Finding actors who will work for free

G

grahamcracker

Member
Hey guys I am shooting a 20 minute short very soon. Its low budget pretty much the whole budget is going to feeding the cast and crew, and equipment. So we are in the process of finding 3 male actors about 17-18 years of age to play our main roles. I was wondering what is the best way to find actors that will work for the experience. I am not sure the best place to start.
Thanks guys,
Graham R
 
In my experience, actors don't expect to be paid at all. I paid mine $300 for 8 days and they said this was unheard of. At this point, they are all doing it for experience, especially at the age your talking about.
 
I can cast for you. Nearly all the actors I work with work for credit / copy as they build their resumes and on-camera experience.

I cast at no charge. Just give me the credit.

a
 
Where are you located? That makes a lot of difference as to how to answer this question. If you are in B.F. Egypt (re: Helena, Montana) the answer is going to be different than if you are in Los Angeles or New York City.
 
i agree.

also try love2act.com i've gotten some good talent from there. i've never paid any actors anything besides food and maybe gas money lately since prices are so tight. for the most part they want a nice product to use for their reel though, i've had actors refuse to take money because they know it's coming from my pocket and not some $100k budget.

the flipside to this coin is that sometimes you get what you pay for.
 
If you do live in a smaller area, then definitely try to get in touch with local high school theater teachers, they will definitely have a lot of aspiring talent in that age group willing to work for free.
 
I don't think the area will cause any problems. We are shooting in Orange County CA. So I doubt finding actors will cause to many problems. Thanks for the tips guys I really appreciate them.
Graham R
 
A lot of it is going to depend on how great your script is. The fact that it's a short, not a feature, will help in some ways but hurt in others. It's less of a time commitment for the actor, which is a plus -- but they also realize it has less potential to garner them wide exposure.

I am in the Charlotte, NC area. When I was casting for 'Tangled Web', I posted on NowCasting.com (based in L.A.) and NYCastings.com (based in NYC). I got literally HUNDREDS of actors willing to come to NC at their own expense to work on 'Tangled Web' on a deferred pay basis -- strictly because of the strength of the script and the belief it would be good for their resumes and reels. So aim high!

Good luck.
 
I think it is counterproductive to find free actors.

If you pay $50.00 a day you'll get FAR better than free actors. Any actor worth their salt simply won't work for free. If you value great acting, pay them something. The moment you make it a real job for them you'll massively expand the number of actors auditioning.

The only person who values your movie enough to work for free is you. That took me a long time to accept. However, there are MANY people who will work for "almost free."
 
Texanite said:
How did hundreds of actors know that the script was so strong?
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I emailed it to them.

Let me be more accurate. Hundreds of actors responded to my post, which indicated the shoot was in NC, it was deferred pay, and there was no provision for travel or accommodations expenses. The posting also detailed the unique nature of the project, which intrigued them. I would imagine the fact that they could get a lead or supporting role in a feature-length movie, and only have a 3-day time commitment might also have been a factor. At any rate, they were interested enough based on that information to submit to be considered for the project.

We emailed the script to those folks who submitted. Most of the people responded very favorably to the script and were eager to be a part of the project. Some did decline.

Ultimately, we found the cast we wanted closer to home.

The point is that people shouldn't assume they're limited only to the talent that lives within short driving distance of where they are. It never hurts to reach beyond your borders and see who might be interested.
 
Prodigi Pictures said:
I think it is counterproductive to find free actors.

If you pay $50.00 a day you'll get FAR better than free actors. Any actor worth their salt simply won't work for free. If you value great acting, pay them something. The moment you make it a real job for them you'll massively expand the number of actors auditioning.

The only person who values your movie enough to work for free is you. That took me a long time to accept. However, there are MANY people who will work for "almost free."
Click to expand...

That's probably true in some parts of the country. When casting our feature 'Afterlife', we were blessed with some VERY talented actors, all of whom were working on deferred pay. Most came from Atlanta (about 4 hours away). One came from Virginia (an 8 hour drive), one from L.A. and one from Houston, TX.

It seems that in our area (Charlotte/Atlanta), actors consider this a sort of training ground. Quite often they're less concerned about the pay and more focused on building their resumes and reels, so that they can then make the jump to L.A. with a long list of credentials. We're very fortunate for that.
 
chapelgrovefilms said:
Ultimately, we found the cast we wanted closer to home.

The point is that people shouldn't assume they're limited only to the talent that lives within short driving distance of where they are. It never hurts to reach beyond your borders and see who might be interested.
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I think you're correct, but I'd also say that people shouldn't assume that every actor who seems interested in travelling hundreds of miles for free will actually do it.

In the past when 'hiring' free actors, I've been burned by people who live only 5 miles away from the shoot. It seems like a great idea, they're very interested, can't wait to do it, and then something comes up they don't show. There is a definite benefit, IMO, to paying people. Even if it's just a small amount.

There's also a definite benefit to having people sign a contract, no matter how rudimentary it is. Money and contracts are just two more incentives for people to follow through on their committments.
 
Texanite said:
I think you're correct, but I'd also say that people shouldn't assume that every actor who seems interested in travelling hundreds of miles for free will actually do it.

In the past when 'hiring' free actors, I've been burned by people who live only 5 miles away from the shoot. It seems like a great idea, they're very interested, can't wait to do it, and then something comes up they don't show. There is a definite benefit, IMO, to paying people. Even if it's just a small amount.

There's also a definite benefit to having people sign a contract, no matter how rudimentary it is. Money and contracts are just two more incentives for people to follow through on their committments.
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Yeah, you make a good point (or two) there. Words to the wise.

And you're definitely on-target about the contract! Never leave home without them. :)
 
Use Breakdown Services and post for Actor's Access members only. Actor's access is really the less experienced actors, but who still want to be serious actors. Avoid craigslist and mandy.com.

Posting a casting notice on Breakdown services is also free if you only post for Actor's Access.
 
The problem I'm seeing with Breakdown is it only lists for the major markets, so for those of us in Virginia, or DC, or bumfuck, it doesn't help that much.

EDIT - Wait, nevermind, they're all lumped into this "southeast" category.
 
But as I said, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that a good actor from one of the major markets might be willing to travel to your area for your film.

A guy I know in Charlotte (NC) managed to get a NYC actress to come down for a major role in his digital horror feature 'The Shrieking'. Deferred pay. So at least try posting casting notices on nycastings.com and nowcasting.com. Can't hurt, right?
 
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