The Trials of Working With Actors

R

RobinFrank

Member
As an actor, I have been involved in dosens of productions over the past two decades. I would like to open this thread to share experiences from actors and directors, writers and P.A.s, on the good , the bad, and the ugly of working with talent.

Actors are an essential part of film making, of course until CGI becomes so advance that we all become obsolete. But from the complications of auditioning to the late arrivals, the forgetting of lines, outbursts of laughter and freak outs, I'm sure everyone has a story or two to share about working with them.

As Hitchcock once said, "I never said all actors are cattle; what I said was all actors should be treated like cattle."

I'm not intending to make this a 'complaint' thread, at all. Just curious to hear some of the humorous or inspirational stories about working on a set and dealing with talent, especially in the field of independant film where budgets are small and the talent is hard to find, along with being hard to keep in line.

Any thoughts?
 
Well I usually use my friends as actors for my small films. So the only complaint I have is they never rehearse or even learn their lines. So while I'm setting things up they have to do a rush rehearsal before we can even start taping. So that is irritating because I think they know I don't really have anyone else....so they can do as they please.
 
once my lead actor droped out the week before. I put up an ad on craigslist with no serious responses (they all wanted pay which i couldn't provide) so i call a friend adn he told me he worked with this guy on some feature film (its a popular one but can't remember the name) and he called him up and got him on set.

The guy could not act. He said everything in his normal voice... which is a monotone... ending every sentence in a loong vowel... example

"What to you so looooong"

It was sooo retarded and ridiculous that i had my AD work with him for hours before we started shooting and we just went late. I told him to practice infront ot he mirror... no emotions the next week. At all. He didn't do his goddamn homework. Still that retarded burnt out pot head (swears he never did a drug in his life), and i was about to lose my mind.


Worst moment...

All he had to say was "no" in a sharp but quiet way to himself.

First three takes... he yells it... i yell at him all three takes. then he starts saying it like he should... except he's saying it "noooooo" instead of "no". In the meantime i had a girl screaming outside to open the door (part of the film). It took 13 takes for him to get it and we were eventually kicked off set by the homeowners union or whatever.


That's my story lol.
 
When I was directing (and acting and writing and, in fact, basically doing everything) for one piece, I didn't have "actors," per se, besides myself. I used my film partners and that produced interesting results.

One couldn't take direction, or read the lines naturally in the least. The other lost interest and ruined the whole project. I don't think any more detail is warranted. And DEFINITELY not clips from the raw footage. :grin: I actually had a breakdown on set which prompted the camera operator to shut down temporarily (unfortunately for me, he still caught part of the incident).
 
ok...Everyone knows I am also an actor but...have done casting and been an agent, etc...

So there I was doing a casting call for the Police. Yes...sort of. It was for the FOP who needed an industrial but wanted to have several parts played out so we had to get fire arms experts (but no permits with all the cops we had on set woo hoo) and stunt men and more...

we needed some actors and I called all the agents because we did have a budget to work with and held a long day of casting sessions. one actor i had asked for by name...he did not show up at his time slot.

in fact...he came late to the audition and walked in drunk off his backside and giving everyone hugs like long lost friends and then tried to read for the part. it irked me to no end. not only did his reading suck but i never asked for him again even though some of his work was ok in the past. i did not want to take the chance.

it did not matter to me that he was a friend and still is a friend to this day...he came in without an ounce of professionalism and thought it was allowed. there is no friend during a casting session. if you suck you suck and i don't care how much i like you on a personal level...i don't hire people who do that crap! that is setting up the crew for their time to be wasted...

I show up on time (early mostly), I know my lines (yes i drop one now and then or have lines that don't like to stick but dag nab it i study my script on my time, not set time) I take direction (only argued it once or twice with reason), and I hit my marks and keep my wardrobe clean and don't mess up the hair style or make up job

for goodness sake that IS part of an actors job and if they can't do those simple things..fire them and hire me.

so there! :)

I will make one note the other direction though....One director I worked with went on and on telling me to stop smiling during one shot. I was not smiling. Not once did I crack a smile but he also was not listening when I tried to tell him he switched my position and should put me back on the other side....HE would not listen and to this day he does not get it...I have 3 dimples on one side of my face and that one side always 'seems' to have a smirk even when I am straight faced and I kept trying to get him to switch me back because then he would see I was not smiling and it would not 'seem' like i was.

so...directors can also be a problem on a shoot too. i know they have their hands full but to this day it is one of the few times i ever wanted to slap a director and tell him to shut up and listen because he was blaming me for a dimple and was not even aware!

Michele
 
these are hilarious. I once also had an actor i was working with on a play drop out a week before we opened.

The week before that, he suggested that we take Magic Mushrooms on opening night.

Luckily, we found a replacement who was awesome but it was a terrible week. Imagine "The Real Inspector Hound" by Tom Stoppard without Birdboot!!!!!!!!!
 
Once I was shooting a parody of the office for a local competition, and the actors would just not shut up. If some of them weren't in a particular shot, they would just start joking and laughing in the background, just distracting everyone, even while we were shooting, I just had to kick them out. Horrible experience.
 
On my first feature (I was producer, not director) we had a lead actor who is really an AWESOME actor. This guy's been in TONS of stuff, including recurring TV roles, features, made-for-TV movies, etc. Can't say enough about him -- he's great. And what happened was NOT his fault. He'd hurt his back and was on painkillers the day of the shoot.

Okay.....his character has been in the hospital for awhile. Now he's sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, suitcase packed, ready to be discharged. The doctor walks in and says "Are you ready to go home now?" His response, as written in the script, was "You know it, doc."

I think it took about a dozen takes for him to get that line. On most of them, he said nothing. On a few, he took a stab at it. I kept telling him "You don't have to get it verbatim -- just say YES!" But he wanted to do it right. It was almost comical.

He had three scenes in that hospital room that day, and this was the only line he had trouble with. And believe me, the guy is a trouper. I'd cast him again in a heartbeat. But talk about your bad days. :)

Then again, he's out in L.A. now, and I'm still here in NC.
 
Prodigi Pictures said:
This is a great way to test smaller parts. Give a great actor a 10-15 line role in a film and see how they treat you, the crew and the process.

In short, auditioning never ends. Auditioning is constant. That's the only way to end up with great actors who are also great people.
Click to expand...


Very well put! Not just the quote but the whole thing.
 
egyptianboxer104 said:
The guy could not act. He said everything in his normal voice... which is a monotone... ending every sentence in a loong vowel... example

.....

Worst moment...

All he had to say was "no" in a sharp but quiet way to himself.

First three takes... he yells it... i yell at him all three takes. then he starts saying it like he should... except he's saying it "noooooo" instead of "no". In the meantime i had a girl screaming outside to open the door (part of the film). It took 13 takes for him to get it and we were eventually kicked off set by the homeowners union or whatever.


That's my story lol.
Click to expand...


So, I was watching "The Trial"(1962), directed by Orson Welles, based on Franz Kafkas "Der Prozeß". And on a couple of occasions Perkins had a distinct wellesian 'voice'... well, according to IMDB, Welles in fact did dub lines... The same is true for 'Touch of Evil'(1958).

So... Hey... if Welles can do it... so can you...
 
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I love actors. I try to communicate that to them from the first interview. I treat them with respect from the get-go. Actors perform better when a director understands their concerns.

When I first started out as a filmmaker, after graduating from film school, I was brash; I didn't understand how actors felt. I was only concerned with the shot. I learned the hard way that it's hard to make a movie that way.

After working with actors on a few movies, I found out the human side of acting: why do actors want to act? For many it's that they enjoy playing someone else, some fantasy figure, and doing it well.

It's hard to get into a role and hard to get out of it, so it can be an emotional journey. As a filmmaker, I love working with actors who love acting.
 
Any director who has never done any acting is as handicapped as a DP who has never edited.
Coaching what is not understood can be detected from accross the room in an instant.
Lose respect and you've lost the picture.
I started directing so I could cast myself. lol Growing up in west Texas, it was too hard to get acting jobs. I found it easier to make the movie and put myself in it than to travel to auditions with hopefull vibes.
 
Prodigi Pictures said:
Thank you! And, I wish there were more actors on this forum. The more you can educate filmmakers on actors the better.

This site is about every aspect of visual storytelling...the more actors we have, the better all of us directors will be.
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I so agree and wish there were more actors here myself. There are a few but not many. But then...maybe they are not as crazy as I am to starve for their art! lol...

It does take all sides to make a film though. I find that directors feel like they are open to things but often miss for the 'vision'...things that might have worked very well. I think it can be hard to get a visual out of your head as a director though...

filmman said:
Actors perform better when a director understands their concerns.

After working with actors on a few movies, I found out the human side of acting: why do actors want to act? For many it's that they enjoy playing someone else, some fantasy figure, and doing it well.

It's hard to get into a role and hard to get out of it, so it can be an emotional journey. As a filmmaker, I love working with actors who love acting.
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Half of us do it because we love to tell stories and the other half because they are shy and live through the characters. I am an odd ball...I do it for both reasons! lol...


The comment about a director understanding our concerns is very accurate and I might add to that...a director who will communicate with us at all. I have been on set with directors who barely spoke to the 'talent' and would whisper things to the AD who then would try to tell us what the director wanted and then when we did not do it exactly the director got miffed.

Honestly...you hit the nail on the head...but I swear I would just settle for them actually talking to us directly. Most will but a few just don't seem to have it in them.

grinner said:
Any director who has never done any acting is as handicapped as a DP who has never edited.
Coaching what is not understood can be detected from accross the room in an instant.
Lose respect and you've lost the picture.
I started directing so I could cast myself. lol Growing up in west Texas, it was too hard to get acting jobs. I found it easier to make the movie and put myself in it than to travel to auditions with hopefull vibes.
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Here here on directors who never acted! On the flip side...I think actors need to know more about the directors job...the cinematographers job, the editors, the sound guys, the lighting, etc etc...at least for film and tv shoots.

I think too many actors think all they need to do is act without a basic understanding of how the finished product will be put together.

Heck...without meaning to...many years back I stole several shots from another actor only because I had a general idea of what the editor was going to have to do on a scene and my CU's ended up working better...but only because I had a basic understanding.

I think we need each other and if we share a bit more we get better films. I know the projects I had the most fun on or the best communication on turned out better than other projects by far!

I also think there is a trickle down effect on a film set. If the above the line (including producers, director and talent) are snitty...so is everyone else. If the above the line gives great respect to all...so does the rest of the cast and crew. But that is just MHO!

Michele
 
Michele Seidman said:
The comment about a director understanding our concerns is very accurate and I might add to that...a director who will communicate with us at all. I have been on set with directors who barely spoke to the 'talent' and would whisper things to the AD who then would try to tell us what the director wanted and then when we did not do it exactly the director got miffed.

Honestly...you hit the nail on the head...but I swear I would just settle for them actually talking to us directly. Most will but a few just don't seem to have it in them.

Michele
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That's so bizarre and so sad I don't know what to say.
 
I've only directed two things but I've never had any trouble with actors at all. I guess I'm a lucky one.
 
The experienced actors of the studio system used to know the rules of continuity related to:

1) transitions between Long Shots, Medium Shots and Close-ups
2) not doing lines during a transition, such as sitting down or getting up
3) doing the exact same bit of business at the same points in the dialog
4) entrances, exits
5) camera left, camera right

etc.

fighting, use of weapons and safety techniques:

1) taking a hit, getting slapped
2) slapping, punching
3) use of weapons, handling of blank-loaded guns and not firing directly into someone's face, etc.

staying in character, speaking lines, and doing reaction shots well:

1) paying attention to what the other actor is saying or reacting to whatever is being said or not being said
2) knowing how much to react depending on whether it's a long shot, medium shot or close up
3) body language
4) doing lines naturally according to the situation
5) taking direction but guarding the integrity of the dialog in the screenplay
6) staying in character
7) maintaining normal voice volume during all shot coverage

etc.

Some of the problems of modern acting:

1) Too little experience in front of the camera
2) Too much time and effort spent on getting the few parts available
3) Not being able to get decent roles
4) Too much effort in getting a role (cold reading techniques) but not enough experience interpreting a role
5) Too many actors trying to upstage each other
6) Too many actors asking for their close-ups
7) Too many actors commenting on technical aspects of a production
8) Too many actors trying to direct themselves -- and other actors
9) Meeting other actors and rehearsing the scenes without the director's knowledge
10) Too few directors who respect the actors or worry about their emotions
11) Too many filmmakers ripping off actors and ruining it for other filmmakers
12) Too many horrible movies being made that destroy the career of many actors who deserve better
13) Too few opportunities for actors to do significant stories

etc.

Some of the problems of modern technology:

1) Sloppy filmmaking due to new technologies -- no rules to learn
2) Method acting run amuck -- just keep the camera rolling maybe we'll get something
3) green screen and post production tricks that drastically alter the dramatic content of a scene and make actors look ridiculous

etc.
 
I just like playing myself..........all 32 personalities...oh shut up that's stupid....don't tell me to shut up you lil gay f@#$...hey quit picking on him you redneck bastid....wow man just mellow out....don't tell him to mellow out you burnt out freak...who said that? ........whaddya mean who.........
 
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