How and Why I Said No to a Casting Director

I recently got a last minute call to audition for a TV spot. I was being brought in during the call back session, so all of the people from the ad agency and the client were attending. There must have been at least 15 in the room watching the audition.

Even though the roundtrip drive to the audition was about 14 hours, still I decided to attend. The agent who called me is great, and I don’t hear from her that often. So, when she calls, I do everything I can to attend.

I left my home pretty early in the morning to make sure I gave myself plenty of time to arrive early and prepare for my audition. I got to the casting about 90 minutes early. I asked the casting assistant for the copy (the paper that has the words to the TV spot), and began to prepare. I got to the point where I knew what I wanted to do during the audition and had my lines memorized. As many of you know, there is a huge difference between going over the lines in a hall way or waiting room, and saying them during the actual audition. So, I always bring the copy into the audition. By having the copy in my hands, I knew that if by chance I got stuck and forgot a word or line, I could easily look at the copy and have the audition flow in just the way I practiced.

When I walked into the audition area, the casting director asked if I would not hold the copy. I have never had a casting director request that before. Considering that I had been up since 4:30 that morning, just drove 7 hours, and just recently saw the words to the TV spot for the first time, I definitely wanted the copy in my hand.

So, in order to get what I wanted, but not sound arrogant or disrespectful, I made a joke and said, “I always keep my blanket with me for auditions. But, I promise, I won’t suck my thumb.” She laughed and said, “Lots of actors seem to want to have their blanket with them.” I kept the copy, and the audition went very smoothly.

It is very important that during auditions, we take care of ourselves. This is our time. We only get one shot at the audition, and we have to do what is best for us. The fine line we walk is taking care of ourselves in order to give a read we really love, and not do anything that turns people off.

Let me know your thoughts and if you ever experienced anything like this. Add a new comment below.

About the Author: Aaron Marcus

Aaron Marcus has been a full-time actor and commercial model for over 33 years. His new book, How to Become a Successful Actor and Model is an Amazon Best Seller. Aaron has given his seminar: "Book the Job" over 700 times spanning 3 continents. He also offers online workshops. Aaron saves 5 days each month to give private on-line coaching sessions.