Reshooting the same project WITHOUT the main actor

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FilmBoy77

Veteran
we recently had an actor that did well during the casting process, come in and completely drop the ball during the actual filming of a short. they were just in one scene, but it was an important scene. is there any easy way to tell an actor that has a pretty big ego that we've decided to recast for their part and reshoot their scene without them in it? i'd give them a copy of the project with them in it for their demo reel, but we're not going to push that version of the short in festivals, etc.

everything else in the film turned out great.
 
If there is no way to reshoot them and work it out then you have two choices. Do you want to tell the truth or give them a boost to prevent popping their ego bubble? So tell the truth or...You can pump them up by stating that their performance was very good...and unfortunately too good...it overshadowed the other actors...their look was not a good fit for the film and that you feel another actor must be cast. Let them know that you have bigger projects in development that would better suit their look, energy, charisma or selected word of the moment you wish to use. It's all about matching up the casting. It has to be a perfect fit or it won't work.
 
I wouldn't lie to him. Unless it really is the truth and you could show him exactly what you mean, not too many actors would buy that they were "too good" and that you needed to re-cast and re-shoot the scene.

Now, that's not to say you need to be mean about it. Just say that during the editing and watching the movie as a whole, he didn't gel just right for the story. And that it wasn't apparent until watching the entire movie on film. You'd be happy to get him a copy of the movie if he'd like it for the demo reel, but that for the movie to really stand on its own you need to find someone else in that role.

Being honest with actors will get you a lot further than trying to trick them.
 
I would suggest you find a way to make sure this person isn't going to come back to haunt you. It happens all the time...especially now with the internet. Last thing you need is a person bad-mouthing you even though you made the right decision about replacing them. Choose your words very, very wisely.
 
yea i know, i'm treading lightly on this as its a small world. i blame myself because i had everyone casted and this one part was lingering and i couldnt shoot until it got filled, i shouldve casted this person better but was trying to make this contest deadline. now i made the contest deadline but not with 100% confidence in my project. this person has a really big ego though, even brags and exaggerates to people about how "in demand" they are, and i almost feel like they'll be even more offended if i tell them that and that they'll take it like "yea you know, i shoulda never casted you in the first place because i was rushing and thought you were good enough - but i was wrong, sorry dude"
 
I recommend you leave him in and complete the movie the best you can.

Go make another movie. And don't even talk about it anymore.

imho.
 
So what did you end up doing? I would have stayed there that day until I got what I wanted and worked with the actor. My opinion on actors with egos is acting is not an easy thing to do. You are putting your face out there to be displayed all across the internet, and are openly judged and criticized for your performance and how you look. Many up and coming actors face criticism from family and friends on the fact that they even want to be an actor or think they can be one. And then on top of that you got the competitiveness of finding and landing roles in areas outside of L.A. From audition after audition to then finally getting a role and being on set. Many get a little nervous or a little bit of anxiety. How could anyone keep at it? I think the ego is one mechanism.

Also a lot of actors use the ego to drive their performances, it's a degree of confidence, it gives their performance legs. I try to never cut their legs (ego) out from underneath them. I've heard actors say they are the best in the area, which in my opinion is a very bold statement. I've also heard producers and directors say that.

I personally don't have a big ego, my motto is to just do the best you can and that will be good enough. Maybe that will change one day, but for now that's my motto on set and what I try to advocate to everyone to take the pressure off.

As far as an actor not giving the best performance, I think as a director who knows they are capable of it because you casted them for the role, it's your responsibility to get what you want or as close to it as possible.
 
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I recently shot a project for a client and cast an actor who's agent assured me they were experienced with a teleprompter. After two hours I realized this actor was completely unable to handle the task. I had no choice but to finish the shoot as best I could. I then informed the agent of the issue. I paid the first actor for their time hired another actor and re-shot the whole thing.

I hear everyone saying you have to work with the first actor. I completely disagree. My loyalty is to my client. I am hired to get the best performance from everyone, cast and crew. If someone is unable to perform their duties they MUST be replaced. It is not fair to the client and the other cast and crew to have one performer sacrifice the whole project.
 
GoodLuck said:
As far as an actor not giving the best performance, I think as a director who knows they are capable of it because you casted them for the role, it's your responsibility to get what you want or as close to it as possible.
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yea i know all about the rule of thumb "if the actors give a bad performance it's the director's fault no matter what. etc etc" but there's nothing i can do about an actor who doesn't even remember their lines and tried to cram 9 pages of script the night before - and we're talking about one liners and a few parts where there were 3 sentences, this was by no means a heavy drama with long drawn out heavy emotional scenes. even though they were in one scene, it was one long scene that was being intercut with the rest of the scenes in the project. we only had the location for a few hours and this person caused us to go over the time limit by an extra 3 and a half hours. it ended up being a rush toward the end because we had to leave so there was no staying there until we got the best performance.

as far as what i ended up doing, i casted another actor for the part and we're reshooting the scene which should take us a few hours once setup. once i told the people in the scene (only 2 actors) what the game plan was they were cool with it, the crew was there the first time around and are completely on board.

in the meantime, just chilling and writing new material to get more practice and exposure :)
 
filmman said:
I recommend you leave him in and complete the movie the best you can.

Go make another movie.
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getting a good performance is one thing, the actor unable to remember their lines is a complete other thing. no way i would let somebody half ass my project and i just "do the best i can and go film something else". that's unfair to the cast and yourself to put something out you're not 100% behind. a waste of time and money.
 
FilmBoy77 said:
as far as what i ended up doing, i casted another actor for the part and we're reshooting the scene which should take us a few hours once setup. once i told the people in the scene (only 2 actors) what the game plan was they were cool with it, the crew was there the first time around and are completely on board.
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So... You didn't tell him??? :-)
 
hahaha....actually no not yet. he's actually just getting out the hospital from surgery and on bed rest for something. by the time we shoot next week he should be fine i guess, at least enough for me to tell him and give him his copy of his version for his reel.
 
FilmBoy77 said:
hahaha....actually no not yet. he's actually just getting out the hospital from surgery and on bed rest for something. by the time we shoot next week he should be fine i guess, at least enough for me to tell him and give him his copy of his version for his reel.
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Let us know what happens after you tell him. :Drogar-Shock(DBG):
 
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