Exciting news!
Dark Winds will be premiering on June 12th on AMC+.
I’m so excited to see how it turns out. And on that note, I now’s a perfect opportunity to share with you how many hurdles an actor has to dodge to actually make it onto the screen.
From audition to air date, there are so many places where an actor’s role can just evaporate and no one will even get to see the thing they’ve been working toward with all of their heart.
For example:
- Getting the audition. To get into a room (or these days to get a request to send in a self-tape) is HARD. Actors need the perfect combination of materials (headshot, resumes, acting reel) and relationships (either directly with the casting director or via their agent/manager) to even get asked to audition. If that all doesn’t fit the character being cast ➜ back to square one
- Auditioning: Many actors are called in to audition for every single role. Even 1-liners. A good and show-appropriate performance in the audition is basically the only thing actors have any control over. If the casting team and producers have thoughts about your look, vocal tone, height, etc that don’t match how they picture the role ➜ back to square one
- Yay! You get the call from your agent that you booked the role! Happy dance time! But whoops, they rewrite the script and now your character’s gone ➜ back to square one
- You’re on set! You shot the thing and are heading home happy as can be. Now it’s all up to the editors. If they decide your part isn’t intricate to the story and need to shorten the run time, you may end up being cut from the project ➜ back to square one.
- Ok, your part is so integral to the show that there’s no way you’ll be cut. You act with the lead for heaven’s sake! Oh… but because you were with the lead, they only used that person’s coverage and your role is basically just voice-over now. ➜ back to square one.
- Or you shoot the thing, are SURE you’ll be featured, and now are just waiting for the project to premiere. Waiting… and waiting… the project gets stuck in post-production purgatory. ➜ back to square one
There are SO MANY actor hurdles on the way to public, visible success. This is why it’s so important for actors’ mental health to celebrate each tiny win along the path. Because they aren’t tiny. Not really. They just aren’t visible.
