Casting is a collaborative process, according to Ellie Kanner. She knows that many actors feel like the casting director is their enemy, when that’s really not the case at all. To her, casting is all about teamwork, and a casting director’s job includes both suggesting people and guiding the decision-making process that the producers and directors experience. Kanner believes that every casting director wants the actor to get the job. And her recent leap into directing could mean that Kanner is casting you to star in her next project.
First Casting Job
Kanner started out as an agent with Irvin Arthur Associates, where she specialized in representing comedic actors. “My boss’ friend was producing a play called Marvin & Mel in a theatre in the Midwest and asked me to cast it in 1986,” Kanner said. Her next casting job, was for Roger Nygard’s short, Warped. Kanner soon realized that she was not a salesperson. Since a sales mentality is required, in agenting, she then knew that casting was her preferred line of work.
Road to This Position
Kanner began meeting with development people who encouraged her to follow this new path. “Fern Champion and Pamela Basker were looking for an assistant,” Kanner said. “I worked for them for a year, doing pilots, films, everything! I learned so much in that year.” Next, Kanner was an assistant at Lorimar and was soon promoted by Barbara Miller, staying on through the transition from Lorimar to Warner Bros. TV. “I did the pilot for Friends, for The Drew Carey Show, and, with Geraldine Leder, Lois and Clark,” Kanner shared.
Eventually, Kanner partnered up with her then-assistant, Lorna Johnson, with whom she cast features, pilots, episodic television – including Dawson’s Creek – and then began a shift into directing. “I loved working with the actors and going to the set,” Kanner recalled.
“Robby Benson mentored me,” she continued. “He had me on the set as his informal assistant, when he directed episodes of The Naked Truth and I learned quite a lot. He encouraged me to direct something – anything, and I decided on a multi-camera, ten-minute pilot presentation which came out of a pilot my husband had written for HBO Independent Productions,” Kanner continued. “I got these great actors, we shot the presentation in about two hours, and suddenly, I had a reel!” Alas, Kanner discovered that no one really cared about that reel, so she continued forward by directing a few plays at the HBO Workspace, all the while continuing casting with Johnson.
Her feature-length directorial debut, Face to Face was the opening night film at the Taos Talking Pictures Festival in 2001. “Lorna helped cast it,” Kanner recalled. “Directing this film was the most incredible experience of my professional career. It was Scott Baio’s screenplay about fathers and sons, and he wanted a director to give the female perspective.”
Coolest Casting Gig
Without a doubt, Kanner was thrilled by the process of casting something she would also direct, so Face to Face is her favorite thus far. “I’m just so happy with how it all turned out!” she exuded. The cast she and Johnson assembled? Dean Stockwell, Joe Viterelli, Alex Rocco, Thomas Calabro, Carlo Imperato, Meat Loaf Aday, Julie Bowen, Ellen Travolta, Jonathan Banks, and – of course – Scott Baio.
Advice for Actors
Use your VCR. “Tape every show currently in production,” she said. The benefit to this task is that you will be aware, when called to audition for any show – other than a pilot, of course – of the show’s pacing, its style, and the type of performances expected of its actors.
Also, you might want to read her book, Next! An Actor’s Guide to Auditioning. Kanner co-authored this book with Paul G. Bens in 1996, so she acknowledged the material may be somewhat dated. “But go to Samuel French,” she advised. “They have lots of books that every actor should go and read!”
Additionally, actors need to “let it go,” according to Kanner. “I know an actor who rips up his copy of the sides after each audition, as sort of a ceremony to the end of the process,” she explained. “You have no control, and you must let it go. Just do your homework, connect during the audition, and then move on.”
Most importantly, actors must keep in mind that every casting director is different. “We all have our own opinions and our list of pet peeves,” Kanner said. “Figure out what works for you, use common sense, and do your homework.”
What She Would Change About the Casting Process
If Kanner had a magic wand, she’d want to see everyone prepared, taking their job seriously, and treating each other well. “It would be a nicer process that way,” she said. “I mean, it’s never easy. Never, ever! No matter what, it’s always difficult, but it could be nicer.”
Her Opinion on Alternative Submission Methods
“I’m not used to [Internet casting], but that’s just me,” Kanner revealed. “But you must have a demo reel,” she insisted. However, bad tape is worse than no tape, according to Kanner. So, unless your tape is of broadcast quality, with good writing and talented actors playing with you, don’t use it. “Remember that the tape could be the last thing a producer sees on you.”
Best Way to Get Seen by Her
Through your agent or manager. “Showcases are good, if they’re put together by a group of actors who are well-connected and renting a theatre to put something up,” she said. Kanner also attends plays and one-person shows. “Go do it!” she insisted. “Who’s stopping you from joining theatre companies and being in class? Learn from the people you’re most impressed with and ask everybody for help. We’re so afraid to do that!”
“Additionally, when watching a show that you’ve decided you want to be on, send a note to the casting director for that show, explaining why you think you’d be right for a role on it. It may work. There are no guarantees, but if, at that one time, your photo gets in front of me when I need your type, it was worth doing,” Kanner said.
Most Gratifying Part of the Job
“Working with the actors. Watching their final performance and knowing I had a part in helping them get the job.”
This interview was conducted on May 3, 2001, and it originally appeared in Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews by Bonnie Gillespie, available at Amazon.