I’ve met several actors who shun at hearing the word “Type” mentioned when referring to casting. They connect type to stereotypes and stereotypes to prejudices and prejudices to offensive, malpractice within the entertainment industry. That mindset can quickly lead down a dark rabbit hole of insecurities and negative emotional responses. I don’t encourage it. When I hear ‘type’ I think of ‘archetype.’ I connect archetype to motif and motif to idea/concept. This may sound odd at first but follow me. When you appear on camera you don’t just represent yourself, you represent a concept, an idea the writer, director and producers want the audience to experience.
Thankfully, we are born with tools to display various, complex ideas and these are great for when your job is to display nuance and range within a role. But for the roles that don’t require and even deter nuance, your natural born “type” still remains immensely useful.
As viewers, consumers of entertainment, we unconsciously use type to quickly grasp complex story plots, multiple dialogue exchanges, and the subtext holding the sequential events together. Even within commercials, which use type more than any other medium, we must rely on it in order to comprehend the message of the 15-30 second commercial. That’s why casting relies so heavily on type, because directors/producers/writers have a very limited amount of time to express an idea, present the critical events, & then move on before you become too bored and/or confused and change the channel.
Instead of looking at ‘type’ as taboo, start to view it as a tool for building a nuanced career. It’s not your type that limits your ability to shine in the casting audition, it’s your mindset that limits your ability to shine in the room. Change your mindset on what ‘type’ can mean for you and you too will see the strength in knowing your type and how that knowledge can propel your cold reads, your improv work, and more importantly, your presence on the big screen.
Instead of looking at ‘type’ as taboo, start to view it as a tool for building a nuanced career. It’s not your type that limits your ability to shine in the casting audition, it’s your mindset that limits your ability to shine in the room. Change your mindset on what ‘type’ can mean for you and you too will see the strength in knowing your type and how that knowledge can propel your cold reads, your improv work, and more importantly, your presence on the big screen.
ScriptClips Tip:
With ScriptClips you can search for material using many of these traits above, from age range(filter: Age) to physique/occupation/demeanor/
Author: Christian Telesmar is a professional actor living in Los Angeles, CA. He received his Bachelors (BA) from the University of Washington as well as his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the University of Washington School of Drama’s Professional Acting Training Program (PATP). He also holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Kaplan University School of Business. He is known for his work in Stomp the Yard 2 (2010), Sense and Sensibility (2014), and BONES on FOX (2015). He is also a freelance Creative Director and Writer, having won awards for his promotional work with Microsoft Windows 7, Wal Mart, and Pepsi Co. He enjoys hiking and is an avid Seahawks fan.