Isn't That What's His Name?

I recently had a difference of opinion with my producer. After hiring a casting director to help fill a lead role in the film, she found a name actor very interested in the project.

He had been a lead in a several popular teen movies, and had recently been on a hit tv show. He has a big following and would have definitely given us a much better chance of raising extra financing and getting distribution for the movie once it's made.

But it didn’t feel right. For starters this actor has a reputation for being a buff heart-throb. The character in my film is a nerdy insecure guy who never gets laid.  I was told; “We can put glasses on him and dress him down”. But I wasn’t buying it.

Casting is something that is VERY important to me. Sure, I have my typical celeb idols such as Meryl Streep, actors that will make me want to watch a movie even if it's not my cup of tea. But mostly, I love watching movies with unknown actors. I feel like celebs come with a certain amount of baggage. They are either super stars and the movie becomes more of a showcase for them than the story. Or the more likely situation for indies that can’t afford a huge star; You recognize the actor but don’t remember from where. So you spend a good part of the movie wondering what you have seen them in (or you pull out your smart phone to try to track them down on IMDB)

Either way, the audience is being distracted from the story.

I much more enjoy a film with excellent unknowns. There is no baggage. So I can focus on the story. A part of me also feels like I am being let in on an awesome secret. I wanna be the one to tell my friends; “You need to see this movie, and there’s this amazing actor."

In the end I cast an incredibly talented unknown actor who was right for the role, and I couldn’t be happier. But I know by doing this, it makes my producers job harder than it could have been. And I do feel a little bad about that.