As an actor, we have all asked the question of what should I do to make a casting director like me in an audition? Well the obvious answer is to prepare for your audition well. It is a professionalism manner, so that you wouldn’t be wasting anyone’s time. BUT that is not what we are here to talk about today.
I have stumbled upon some wise words by Joseph Pearlman, an on-set acting coach, about how to make a casting director fall in love with you. A word which actually makes me see things in a slightly different lens.
Pearlman said that there are three things you need to establish when you walk into an audition and that is:
- You are fun to play with.
- You are someone the director personally likes and vice versa.
- You don’t seem desperate.
Basically, they need to feel that you wouldn’t be a liability aka a pain in the ass for them.
But one thing that Pearlman said that struck me the most is “You have to fall in love with you first in order for someone else to fall in love with you.” Because that’s when I remember! Casting director is just a person. What I mean is we kept asking ourselves “ How to make a casting director like me?” but in fact the question that we should be asking is “How to make a person like me?” And THAT comes down to just being yourself.
There is something about self acceptance. When you love yourself as who you are, you act differently while talking to others and they can sense it. On the other hand, when you are not yourself or to the extreme, FAKING it, people can also sense that something isn’t quite right. And with that odd feeling, it could just put someone off liking you.
If you are finding it hard to love yourself right now, let me give you some quick advice. Start small, find one simple thing you like about yourself. May it be, your eyes, your voice, your sense of fashion, your discipline… Anything. And let’s grow from there!
So, remember, it all begins with loving yourself. Tell us one thing you love about yourself!