On Casting Actors Like Gerard Butler

Actor Gerard Butler at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival

"I ran into Berkoff in the coffee shop downstairs and said, 'I'd love to read for this.' He said, 'Sure, why not?'-- I gave it everything. Afterward, the casting director came up to me almost in tears. She said, 'You're the best he saw in two days!'

Walking home was probably the happiest moment of my life, when there's an energy in you that can't be put down. I'd gone from handing out pages (as an assistant) to getting the lead role." - Gerard Butler on landing his role in playwright Steven Berkoff's production of Coriolanus.

This quote has me thinking about the casting process -- more specifically, a reminder to make sure to cast actors who put all that they have mentally, spiritually, emotionally and physically, into their performances. What producer or director in the world would want to work with an actor who is only half-way in with regards to how they treat the roles that they're given?

Actors who show partial interest in the material and/or do not showcase their best efforts, abilities and talents during the audition become a liability to the overall quality of the film -- if they are selected for said role. Actors like this also create an imbalance within the flow of the production environment, especially when their fellow cast and crew members are working to the best of their ability to make the greatest film that they can, in the highest capacity they are able. When an actor gives a lackluster performance, the whole project suffers, for everyone involved. 

The part of Gerard Butler's statement that goes "...when there's an energy in you that can't be put down" is also worth noting with regards to approaching any career of interest. If there is something pulling us towards a particular position, shouldn't we give it everything we have in us, be it in the field of entertainment, law, medicine, hospitality, travel, fitness, the list goes on. If I don't put forth efforts to move my filmmaking pursuits forward, then there is no reason for me to do it. We shouldn't half-ass anything -- a task, a friendship, a project or a job.

There is no reward in being involved in something with one foot in and the other foot out the door. Just imagine if Kobe Bryant and LeBron James only put in 50% of their efforts during the London 2012 Summer Olympics -- the Gold Medal for Men's Basketball category would have probably went to Spain. You risk a loss when taking the half-way route, which is something I experienced while writing the first draft of my new short film script.

I've also realized more times than none this year, the importance of devoting all of my time, energy and attention to a cause that I believe to be just or a project that I want to witness come to fruition. That said, as I soon approach the casting stage of the short film that I finally finished writing, I'm seeking actors who can make a role their own and who will (as Gary Vaynerchuck says) bring the thunder by putting their very best foot forward.

If I'm giving this movie my all, then you better believe I'd expect cast and crew members working on this project with me to do the same. That is not to say I expect their best efforts to look like mine, but rather, I require -- at the most basic level, an effort showing themselves in the greatest light they've ever been in or at least matching their last "best" performance among the previous films that they worked on.

The concept sounds so simple and should come as second nature to any filmmaker making a movie. I didn't always cast for ability, however, nor did I adopt the practice of casting for passion. I would often cast for accessibility and budget, even going so far as to hire a total stranger someone else noticed on the road, sans audition due to scheduling restraints and mostly...impatience. That is one of the reasons why things have to be different this time around because it's better to go for the Gold (even if you end up with less) than go for the Bronze and get a bunch of wooden nickels. I want the Gold -- I want actors who give performances that movie casting directors to tears the way Gerard Butler did.

Do YOU think there's a difference between a good actor and a great actor...or are they synonymous with each other?

Can anyone define bad acting or is it something that YOU just know when you see it?

Is requesting or even expecting people who YOU work on a project with to be at their very best, too much to ask?

Also, here are a couple of Announcements…

Since I skipped the King Dong series in July and August, Idris Elba has upgraded from the June 2012 King to the Summer 2012 King, just so we can keep this thing rolling without any missing months. Elba's throne has now passed to Gerard Butler, who is the September 2012 King Dong. 

It's official, I am now a LAMB! -- On Wednesday, August 29th, I found out that my blog received membership into the Large Association of Movie Bloggers, otherwise known as The LAMB. So, be prepared to see additional blog posts about specific actors and film mash-ups published here at The Madlab Post. 

Comments

[Angela Brown]

Congrats on being a LAMB :-)

The arts are very subjective. What's garbage to one is a masterpiece to another. My version of great may be someone else's alright.

[Dale Smurthwaite]

I would like to add that it was a Ralph Fiennes production and his directorial debut, not Steven Berkoff and I think the playwright was actually William Shakespeare...but I could be wrong ;-)....