SUBMIT IT AND FORGET IT: Advice for Actors

Also published on my Travis Mills Filmmaker Facebook page

"I thought you hate me," an actor recently said via email when I did not follow up about whether he was chosen for a specific role. I was flabbergasted at such a response. Hate you? I do not have the time or energy to hate anyone, not even my enemies or the ones who have hurt me most, and definitely not one of many actors I work with. But this message reminded me of the great divide in awareness that some actors have about the casting process.

The professional performers I know live by this motto, "Submit it and forget it." That means you submit for the casting call and then move on. You get an audition, submit the tape, and move on. You don't hold an emotional attachment to any submission or audition. Why? Because the reality is hundreds of people may have submitted for the same role. Because the reality is that you may have not been chosen for a variety of reasons and most likely none of them has anything to do with your abundance or lack of talent. Because if you do, then you're setting yourself up for constant disappointment and I doubt you will survive being an actor.

In a conversation with family members recently, I learned that it's not uncommon in the wider professional world to "follow up" with an employer after an interview. That may be true but in the movie business it's a faux pas. If you don't hear back, the standard is that you didn't get the role. Period. But for what reason? What could you have done wrong? It's not the casting director, producer, or director's job to answer those questions. Pause for a moment and consider how many responses that person would have to send if they needed to explain to every actor who auditioned what he or she did wrong. And sometimes the answer isn't explainable. You just weren't right. Someone else was more right. However, there is slim to no chance that the person behind the casting curtain hates you. I promise.

There are so many factors that go into casting. I wish every actor could cast their own project and sift through hundreds of submissions to understand. I wish every actor could watch fifty audition tapes and realize that often times only one or two are bearable. As an actor you can't hang on to each job posting and drive yourself crazy. If you don't hear back, you didn't get it and it doesn't matter why. You need to have a tough mindset if you want to emotionally survive this industry. To use another famous quote, "Theirs not to reason why / Theirs but to do and die." A little dramatic but hopefully you get the point...

I've said it once before and I'll say it again, if you actually get an audition (a rare opportunity), you should jump for joy, do your best, submit it, and (drum roll please) forget it!