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	Oct 2005 Sandi Nielsen   Casting Director "Somebody that sort of interests you [are] not always going to do the obvious."
Second interview with Commercial Casting Director, Sandi Nielsen. Most questions which you, the users of the Vancouver Actor's Guide submitted.
VAG - Last time we talked about what you like in the room… clever people. What are some things that take you out of watching an audition - while the scene is happening?
Sandi Nielsen - That’s very hard to say. You can usually tell pretty quick if you’re     interested or you’re not. You know, it’s like watching television – you see a     commercial and if it’s boring you change the channel within 5 seconds. That     depends on everybody’s taste too, like Ebert and Roeper – one of them loves a     movie and the other one hates it... it’s just a matter of taste. Somebody that sort     of interests you [are] not always going to do the obvious. [If] “the script says this,     that’s what I’m going to do” – somebody who doesn’t have anything to bring to it,     that’s quite boring. I always say, think of the obvious and think of the opposite     because a lot of times when we’re happy, we cry, when we’re sad, we laugh. It’s     that there are so many opposites in life and it really has to be something that’s     engaging to watch instead of, “oh, I’ve seen that 80 times today.” Don’t forget in     commercials you see a lot of people. You know the 65 people who I’ve just seen     just did the exact same thing and that can happen. If they’re inexperienced, it’s     not necessarily a bad thing, they’re learning.
VAG - So about the numbers of people you actually see… After you send out the notice to the agents, how many submissions do you get per character?
SN - It depends. Is it union? Is it non-union? Is it over scale? Is it scale? Which     category is it? It’s impossible to give a number. It could be anywhere from 50 to     150, depending on the character. Sometimes if you have 8 characters and it’s a     union shoot, you’ll have a thousand suggestions, literally a thousand.
VAG - How many do you choose from that to actually audition?
SN - It depends again on how much time you need. Is there script? Is there     dialogue? When I did the Citizens Bank commercial all I had to do was interview     people for a few seconds - “tell us about yourself” – I saw 700 people in 3 days,     and that’s just an interview. If there’s dialogue scripted out and there’s a big     scene, you’ll only see a certain amount in a day. You’ll have 15 minutes for a     couple of people.
VAG - So it depends on how much time you have.
SN - Oh yeah. It depends on the script completely. What does the Director want     to see? One take, three takes, do they want to mix it up? It really depends. There     are so many different reasons why you would see 50 people then another day     you might see 100.
VAG - And then how many go to call-backs?
SN - That’s up the director. There could be a director who wants to see half of     the people back - 6 to 7 hour call-back sessions and then I’ve done call-back     sessions where there’s 4 people.
VAG - So the director decides who comes back?
SN - The Director and the Ad Agency, the Client. The Client picks who they like     as well as the director and sometimes they’re both really close, very similar,     sometimes they’re quite different. But the director sees something one way, the     client see it another way and we try to find the happy medium.
VAG - Do you get a say in that decision?
SN - No. Casting Directors don’t have any say in call-backs. Sometimes they     ask my opinion at the actual call-backs once they’ve picked their people. They’ll     say "Sandi, what do you think? Who do you like?"and I’ll tell them what I think.     They’ll ask me my comments on an actor. "Is this a good actor? Are they     consistent? Is it somebody that’s over exposed? Are they good on-set?" They’ll     ask my opinion sometimes, not all the time. Sometimes they know exactly what     they want, other times they don’t know the actors as well as I do, so they’ll just     ask, “what do you think?”. I’ll tell them what I think honestly. There have been     actors that got roles because I’ve said something, but that’s because I want to     get the absolute best person for my client and they don’t know the actor’s     history. They may ask “how much has this person done?” Well, they’ve done a     couple of things, and that might make them nervous or “that’s great, this person     isn’t overexposed.” I have certain clients that always ask my opinion and some     just know what they want - they don’t need anybody’s opinion. It’s really different,     there’s no set anything.
VAG - For call-backs, do you expect actors to wear exactly the same thing as they did during the first audition?
SN - Well, this just came up actually. Yes they should. It may seem a little dated,     that concept, but it just literally happened in a call-back session for dancers. The     director said “This doesn’t look like that person.” And I had just come out of the     room and said “guys, you should have worn the same thing you wore at the     original audition” and they said “oh, we didn’t know that.” I’m not sure why they     don’t know that, I don’t know who’s not telling them that. And I walked in the     room and he [the Director] says to me “Who is this person? That doesn’t look     like the same person, they look completely different,” and I said “yeah, that is the     same person.” And he was confused who that person was. He figured it out,     he’s obviously quite intelligent, but it completely threw him. There was 3 or 4     people who came in completely different from [the first audition]. So he said, “do     you have the hat?” and one girl went “no, I didn’t bring it.” And the director said,     “the hat is what I liked about you.” So yes, I think it’s really important cause it     threw him off. He had it in his mind what they looked like and they show up     completely different. To me, you need every little tiny edge to get the part so that     could make the difference.     He doesn’t have all day to visualize what they’re going to look like for such a     large group. If it’s the four or five people they’ve chosen, that’s different. If he’s     seeing 40 people, he’s got to see you right there exactly the way you came in the     first time because that’s what their first impression is. You need to show up that     way. I think it’s important and it’s a great question because it just happened.
VAG - If an actor gets plenty of callbacks and hasn’t booked anything, can they ask the Casting Director directly for any feedback or should they go through their agent?
SN - I would ask your agent to ask the Casting Director. You know, it really puts     the Casting Director on the spot. What if there’s a reason that they don’t want to     discuss? I would say ask your agent those types of questions. Unless you’re on     a first name basis with the Casting Director – you’re buddies, you’re hanging     out… I wouldn’t. It really does put us on the spot. What if someone says, “well,     they’re just not that good”. Well, if they’re getting a lot of callbacks they’re     probably good, but I mean, you don’t want to say that to an actor. An agent     knows the actor better than we do so they can handle it in their way and that’s     also their job. It's not my job to tell the actors how they’re doing.
VAG - Last time you mentioned about having to assist first to be a Casting Director, so what do you think is the best approach to getting an assistant job?
SN - You have to send out your resume to the Casting Directors, tell them you’re     interested. I think a big mistake people make is when they’re emailing us about     Casting Assistant positions [which] I get constantly, and is why I don’t really see     them is, “I’m really interested in being a Director and I thought this would be a     good way to get there” or “I’m really interested in production but in the     meantime…” You know, I don’t want somebody who’s “in the meantime”     because they’re not going to put their heart into the job. I want somebody who     says, “I’d really love to be a Casting Director and take your job someday.” That’s     somebody I’m interested in because they’re going to go, “I want to know the     actors, the procedures, I want to get involved in it.” Not someone who’s going     “well, this is just money for now.” That’s just not interesting to me because your     heart is not in it; your heart is somewhere else and you’re always thinking about     something else and therefore your commitment to the job is not there.     When I was working with Sid [Kozak], I was there for the whole procedure. I was     there to read the script, I was there when we sat down to make our wish list of     actors, I was there when we put down all the people we wanted to see and who     was available. I wanted to be in the whole procedure. I wanted to learn about the     job and that’s what was important to me, not “I just want to make some money     until something better comes along.” It just seems odd that someone would say     “I really don’t want to do this, but hire me.” (laughs) No thanks.     Also when somebody sends a resume with a bunch of spelling mistakes in it     and things like that. I’m not interested because that means they don’t have an     eye for detail and this is a job that requires detail. I expect my client’s names to     be spelt right, I expect them to know who they are, not “I think so and so called.”     It’s like what?! (laughs) and I’ve had that happen. “It was Debbie something…?”     it’s like oh my goodness. You need someone who’s really committed to it. Any     company wants someone that shows them commitment to the job. If someone     says to me, “I want to be a Casting Director,” Great! That’s what I want to hear.
VAG - What do you think about actors who crash auditions?
SN - Not very popular here. I’ve had many actors come up to me and say “hey     Sandi can I come in on this one?” And what if I don’t think they’re good for the     role? What do I say? I don’t know anyone who likes crashers, honestly. It may be     a technique they use in the states because it’s very hard to get in down there but     basically what you’re saying to the Casting Director, sometimes, is “you missed     me and you should’ve brought me in.” What if we don’t think they’re right for the     part? Then they’ve put the Casting Director in a really uncomfortable position. It     also says that we don’t know what we’re doing. Most of the times, we do…     sometimes (laughs) maybe we don’t. No, I think everyone’s got their concepts. I     just think it’s an uncomfortable position to put a Casting Director in when you     crash an audition. You know, I’ve had complete strangers come in who I’ve     never met in my life, “I’m in town from LA so can I audition?” Just cause you’re     from LA doesn’t mean you’re an actor. I’m not sure how the other Casting     Directors feel about it, though I know a couple that just hate it. I understand that     actors have to do everything they can to get in and to get an edge. I’m not saying     they’re not doing what they need to do… but I don’t really like it, especially     commercials because we just don’t have time. We’ve already seen a hundred     people that day, so it’s difficult when they ask to come in. I just find it really     strange that someone would do that. Honestly, I have auditioned people that     have come in and I have also seen people in the hallway that weren’t suggested     for a role, for whatever reason, and invited them in. Maybe the agent didn’t think     they were right or didn’t know they were in town or something. Actually,     somebody got a role that way. If I see them, “You know what? You should come     audition for me.” I’ve done that many times.
VAG - But it wasn’t the other way around
SN - No, nobody that’s ever crashed has ever got an audition or got a spot. I     mean, everybody’s different but I’ve never seen a Casting Director go, “Oh great,     he’s crashing come on it!” (laughs) I never really see them get excited about it. I     know everybody’s got to do what they got to do. I just don’t suggest it.
Our thanks to Sandi Nielsen for taking the time out of her busy schedule to be interviewed.