Success Story: How Christie Harms’ Versatility Helped Her Book Commercials for Disney+ and Apple
Sometimes you audition for one role, only to book something totally different. Christie Harms’ career is a testament to that cliche.
Harms’ attention to detail, adaptability and timeliness help her book regular gigs through Casting Networks and have won her commercial spots for major brands such as Disney+, Apple and more. She sat down to chat with us about her Casting Networks success and share acting tips for her peers.
Insights: Lessons From Christie Harms
- Check Casting Networks messages regularly and submit auditions quickly to stay ahead of the competition.
- Be honest about your talents on your profile to secure roles that match your actual skills.
- Have fun during auditions to showcase your adaptability and enthusiasm, which can lead to unexpected casting opportunities.
How did you decide to become an actor?
When I was five, my best friend at the time, Krista, was in a summer theater program and I wanted to be like her, so I joined it, too. I took a shine to it and I kept acting ever since.
How did you first discover Casting Networks?
I went to grad school for acting and got my master’s. After that, I did a showcase and was put on display for a bunch of different reps. I got my agent and they asked me to sign up for Casting Networks because that’s what they used. I also had a manager at the time that I’m no longer with who used Casting Networks, too. They were great, but I changed my trajectory [in terms of] where I wanted to go [with my acting career].
You were cast in Disney+, Apple, Verizon and ESPN commercials, which were all found through Casting Networks. Can you go into a little bit more detail of what those gigs were and what the audition process was like?
They were all really fun. The first one was for Disney+. It was a large smattering for the subscription network. They were doing a bunch of different vignettes where people were doing things in their real life, or things that the Disney characters would do or say because they’ve been watching Disney+ so much. It was really clever. It was cast by Dan Bell Casting, who I just love.
I was cast as a character named “Hawkeye Woman.” This was when the Hawkeye series was still on. [This role] actually wasn’t what I had auditioned for. I did a self tape and had been called in for [the role of] “Laughing Woman,” where I was asked to laugh maniacally for like, 60 seconds or so. They called me in, had me do that again, had me read for a different role and then ended up casting me as “Hawkeye Woman,” which I didn’t even [read for] for in the room.
I have some basic archery experience. I guess they might have seen that on my Casting Networks profile’s breakdown of my skills.
[My role is] a housewife at a barbecue and my husband reaches for a cookie, so I shoot it out of his hand with a suction cup, but my eyes never leave watching Hawkeye on Disney+ because it’s so good. I got to shoot a bow and arrow toward a green screen. I got to go in for costume fitting, the whole thing.
Photo courtesy of Christie Harms.Awesome! Can you tell me about the Apple commercial?
I got the Apple commercial the following year. Apple was doing something through Verizon or T-Mobile. I was [cast] as “Small Business Lady/Clumsy Small Business Lady.” It was during the summer where it had been very, very hot and they had to do all-day shoots outside.
[Because of the heat], some cast members decided to not do the second day of shooting, so they needed some fill-ins. I got the notice from my agent on Casting Networks, and then I was asked to do a self tape where I had to run in place for 30 seconds and then act like I had tripped. It was very easy for me to do because I’m very clumsy. I booked it, and then the next day had to go in for a shoot.
[The scene takes place] in an airplane, and I am sitting next to a guy who had won something on his phone and we all celebrate together and high-five. We were shooting in one of those half-cut-out airplane sets. Again, it was hot, so they had to keep bringing air conditioners and fans in. That was a two-day shoot and I got a little overtime on that one, which was very, very nice.
Excellent!
The third one was just this past year. It was for ESPN, and I play “Tai Chi Woman.”
I went to the California Institute of the Arts, and part of my training for my master’s degree there was doing tai chi three times a week. I was taught under a woman named Sherry Tschernisch, who is incredible. I took a shine to tai chi, so I continued it all three years.
ESPN needed people to look like they were doing a tai chi class for a Philadelphia Eagles commercial. It was when they were almost in the Super Bowl again and then missed it by a wide margin, which was hugely disappointing.
I got to wear comfy yoga pants and sports clothes, and act like I was in a yoga class and do tai chi flows. There [is] a woman [who is] so moved by the Eagles that in the middle of doing the tai chi moves, she just starts going, “Fly, Eagles fly.” We had a legitimate tai chi master there who also did that, and it was a very charming little commercial.
Photo courtesy of Christie Harms.What are some other successes that you’ve had with Casting Networks?
I also booked my first feature off of Casting Networks. It was for an independent film that’s in post-production, so I have to be sort of mum about some details, but [it’s] called Right Left Us, by a wonderful director named Manjeet Singh.
It [is] basically a supporting lead role. I got to do five days of shooting. I went into a professional actors studio to shoot that self tape because I knew it was a bigger gig for what my goals were, [because] theatrical was something I was looking to transition to. We shot it over about two weeks and I got some great footage from it that I’m still holding onto.
I also booked a gig called Empty Track, which [is] a short independent film where I play one of the supporting leads. Empty Track is a story about karaoke hostessing, which can be [seen as] moonlighting as escorting, but it isn’t.
If you’re familiar with the game series, Yakuza 0, or that whole series, they mention this sort of underworld hostessing. It’s about two women who meet and become friends and then decide to get out of the career together over an evening. I got a lead role in that. We were in some festivals, I won some awards and got to walk on some red carpets. It was exciting.
Photo courtesy of Christie Harms.What would you say helps someone succeed on Casting Networks?
Always be checking your messages. Even if you aren’t getting alerts, check a few times a day. I make a point to check morning, afternoon at lunch break, and then evening time before I go to bed. That way I’m not missing updates or anything like that.
Set an alarm and get your gigs in as soon as possible. That second gig that I booked, the Apple one, I’m pretty sure I booked because I had my stuff set up from another audition that I didn’t book. It was very quick, and I got it in and out.
It wasn’t that I rushed it. I knew that it was a good take, and I made sure that that was a good take, but I got it in as quickly as possible. I didn’t worry as much about it being perfectly technical. It was more about my acting and proving that I could show up quickly.
Also, being honest about your skill sets. I had a moment recently with my agent where he had thought that I had written that I was an expert in French, but it had been a glitch and I was honest with him about it. I said, “Hey, I’m not that” and he was like, “That’s great.” However, I was very good at tai chi. so he was able to submit me to that ESPN gig no problem, and I could go on-set [feeling] very, very confident.
Do you have any audition tips and advice that you could share with your peers?
Have fun. Very good cliches are cliches for a reason. We say them all the time because a lot of the time, they’re true. Even if it’s cringe, it is good advice.
Go in and make something of each audition that you can take away for yourself that you feel proud of. Maybe you get called in for a gig that you think, “OK, there’s no way I’m going to book that.” Sometimes that ends up being the gig that you book.
[The] Hawkeye Woman role was supposed to be [played by a male], and they were like, “No, we like this girl who looks like Aloy from [the video game] Horizon Zero Dawn and can probably shoot a bow and arrow.” That’s what booked me there because I had fun at that audition laughing like a nutcase. They didn’t end up booking me as that, but they saw that I was able to take direction.
I think when you go in and have fun, you show not only that you understand this craft, but also that you can last an eight-hour day on-set and be cool.
Photo courtesy of Christie Harms.Thinking about joining Casting Networks? Sign up for a free trial today!
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Chris Butera is a voice actor specializing in commercial, eLearning and corporate narration voiceovers. When he’s not helping clients achieve their goals, he’s playing guitar and bass.
