was very helpful to read to understand just why this problem is there and the whole penny-pinching thing.
July 17th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
It’s hard to tell the tone in an email John. But the last thing I am saying is that some casting directors should be fired. And I’m glad you think it’s “neat” that I’m available—but I am not. The micro-managing of independent television casting directors and the general fear that runs behind the scenes got the best of me. I have moved on, but am extremely proud of my work as a casting director and still hold dear and true friendships with the talented folks I worked with in front of and behind the camera.
July 18th, 2008 at 7:46 am
I’m surprised you didn’t foresee this reply: “Duh.” I’m surprised that this ever was not a problem. I assume that the reason finding a threatening chinese woman in her 80s is more difficult these days is because people are actually writing scenes with 80-year-old chinese women in them, and not because the economics of maintaining a 50 or 60 year career as a struggling actor has suddenly become undesirable. Also, despite the onslaught of reality TV lately, with cable networks actually producing dramatic and comedic series these days, there are a lot more productions out there, and the fragmented nature of cable television has caused the productions to take on greater diversity in themes, roles, plots, etc.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I think Nick is really onto something with his “Pixar” idea. Can’t you just hire the white 20-something actor, and then turn them into the Chinese grandmother in post?
July 18th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
But I thought Hollywood almost invariably use white people as leads? Aside from a few “acceptable” blacks and latinos, Aren’t whites by default the lead actors? Don’t you writers write in the white leads and then worry about the ethnic “day players”? And Asians? Are there ANY role for Asians aside from the exact day player role you mentioned?
Why is that? Why aren’t you worried about getting Chinese or black actors for the very key parts of your project? Have you ever written a part like that? Or perhaps, it’s all showrunner’s fault that there’s no major MALE Asian American actor out there?
So what is the real problem out there? Why are there shows about Hospitals in which there are next to zero Asian doctors? (have you been to a major hospital lately?) Why is that the NYC on screen almost invariably inhabited by a bunch of funny or interesting white people with a few minorities sidekicks? Are people in your industry so intensely blind about the obvious racism in almost every show on the major TV networks?
I don’t know what to say when I read this – I guess I’m just glad I just canceled cable. I’m going back to watching Ueno Juri in “Last Friends” now… now there’s a supremely talented Asian actress who would starve to death if she were born Asian American. Like writer in Hollywood would give HER a major role. Ha.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:33 am
“Are there ANY role for Asians aside from the exact day player role you mentioned?”
You can turn on the TV or go see a movie to answer that question. Of course there are roles – it would be wonderful if there were more, but it’s a bit melodramatic to insist there are none. Just look at Lost or Heroes. Even Grey’s Anatomy, which admittedly has a fair number of white main characters, has doctors that are asian, hispanic, and black (and the show is heavy on main female characters as well). Scrubs is light on asian characters, although two of the main four characters are black and hispanic.
For characters that are the individual lead for a TV show? Sure, not many minorities. But there are a decent number in ensemble casts – on that front there seems to be some improvement. There are movies headlined by a minority actor, although it often tends to be Will Smith.
“Why is that? Why aren’t you worried about getting Chinese or black actors for the very key parts of your project?”
Because there are plenty of chinese or black actors qualified for lead roles? It seems you’ve missed the point of this post – the problem isn’t necessarily the lack of minority actors, it’s the lack of day players, minority and otherwise. The problem is just more visible with minority actors.
Do you honestly think there’s any shortage of good minority actors, black, asian, or other?
August 2nd, 2008 at 11:17 am
I find all your comments very interesting…and as an actor in NY what I find more interesting is each time I go for auditions with day players I’m up against a lot of beautiful girls and guys that just seem to be there auditioning as they want to be on their favorite tv programs not because they have any desire to act..thats what gets me…So for actors the desire to be day players has lost its purpose, due to the stigma that is given to it when – you have non actors going for role. Us actors are know longer trying to play smart and small, slowly building creditials – we are shooting way to high and trying for it way to fast…(which don’t get me wrong its great to dream) but when that dream is not fortifide the desire to act becomes one huge regret, when bills don’t get paid – when you are told you need to eat your looking scrawny – and all you can answer is eat what? Im near close to starving. My attempt to get myself out of this rut – has been to use my skills as a writer, producer and actor – combining my crafts- I’ve created a one woman show called: The Things I Wish My Mother Would Have Told Me… http://www.thethingsiwish.com Where I journey through my mothers breast cancer battle, shamanic healing and more importantly to this blog – the social and professional pressure of succeeding in an industry which is all about survival “ACTING”..somehow no matter the pressure, stress, fear and anxiety it can provoke -I keep on coming back… Please visit my website at