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January 28, 2006

Acting, acting, acting...

Yesterday was the first taped casting session of the new season. What generally happens is that our casting agents (we have both US and Canadian casting agents) audition actors for a particular role, and send us tape of the session. For Canadian casting, there are live sessions which are often attended by the producers and the director, time permitting.

Casting is an interesting part of the process… the producers have to make off-the-cuff, shoot-from-the-hip, spur-of-the-moment decisions based on an actor reading a couple of lines in a small room without the other actors there. But most of the time it works out great.

For major roles, the producers often try to get “name” actors – people who they know they can count on for a larger performance. This gets fun, because you end up getting to meet established stars, like (last year) Jewel Staite, Wallace Shawn, Robert Davi and Maury Chaykin. You can also count on sci-fi genre actors making appearances too, like Colm Meaney and Claudia Black, who’s now a series regular.

I love the casting sessions, maybe a little too much. My first year here, Robert Cooper noticed that I always wandered in to his office when they were reviewing casting tapes. He asked me “what’s your obsession with casting?” So I explained that it was just another part of the process that I was learning about, and it just seemed like the producers were more welcoming about having me around during the casting sessions. To which he replied, “Who told you that?”

That’s what we call “tough love” around here. He means well (I’m told) – he’s just trying to keep me on my toes. Thanks Coop.

Tonight, you’ll see Stronghold and Grace Under Pressure.

· Grace Under Pressure is what we call a “two-hander” – an episode that is carried mainly by two actors rather than the whole cast. And when the actors are David Hewlett and Amanda Tapping, you never even think about the cast members that aren’t on screen. This is a great episode, with great performances and cool effects. Keep an ear open for the witty banter in the tease – classic Martin Gero humour.

· Stronghold has a very strong “B” plot, in my opinion, involving one of Cameron Mitchell’s Air Force buddies, Major Bryce Ferguson, who’s in the hospital. The actor playing Ferguson is Reed Diamond, who was in The Shield. These scenes are terrific because of the obvious chemistry and the quality ad-libbing.

· Lastly, I wanted to let you in on some NEWS: David Hewlett just finished directing his first feature which stars…. David Hewlett! And Paul McGillion! It’s called “A Dog’s Breakfast” and it’s being hyped as “a head-smacking, bone-breaking, fiancé-bashing comedy/horror about a family that just loves themselves to pieces.” Probably will be a bit before it’s in your neighborhood theatre, but keep a lookout!

ATL

Posted by Alex Levine at January 28, 2006 12:05 AM