If you’re an actor, chances are you’ve waited for auditions, waited for feedback, and waited for someone to pick you out of a lineup full of people that look just like you. It’s exhausting and it can feel like its own event, a kind of mental gymnastics that comes with being a creative.
It can feel so taxing that at a certain point, it can almost feel like your job has become that of a professional waiter, not an actor. But here comes a whole lot of great news: the solution to all this waiting has never been simpler…cast yourself.
Key Insights
- Stop waiting for permission and start creating your own opportunities, even if it begins with something small like a self-shot scene.
- Casting yourself gives you creative control and lets you showcase your talent exactly how you want it seen.
- Build roles around what excites you most, because authentic work is what ultimately draws attention from the industry.
How I Cast Myself in Death Is Normal
About five years ago, I wrote a pilot called Death Is Normal, a dystopian dramedy. It was, and still is, my dream TV series. My manager and I took it out to a few production companies and got almost exactly the same feedback at every place, “We love it, do you know Ryan Gosling?” No, I am like many people, in that they wish they knew Ryan Gosling. And if you’re reading this, and you do, call me.
So for a year or two, the project was temporarily stalled out, and just sort of sat there. It was then that I was faced with a clear choice: take more meetings where I would likely get the same feedback, OR stalk Ryan Gosling. Just kidding.
Get the money to shoot the pilot myself. In many ways, this was the harder road. However, it came with the incredible benefit of me having the final say on all production choices. Including, most importantly … you guessed it, who gets to play the lead.
We ended up getting an absolutely incredible cast including Cristo Fernández, Lauren Adams, Arturo Castro, Cassandra Blair, Matthew Moy and Kody Kavitha to name a few, and I got to cast myself as the main character.
The benefits of going this route far exceeded anything I could have even anticipated. Because when you cast yourself, it’s not about the spotlight of being the lead, but about having a huge say in the massive creative direction of all the characters, including and especially the one you’re playing.
And remember, since you most likely wrote the material, no one will know the script or the scene better than you because it’s lived in your mind more than anyone else’s. Now you get to translate those images into real life and onto the screen.
Stop Waiting for Permission
If you’re reading this and thinking, “OK, but this sounds like a lot of work. How do I even start?” The answer is … just start. There’s no magical moment when the “right time” will come where everything aligns and then you will finally cast yourself for something you really want to do.
And the incredible news is that there has never been a better time to make your own content. If you’re concerned that production costs are too high, then start by filming a sketch on your phone or a great character that you always want to play.
If you’re looking to do something more long form or dramatic, you can assemble a scrappy crew and shoot a few scenes, because there are tons of people in the industry who want to gain experience and would benefit from working on your project.
I promise you will never regret making a piece of content in any form if you stick to your vision and execute at the level you know you’re capable of.
If you’re still unsure, remember you’re an actor. You’re taking massive creative risks every day (which probably include making your parents nervous) by auditioning, putting yourself out there, taking classes, so this is just going one step further.
Build Roles Around What You Actually Want To Do
The last key element is if you are going to cast yourself and shoot something that you wrote, make sure it’s something that you really want to do. Since you have total creative freedom here, use this space as an infinite creative canvas with no rules.
Remember, you don’t have to answer to network notes, producers (because you probably already are one), or outside economic interests that want to have a say in what you make.
You get to really go for it, and showcase your brilliance that the world desperately needs. And by doing so, you will stand out, and now the industry has a chance to come to you. And best of all, you didn’t wait a single minute.
Brendan Fitzgibbons is an LA-based comedian, writer and actor whose work has appeared on Comedy Central, TBS, MTV, SXSW, The Onion and HuffPost. His new comedy special, I Am the Resistance, is available on Apple TV. His new TV pilot, Death is Normal, is an official selection at SeriesFest in Denver.
