Former actor Paul Weber encourages actors to live “sensorially-challenging” lives. “The cultural landscape is different in L.A. than it is in Chicago or New York. Actors need to travel, experience other cultures, experience the way other people think and behave,” Weber advised, during our interview from his Santa Monica office.
To that end, Weber recommends well-rounded education, travel, and a sense of self-knowing. That, and a balance between craft and business-sense, will put an actor on Weber’s casting map.
First Casting Job
As an intern. “I worked for Stephen J. Cannell during the Wiseguy and 21 Jump Street era. I had moved from Seattle where I had worked most recently as an actor with Seattle Rep,” Weber recalled. His goal in interning was to learn about the casting process from the other side of the desk. “I went the traditional route from intern to assistant to associate to casting director.”
Weber then worked with Victoria Burrows on Tales from the Crypt, as well as holding a few non-casting jobs. “I earned my WGA card writing for syndicated and game shows. I also worked as a segment producer, location manager, and production coordinator. I don’t regret any of it. Everything I’ve done in the past has prepared me for what I do now,” he admitted. “Well, I was segment producer on Love Connection,” he began. “I do sort of regret that,” he joked.
Eventually, Weber transitioned back into casting with Mary Jo Slater in 1995. “In 2000, I started my own company.” Weber is currently the in-house casting director for MGM Worldwide Television. As is the case with most casting directors who start their own companies, Weber implemented lessons he gleaned from each of the casting directors with whom he had worked. “Simon Ayer, for one, taught me that you can’t teach taste,” Weber shared. “I learned about treating the actor well, about the process of casting, and basically took the best of what I learned from each person. It’s just like an actor would do in taking on a character. You add your own style and personality.”
Coolest Casting Gig
Weber described his current selection of projects as the coolest combined gig. “What I love to do is work with the studio and network in the pilot process. The work is creative and we come to a consensus. It is really a collaborative process,” Weber explained. He further described the process of casting as akin to fighting with your family. “You will go through the process and then all be gratified when you’ve raised a good kid.”
Weber is currently working on the third feature film that will net him producer credits. “If you don’t ask for that [title], you won’t get it,” he said. “It’s not just about the credit. I am the one U.S.-based producer on these projects and am directly involved in all aspects of production.”
When asked to name one particular project that won Weber’s heart, he mentioned the pilot Dead Like Me for Showtime. “It was such a joy to find Ellen Muth in New York. She wasn’t particularly well-known, and to find her and then see a series developed around her, that was refreshing. I like it when casting is not all about finding a name-actor to play a role.”
Currently Casting
She Spies, for which Weber has cast several “new” actors. “One of my greatest joys is to Taft-Hartley a new actor,” he said. Weber is enjoying NBC’s She Spies for its tongue-in-cheek quality, as well as the Charlie’s Angels-like feel.
Weber is also casting the sixth season of sci-fi favorite Stargate SG-1. “For this show, I look for classically-trained actors who can compete with the scenery. I’m going with actors who can understand the heightened cadence of the language,” Weber explained. He also noted that he reads actors’ resumes “from the bottom, up. I look at training. I look for stage credits. I know [trained and theatre] actors know how to break down a scene.”
The second season of Showtime’s Jeremiah is another of Weber’s projects, in addition to the pilot of Dead Like Me (also for Showtime), and the feature film he is casting and co-producing, Hollywood North.
Key Things He Looks for in an Actor
“When an actor walks into the room, I want to get a sense of who they are as a person. I want to see an actor’s personality as well as get a sense of them as an artist. There is a distinction. There are people who have great personalities but who are not necessarily great actors and then there are great actors who are not accessible as people. Are you comfortable in your skin? Do you have a sense of humor? Are you likable, accessible, prepared? I’d like to see a clear reflection–not a dirty windshield,” Weber explained.
The way to remove the build-up on the windshield of who you are, according to Weber, is to be genuinely who you are. “I like to see if an actor has a certain vulnerability in his work. Add making brave choices to the mix and that’s a golden combination,” he summarized.
What He Would Like to See Actors Do
“I wish that actors came in with their second reading first. There’s no time to get that first reading out of the way and get to the braver choices. That first reading is so often soft and so-called natural, but often there is not enough there to compel me to listen,” Weber explained. He dislikes the term “read” as it relates to an actor’s audition. “You read to put your two-year-old to sleep at bedtime. Don’t read for me. For me, you need to create and reveal the character.”
Weber continued to describe tactics for doing more than a “read.” “Do the homework. Flesh it out. See the difference between reading lines and having passion for revealing the character. Actors will do the same words as one another and one actor will spark that character’s passion. That doesn’t happen by chance,” he insisted.
Advice for Actors
“Hone your craft, obviously. Be in touch with the business of acting. Stay in touch with your own vulnerability, but know how to successfully navigate the business,” Weber listed. As for how an actor can best balance these right brain-left brain activities, Weber recommends homework. “Know who the producers are. Nurture relationships with all who work in the business. I know it’s difficult to expose yourself so nakedly, since rejection is something we all dread, but any job I ever got as an actor, a casting director, or as a producer, I got because I met someone,” Weber reported.
Best Way to Get Seen by Him
Through agency and management submissions. “I rely upon them. Casting directors can’t be everywhere.”
Weber also encouraged actors to send postcards to keep him updated. “We, as casting directors, are always making notes about the actors we have met. Your updates help me remember you. Postcards are a non-obtrusive way to help us do our job.”
His Opinion on Alternative Submission Methods
“I wish there were a way to have some conservation of the resources used for the hundreds of photos that come in. I wish electronic submissions were prevalent. That may be coming along, but it is like any evolution; it happens slowly.”
While Weber expressed high hopes for the evolution of Internet casting, he indicated that he enjoys the tactile experience of going through headshots by hand. Additionally, with calls to agents, Weber noted that he receives “specific, judicious submissions. I urge agents and managers to submit two or three [actors] for a role,” he related. Still, Weber opens every envelope that reaches his office. “So many [submissions] are not appropriate. Actors are wrongly-submitted quite a bit.”
Weber does attend theatre, as well as industry showcases, in order to scout for talent. “I like to check the underbelly of the scene in L.A.,” he said. “It’s my job.”
His Biggest Casting Challenge
Industry survival. “Working continuously for seven or eight years is a big deal as a casting director. We are rejected as often as actors, if not more. We are turned down by agents, producers, networks, studios. We are gypsies, just like actors. As casting directors, we empathize. We understand your process.”
Most Gratifying Part of His Job
“To help an actor realize a dream. Whether for an under-five or a lead role in a pilot or movie, discovering talent–or even rediscovering talent–is the joy of this work.”
This interview was conducted on August 13, 2002, and it originally appeared in Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews by Bonnie Gillespie, available at Amazon.