Is all Hollywood Casting all the same? From like just a side character up to like James Bond or Superman? Or are big names like those is casting different?
1d 4h ago by lemmy.world/u/Patnou in nostupidquestions
Different in what way?
I think the only difference is in how the actors deal with agents.
Most casting happens through agents. Although some big stars don't have an agent and simply take calls directly if they're not working much anymore, or don't want to work much. Extras may not have an agent to begin with, but will answer a call from an agency for extras.
Casting deals with agents, and agents deal with actors. Agents negotiate on behalf of the actors they represent, but of course, actors have final say in whether they will take a role.
A script can be sold to studios by which big star or director is "attached", if any are. So, the script may be written for a specific star, or even commissioned by a specific star.
From the outside, it looks like there are at least three levels of actor.
- Everyone starts as a "nobody" -- no credits, no SAG card, and no agent. Most films hire a bunch of these folk to act as living backgrounds or "extras", but now and again they'll give a nobody a role and they'll move on to the next step.
- "Credited actors" are those who have credits and agents and whatnot, but still need to audition and may very well work a separate job for when they don't get cast enough to pay the bills.
- Very successful actors eventually reach a point where they stop auditioning, and are instead reached out to directly with script ideas and roles essentially written with them in mind.
The distinctions between the second and third groups are very soft and will change with the speed of fashion and rumor, while the gap between the first and the other two is so dramatic that I'm sure someone out there doesn't even consider extras to be actors.
I've often wondered about movies where the whole cast are big name actors. For example, a movie I saw called Office Christmas Party. Was that movie written specifically for a bunch of big name actors to star in? Or was it written and then big name actors auditioned?