Hot People Pep Talk. (I know, but bear with me. Even hot people have insecurities.)

Dear, good-looking actors: Being attractive is not an affliction.  Some actors seem to think that if they play the hot love interest they’re selling out. (I’m looking at you Johnny Depp!) I’ve had this conversation with too many actors recently to let it slide any longer.

The conversation goes something like this…

HOT ACTOR: The nerdy virgin character is so much more interesting. I want to read for that role.

CASTING DIRECTOR: *laughs because she thinks he’s kidding*

HOT ACTOR: I can be nerdy. I swear!

CD: You really can't.

HOT ACTOR: But I’m an ACTOR. Please let me try.

CD: *gives in*

So HOT ACTOR comes in and auditions for the nerd, his biceps bulging under his short-sleeved button down shirt, his hair sans product for the first time in months, thick-framed glasses attempting to cover up his bedroom eyes, but guess what? HOT ACTOR is still HOT. Plus HOT ACTOR hasn’t been a virgin for so long he doesn’t even remember what that feels like, and we can tell. Because wardrobe and hair and glasses aside, he’s got that inner confidence that hot people seem to be born with. And this is not a bad thing. There are MANY roles; some would even argue that there are MORE roles for hot people than there are for character actors (that is, of course, when Johnny Depp isn’t playing all of them). So embrace your hotness. If we didn’t have a hot love interest to pine after, what would all the millions of teenage girls do? Think about the teenagers, guys. The teenagers.

You're Not Fooling Anyone

I'm in a bit of a rant-y mood today, so bear with me. 

Look, don’t lie in your audition! You will most likely get caught. If we specify that we want an actual French person with an authentic accent, we mean it. Don’t come in and tell us you’re from France when you’re clearly from Paolo Alto. When we're reading people with actual French accents, that are actually from France, and then you come in sounding like a cartoon, we kind of hate you for it.

An even more extreme version of this happened when I was casting the roll of a transgender prostitute for a film. We clearly stated that we did not want to see any women that were born women for this role. We had an open call - always interesting - and a few women that were clearly born women, tried to pass off that they were transgender. They weren't fooling anyone. And we were annoyed that they wasted our time.

LESSON: Honesty is the best policy. (most of the time)