If Ruth Lambert, former Director of Feature Animation Casting at Disney, could describe her old job with one word, it would be “fun.” Along with Mary Hidalgo, her then-partner (who now runs the department), and Matthew Beck, their associate, she has cast such features as Fantasia 2000, Toy Story 2, and Dinosaur.
Still busy in the casting business and on the board of the Casting Society of America, Lambert remains positive and passionate about her job, matching the best actors to the coolest roles.
First Casting Job
Over twenty years ago, Lambert met Gretchen Rennell-Court in Milwaukee. Lambert was a stage manager and Rennell-Court was interviewing actors for Winds of War. They hit it off, and three years later, Rennell-Court, along with Bonnie Finnegan, received a promotion at Paramount Pictures. They needed an associate. Lambert had moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, since their meeting, and Rennell-Court wasn’t sure how to find her. Over dinner with a mutual friend, she said, “We want someone like that Ruth girl.” The friend said, “Why don’t you just hire her?” He got the two in touch, and a career as a casting director began. Lambert left Stage West and moved to New York. “The first thing I worked on might have been getting Michael J. Fox’s new girlfriend for Family Ties maybe.”
Coolest Casting Gig
Without a doubt, that’s her former job at Disney. Lambert was with Disney for seven years. But what was the coolest film she cast there? “I think A Bug’s Life was the most fun.”
Key Things She Looks for in an Actor
Training is important. Lambert zeros in on voice and speech training, specifically. Training, paired with improv experience, makes for a strong audition, and a strong performance to follow. Obviously, your look, as an actor, is much farther down the list, since your character must come through you via only your voice. Lambert notes that this aspect can be difficult for those actors who have long-relied on being beautiful to get a foot in the door.
Her Favorite Audition Tale
Dave Foley, who played Flick in A Bug’s Life, was originally called in for the part of the walking stick bug. On the day of his audition, the session was running way behind. As he waited in the lobby, a celebrity came in. Lambert had to go to Foley and ask him to reschedule. His response? “Oh, yeah. I just saw [that person] walk in. It’s fine, Ruth.” He agreed to come in on another day, but by that time, David Hyde Pierce had already won the part. Lambert had to work very hard to get Foley seen for Flick, as no one had visualized him in that role. Once he came in (again) for his audition, he had the job before he left the room. “He was exactly the kind of person that they love to hang out with. Those Pixar people love to hang,” Lambert said. Not only was it a great audition, but everyone adored Foley, and, as Lambert noted, “You don’t want to work with someone that’s nasty. Our process takes so long. For the actor it’s two-and-a-half years, and so who wants to keep bringing someone in that you don’t like?” According to Lambert, an animated feature is a much longer commitment than twelve weeks on a film set, where you can pretty much endure personality conflicts. There is no room for that on these projects.
Duration of Her Job
Lambert got involved at the very beginning. Along with Hidalgo and Beck, she began the process of casting right along with the story people. Her team was constantly casting and recasting as changes were made, usually up until six to nine months before the feature is released. “I learned a long time ago that it’s never finished being cast when they say so,” she mused.
Pet Peeves
Of course, if every actor booked for an audition would show up prepared, Lambert would be elated. Unfortunately, many actors enter their audition with excuses about not getting the material – or they don’t show up at all, even after being confirmed. Lambert attributed that to a feeling of embarrassment over not being prepared. But she’d rather you show up anyway. Or at least call. Her assumption, when she doesn’t get a call and an actor no-shows, is that they’ve been in a car accident. She can’t imagine that someone would just blow off an audition, disrespectful of the other actors, of her, of their agent’s work in getting them the appointment. Once, an actor was in a car accident on his way to his audition. Lambert felt awful when she found out he’d been hospitalized, since she’d assumed that’s what had happened when he didn’t show up. “But y’know what? I found out quicker about him than I did about the people who just didn’t show up.”
Advice for Actors
Lambert acknowledged that acting is a very tough business to break into, and that the voiceover industry, in particular, has changed. Looking back at Beauty and the Beast or The Little Mermaid reveals very few celebrity voices. Now, famous voices are required to sell tickets. Despite that fact, there are roles for the non-celeb. “You just have to be patient. I try to get a couple of people into every movie who’ve earned their jobs, who’ve auditioned. And that’s very exciting for me to be able to do that.”
Best Way to get Seen by Her
Through an agent. “I am covered at every agency.”
Her Opinion on Alternative Submission Methods
Okay, so if you don’t have an agent and want to go another route, know that her office does open unsolicited submissions. “Everything is opened, everything is given a listen,” she said. One very important point, though, is to be sure your tape is geared away from commercial pitching. “When people call and say, ‘Can I send you a tape?’ I always say, ‘Make it short, make it a poem or a story or something interesting.’ Commercial tapes get you a commercial but it’s hard for me to hear that and translate it into this.”
Her Opinion on Alternative Submission Methods
There is a database of information, but Lambert would rather pull out the Academy Players Directory or her own book of headshots and resumes. Yes, headshots! Even though she’s casting voices, Lambert wants to see your mug! It helps her “place you” if she’s seen your work before. It rounds out the feeling your voice provides. Lambert is from a live action background and is set in her ways of flipping over a headshot and resume while listening to tapes, keeping books of pix, and referring to handwritten notes. “I know it’s very old-fashioned, but I’ve been doing this so long, I like having paper in my hands. I like having someone’s picture and resume in my hands, I like turning it over. I love my computer and I use it all the time because they make me use it here and that’s excellent. But I like having a session sheet in my hand. I pay more attention to it.” When Internet submissions come in, Lambert will print them out right away. “What if my computer crashes? Then I’m screwed!”
As for organizing casting sessions, there are few variations on the “typical” protocol. Breakdowns are released to agents. Then, instead of sending sides, Lambert puts out sketches, synopses, and character descriptions, “because we don’t have scripts. And, even if we do, we don’t send them out.” Once agent submissions are in, they are organized according to priority, sessions are set up, and, once they begin, they run the same as on-camera sessions. Except for one thing: no camera. “We tape people, it’s just a different tape.”
Highlight of Her Week
“I love auditioning actors. I love meeting actors. The highlight of my week is when we have sessions.”
Most Gratifying Part of Her Job
“Oh, my God, I get to go see these movies. My name’s on them. And they make loads of money. And the actors that I hire love working on them. Ninety-eight percent of the people that are in these movies love them and love working on them and love their experience on them. The best part is when I get a note from an actor thanking me for their job. The best part is how thrilled people are with the product.”
This interview was conducted on July 7, 2000, and it originally appeared in Casting Qs: A Collection of Casting Director Interviews by Bonnie Gillespie, available at Amazon.