When I spoke with Mary V. Buck, she was still partner to Susan Edelman in Buck Edelman Casting. Their Artios award-winning partnership of 17 years ended when Buck was offered the position formerly held by Barbara Miller at Warner Bros.; Senior VP of Talent and Casting. She brings 22 years of casting experience to that position, in which she supervises casting for shows such as Friends, ER, The West Wing, and The Drew Carey Show.
Key Things She Looks for in an Actor
Fun. Of course, Buck looks for professionalism, but it’s a sense of fun that puts an actor over the top, for her. “I look for laughter. The actor should have done her homework, have made a choice, and should deliver that audition and then be on her way,” she said.
Advice for Actors
“I’m pretty simple about how I think actors should function. To me, the only thing the actor can control is his or her performance. My recommendation is to just prepare. Study, prepare. If you’re called in on an audition, get the material ahead of time. Make the choice as to what the character should be. Don’t come to the audition and worry about who’s in the waiting room or overhear an audition and go, ‘Oh, my God, they made that choice, why didn’t I?’ Be prepared and trust yourself. It’s too complex a process and you can’t control any of it.”
Best Way to Get Seen by Her
Although Buck will happily see non-union and non-represented actors, she admits that there is one way that is better than others. “The best way, honestly, is through an agent. If you don’t have an agent, you can certainly submit a picture and resume. We don’t do a lot of general interviews because we don’t think they really show anything.”
Buck does enjoy attending theatre, when her schedule permits. “If you’re performing, you can notify us. Send us a postcard and we’ll try and go.”
This interview was conducted on November 1, 2000, and it originally appeared in Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews by Bonnie Gillespie, available at Amazon.