What About Typecasting?

I was recently asked to give my thoughts on Typecasting for an article in "BackStage West." Here are my answers to their questions.

1. As an actor, how do you figure out what unique qualities you have to offer talent reps, CDs, directors, etc? Why is this important?

Let me answer the second part of this question first. The things that make an actor unique are what makes an audience watch them. Ultimately, it is what makes them a star. Think about it. No one does sexy like Marilyn Monroe. No one does rage like Robert De Niro. No one plays strength in fear like Meryl Streep. No one talks like Christopher Walken, walks like John Wayne or thinks like Robin Williams. In fact, they are so unique in their behavior, their mannerisms and their choices that other actors spend years trying to emulate them. Imagine a world where everyone is the same and no one is unique. Boring! We watch films and TV because we want to live vicariously through the actors. And their unique approach to living those lives that we watch are why we gaze with such fascination and intrigue.

If you are an actor, it is absolutely essential that you find out what makes you unique, good and bad. Your job is to embrace those unique qualities and exploit them like there is no tomorrow. One of the worst mistakes an actor can make is to go into an audition, a meeting or an interview and try to be what they think the Casting Director, Director or Agent wants. How many times have you heard them say, "Often we don't even know what we want?" Here's the point, what they ALWAYS want to see is "you," your unique self with all your quirks, habits, mannerisms and point of view. Nothing is more fascinating than that. Simply put, we pay our stars millions of dollars to be themselves. Why should you be any different?

So, how do you figure out what your unique qualities are? Ask. Don't ask your mom, it's like asking her to pick your headshots, moms always gravitate to the one with that glossy-eyed, school portrait, smile. Wrong! Ask people who will give you an honest answer, not the answer you necessarily want to hear. Talk to your agent or a casting director. Hire an Image Consultant. Take a "Type" class. Ask your acting teacher. Or, another approach would be to watch yourself on film. Take note of your habits and your quirks, the things you do over and over. How do you handle situations and confrontations compared to others? What choices do you most naturally and often make? Embrace those qualities and get comfortable being "you."

Here's a fun assignment, pull out your old yearbooks and read what people wrote about you when they signed them. Look for the things that are said again and again. Chances are those are some of the things that make you unique. For example, if most of the people say, "you are a very funny girl," then likely you are. See if you can figure out what makes you funny. Do people say you are gangly and awkward, loud and obnoxious or out of your mind crazy? You'll be surprised at what you find.

On a side note, I once heard director David Nutter say, "The things you hate about yourself are often the things that make you the most money." I find that fascinating. The difficulty lies in accepting those things. It has often been said that what makes Gene Hackman so watchable is the seething anger that lies constantly just beneath his skin. I would doubt that his hot temper is something he loves about himself but he certainly has embraced and used it.

2. How do you figure out what your “type” is and capitalize on it?

First of all know that this is a "type driven" town. Type casting is not only a part of the business, it is the norm. Therefore, it is essential that you know what types you naturally play and market those aggressively. Why is it so necessary? Thanks to the speed at which TV shows and films are now cast, Casting Directors rarely have time to meet actors (or do generals like they used to) thus there is less of a chance to see what kind of a range actors have. About all they have time to do now is find actors who closely fit the type of each character, put them on tape and send them off to producers. TV casting is especially guilty of this. The problem is most actors start out on stage where they are taught that they can play anything they want. But that is simply not true in TV and film.

I have led quite a few seminars with Casting Directors over the years and I hear the same thing over and over. They tend to see actors as capable of playing one, maybe two and at the very most three types (or characters) well. For the most part they don't think of actors as being able to play almost any kind of role. Agents are more likely to see their actors as being multifaceted because they want the commissions, but not Casting Directors. Doesn't sound very promising does it? Actually, it is.

Herein lies the secret to success, type casting is your friend. If you find that one, maybe two or at the most three types that you totally embody, marketing yourself suddenly becomes a lot easier. If people instantly see you as the "quirky boy next door," then all you have to do is brand yourself as that and your job is practically done. The point is this, you want to put it out there with good marketing materials (and demos and headshots to back it up) that you are the quintessential "quirky boy next door." When a casting director sees those words on their breakdown, they automatically think of you. The best way to brand yourself is use their words to describe what you do best. That is, after all, the essence of branding.

There are essentially three ways to determine your types. First is experience. If you have a nice healthy IMDB page and you see that in twenty-one out of twenty-six roles your were the "seductress," chances are your most playable type is the "seductress." A good resume will tell you what you do best. The second way to determine your types is to ask professionals in the business. Agents, Casting Directors, Directors, Image Consultants, etc., can all be very helpful in determining this for you. Realize that every person on this earth will have a slightly different opinion so not everyone may agree. For this reason it is wise to get several opinions and see which answers rise to the top. The third way to determine your type is to take a "Type" class.

One note of caution, be careful with other actors advice. You never know for sure another actor's agenda and generally speaking actors do not have the perspective of someone who is regularly involved in the casting process, Most haven't a clue about their own type much less what the common types are in the business.

3. How do you get industry folks to re-think your type or see you in a different light? (so as to avoid getting typecast)

As I alluded to above, I am a firm believer that "typecasting" is your friend. I highly recommend embracing it. If Charlize Theron had started her career by trying to play "Monster" she would never have become the success that she is today. She began her career playing the sexy, slightly dangerous, hottie. She played it over and over until finally she became a star and earned the right to do whatever she wanted. In my humble opinion that is always the path of least resistance to success in this business.

Several years ago the company that owns Carl's Jr. hired a consulting firm to help determine who their primary customers were. The results showed that an overwhelming majority were males ages 16-32. Based on that information they changed their marketing strategy to appeal to that demographic. Or in the words of a Carl's Jr. executive in a corporate press release, "We are all about giving our customers the ultimate guys’ experience.” This led to those memorable ads showing guys just sitting around eating messy burgers, with condiments dripping all over the place. Next came the sex appeal which culminated with the now infamous "wet Paris Hilton" commercial. Carl's Jr. directly aimed their marketing campaigns at the younger male audience and made little effort to appeal to anyone else. We can argue that they should have considered all the other demographics as well in their campaigns but they knew who they were, what they did best and they wisely focused their efforts around it. Needless to say, Carl's Jr. boasted one of the biggest growth spurts of any fast food chain in the last thirty years. This is not much different than an actor who takes advantage of type-casting. They know what they do best and who their target market is and they focus on it, over and over, until they excel far beyond their competition.

Actors don't want to be locked into a single role for the rest of their lives, understandably. Typecasting benefits you on the rise to success. Shortly before or once you're there I do believe it is wise to begin your move to more diversity. By that point the industry will accept you as having earned it. How do you do that? Theater is one of the best places I can think of. I recently read that Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman signed on to star in the Broadway play, "A Steady Rain." Good for them. Granted it is a harrowing drama, which is not that big of a stretch, but it will certainly give Craig a chance to spread his wings and try something new. The Stage is the actors medium (TV is the writer's medium and Film is the Directors medium) and there is no better place to try out new types than in the theater. Another great way to broaden your appeal is to do independent film. Countless times working actors have turned to independent film because they can get cast in roles they would not normally play. Again, I use the example of "Monster" with Charlize Theron. Continued training is also a great way to explore new types. Acting classes are a great place to stretch yourself and try out new territory.

Whenever you get cast in a role that is typical for you, feel free to try a take or two in a manner that is completely oblique to what you normally do. You never know, they may love it and cut it into the project. Suddenly the audience gets to see you doing something new. Johnny Depp is famous for giving the director a different take on the scene every time he plays it. Consequently, I'm not surprised that Johnny has such a diverse body of work. But, like the examples I cited above, Johnny, too, carved a nice career for himself in the beginning by playing the roles he most naturally could play, the edgy pretty boy ("Cry Baby" and "21 Jump Street"). He hated those kinds of roles so the second he had enough fame to do it, and a nice fan base, he made the move to something he was much more fond of, "Edward Scissorhands." But don't ignore his beginnings and the work it took to get him there.

In the words of the famous stage director Max Reinhardt, "Actors are the lucky people, they get to go on playing. It's only playing." Yes, acting is a business and every actor needs to approach it as such, but never forget, it is also playing. Focus on what you do best, your types and your unique qualities, but never stop playing when you act. If there is one thing that every actor should embody, it is likeability. If you are having fun and enjoying every minute of it, so will the audience. Always have fun no matter how many times you have to do the same thing over and over. It is what makes the journey there worth every second of it.