HOW TO WRITE THE PERFECT CASTING CALL

(…AND ATTRACT ACTORS YOU WANT)

It shouldn’t be hard to create a simple casting call, right? Unfortunately, the reason for starting most of my filmmaker-help articles is seeing real-life examples that miss the mark. And, after clicking on these rough examples on casting websites or pages, they are not surprisingly followed with minimal submissions or responses (see Facebook groups, SetReel.com, Stage32).

If your casting call isn’t attracting much talent (or quality talent), there might be a reason. Read on to polish up your producer/director game in one of the very first contacts you’ll make with your actors and filmmaker community.

*NOTE: This article mostly applies to indie-project cast calls posting on open format websites and social networks. Professional casting databases will provide slots/requirements to posting open roles on their site, but these basic rules-of-thumb should apply across the board.

Start with a clear title

Casting call headlines help an actor discern whether to click on your cast call in the first place. Try to be both specific and concise. Here are some examples of what to do and not to do:

Acceptable titles:

“2 Male and 3 Female Actors Needed for Web Series”

“Cast and Crew Needed for Feature “Come Back Home””

“Casting for Short Drama (Pittsburgh Area Only)”

“Paid Horror Feature Seeks Lead Actor (18-30yo)”

“Dead Paul Entertainment seeks older female leads”

“COMEDY CASTING MULTIPLE ROLES - PAID”

BAD titles:

“Need Actors” (we know… it’s a casting website. Anymore details?)

“practice film neds actors” (all low-caps, typos, unprofessional representation)

“**FEATURE FILM seeks FiVe ACTORS *Paid *Non-Union FREE FOOD!!**

(cool it with the excessive punctuation, capitalizations and details: be clear, concise, easy to read)

Grammar and spelling, grammar and spelling…. GRAMMAR & SPELLING!

Excuse my harshness, but if there is anything that turns away a noteworthy cast member, it is a disregard for basic English skills. This may be the first time someone learns your name from a public page, and there are some adequate assumptions (whether true or not) an actor can make if your casting call is filled with typos or incorrect capitalization, punctuation or sentence structure: you’re not intelligent, you don’t care, or you are not professional.



Being a “professional” doesn’t start when you finish a film or receive an award for your work. With every app and program equipt with spell check, you almost need to try to be careless. The best actors will weed out who they deem worthy to spend an afternoon auditioning for. Do not lead your actors to believe you are too dumb to make a movie by not realizing “tmrw” should be spelled out in a public casting call. Stop embarrassing our local industry.

Be generous with details

Writing a great casting call is about being transparent and including the actors in on the future of the production. This does not mean posting your budget or attaching a 10-page treatment, but adding things like a brief synopsis, character descriptions for the available parts and a tentative shooting schedule will help more than you know. When your potential actors are more clued into your story, they will be able to give you a better performance in the audition room. Even before audition day, a detailed casting call will let the actors know if there will be conflicts with your schedule or if they’re even applicable for the part!

PRO-TIP #1: Do NOT assume the good actors will just contact you if there are basic questions they want to know. If your casting call is sparse compared to others on the page, the actor may validly skip over yours to respond to a filmmaker who seemed to put more time and care into their call.

Tell them who you are

When an actor gains experience and acknowledgment for their work, they reach a level where they no longer need to beg to be cast, and they can decide who to work with or not. When you were in year one of film school, you most likely asked your friends or relatives to play parts in your movie because you didn’t know any real actors (or the good actors available weren’t willing to work on an amateur film). This continues throughout your film career: the more experience and acknowledgment you get for your work, the more the reputable actors will want to be part of your production. It’s the same in every profession on Earth: the most experienced and successful candidates get the best positions.

Before posting your casting call, make sure to introduce yourself and why you may be worth an actor’s time. Just a few sentences or simply a link to your website/profile will do! Include some information about your identity as a filmmaker (ex: Do you specialize in dramas, comedy, experimental etc.? Do you have special experience in the film industry?) and/or some of your greatest achievements (What are your most successful project titles? Have you won any awards or acknowledgments?). Even if you are just starting out, add a sentence or two about your plans or ambitions so your actors are on the same page.

Miscellaneous

There are a few things that may make your cast call (or project) more attractive if these elements are available to you. You might be seeing a lull in talent due to things you can or cannot control. Here are some ideas:

1) Payment/compensation

Sometimes you don’t have the budget to pay actors. Often this is something that cannot be helped, especially for students or beginner filmmakers. It’s acceptable (and common) not to be able to pay your colleagues, BUT realize there is a level of cast and crew that is rightfully above volunteering for work because of their experience, talent, good reputation or popularity. Without compensation, realize you may not have access to the best. If you are not receiving the response you want, consider budgeting to pay your actors for your next project.

PRO-TIP #2: Craft services and a copy of the film does NOT count as compensation. Per basic standards on any level of filmmaking (even backyard shorts with your friends), a mealtime while working and a copy of the film is a minimum requirement of you. With modern technology, there’s no reason you can’t send a download link to everyone who worked on the film after it’s done. This is basic employer decency: make sure not to starve your cast and crew and, at the very least, give them proof of their work for future employment.

2) Display your past work

This can be filed under “Tell them who you are”, but because this is not always available to beginner filmmakers, I’ll paste it under miscellaneous. Linking a reel or the portfolio page on your website will give an actor a better idea of your filmmaker identity. If you have a good reel, it may signal to a notable actor that you’re worth paying attention to.

3) Signal any special requirements

Does the role require nudity? Does the actor need be trained in stage combat? Is there a physical feature that is mandatory for the role? Consider noting this in your character description right off the bat so both you and the actors are not wasting time when they can’t fulfill your requirement.

Some of these are basic for drafting any professional text, but some of these principle behaviors are relevant to the business of filmmaking as a whole. Remember, a casting call may be your introduction to the people you may work with for an entire production or even the extensive future of your film career. To put yourself ahead from the start, make sure you leave the best first impression.