Denise Chamian cut her casting teeth at Jane Jenkins and Janet Hirshenson’s highly respected The Casting Company before striking out on her own. Several projects followed including a score of independent features and television series. While working on the HBO film Chameleon, for Rysher Entertainment, her knowledge and talent for casting impressed producers Dave Alan Johnson and Mike Pavone. When they moved to Dreamworks, they encouraged Steven Spielberg to hire Chamian as the casting director for his series, High Incident. He was so pleased with Chamian’s work that she was brought on to cast Dreamworks’ Mousehunt, Small Soldiers, Eyes Wide Shut and Spielberg’s Academy Award winning, Saving Private Ryan. More recently, Chamian cast the features: the Transformers trilogy, Project Almanac and Pirates of the Caribbean.
(laughing) I took acting in high school and I was terrible. I never consciously thought I’d be in show business. I was looking for something creative to do which would utilize aspects of my personality and wasn’t too structured or normal. Casting was perfect for me, although when I became a casting director, I made a concerted effort to learn how to read with actors and become a better actor myself. A huge complaint that I hear from actors is that so many casting directors are terrible to read with, so that’s why I made the effort. I went to friends of mine who are actors and made them practice with me. I think I’ve become pretty good at it. But it sometimes depends on the actor. When I read with an actor who’s not very good, my reading can be affected. And when I’m reading with someone who’s really special and talented, it can elevate my reading as well. I can read the same part with ten different actors and read it ten different ways, depending on what they’re giving to me. Everybody’s rhythm and interpretation are different.
When you’re reading with so many people and you have three and four-hour sessions each day, it’s hard to keep that energy going for every person. But it’s fun to read with actors and it’s exciting. Especially when you have a director in the room and you want all the actors to be the best they can be. I’ve had the benefit of learning how to do that from some really excellent people that I’ve worked for like Jackie Briskey and Jane Jenkins—both of whom are excellent readers. Those women taught me what to give to an actor. A lot of casting directors don’t learn that.
About sixty. We took twenty or so actors from here (Los Angeles) and found the rest in London. Priscilla John, a wonderful casting director there, put everyone on tape for us. I went through those tapes and chose who I thought Steven (Spielberg) should see.
Actually, except for Tom Hanks and Ed Burns, they did. When I was working with Steven on High Incident, I learned that he likes a lot of reality. On that show, he didn’t want to see the same faces he’d seen on television. He wanted me to go out and find people who were different. We put everyone on tape - he has an amazing ability to pick certain people out. Basically, that was the process we used during Saving Private Ryan.
When we started doing Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks was the only actor attached. We wanted to find new faces, because we didn’t want audiences coming with any preconceived notions about who these actors were. We didn’t want any baggage. I went through a lot of pictures and résumés with him. From the beginning, we had a very nice working relationship where we could just sit down and go through stuff. Steven likes to see everyone on tape first and that gives me a tremendous amount of freedom. I can experiment. I can see a bunch of people and decide who I think he should see. Once he decided who he wanted, he would have a little meeting with them. In the case of Adam Goldberg and Vin Diesel, there were no parts for these guys but he saw them, fell in love with them and had the writers write parts for them. He loved their faces and their acting and felt that we needed to have them in the movie. That’s what I love about Steven. He’s not locked into exactly what’s in the script. He’s very open and very collaborative and that allows him to paint a much deeper landscape. All of those actors have a heart and soul about them and they all have their own unique personality. We did a really careful job of picking those people but I could bring the same actors to another director who wouldn’t have chosen them. So really, it’s Steven’s ability to look at someone. He can watch someone read three or four lines of something and know that’s who he wants.
He’s wonderful. I really have such strong feelings for Steven, because he’s given me such wonderful opportunities. I think he’s like that with a lot of people. He loves the process of film making so much, whether it’s casting or cinematography or designing the set—all of it excites him. He’s like a playful kid and his enthusiasm washes over an actor. When he walks into a room to meet an actor who he’s loved on tape, he’s genuinely excited to meet them, because they’ve done such wonderful work. I think he tries to put the actors at ease, because it’s daunting to meet him for the first time. The minute he walks into a room, he has this way about him that’s very accessible and very genuine.
They don’t read in front of him. He has done that only on very few occasions. He doesn’t like to do that because he realizes that it makes actors nervous. So for the most part, if he’s seen somebody on tape, he just wants to talk to them.
I know that a lot of actors don’t like them. There’s certainly something to be said about meeting with a director and communicating with him about what he wants. That’s a wonderful and very exciting process. But there are a lot of directors who only work off tape these days and it’s something actors are going to have to get used to. It gives casting directors the ability to see more people and to choose the best version of a reading. That’s how I work. There were people who read a scene from Saving Private Ryan four times before I said, “Okay, this is the one I want to send over.” I think that is helpful. Things are very different in an audition room than they are on tape. That’s one thing I saw on High Incident. You’d see something on tape and think, “Oh, that doesn’t work even though it worked in the room.” Or you’d see something you didn’t see. Something that you might not have thought looked good in the room but actually looks great on tape. It’s a tool, like anything else.
I like it when people have questions about the material that they want to have answered. I think it’s important to have all the information that you can as an actor and I enjoy giving people that information. Part of my job is making the actor feel comfortable when they come in. I’m the hostess, basically, and I have to nurture actors. In return, I like them to come in with a good, positive attitude and not have a chip on their shoulders. Just do a good job and trust that if they do, I will recognize that. Plus, I can see beyond this one part that they’re presenting to me. It’s all about preparation and doing the best job that you can. Nobody who walks into my office can ultimately know what it is that I’m looking for. You just have to give it your best shot. That’s all that you can do as an actor.
I think people have really unfair expectations about what actors should bring to the table. I think they have to allow actors to be human beings and express their fear, express their doubt. The actors need to take responsibility for having their questions answered so there’s less doubt. It’s up to the casting director to make the actors feel comfortable enough to do that. It’s hard. Sometimes you’re working with producers and directors who don’t particularly like the casting process. It’s something they have to get through to get the movie made. Some don’t create an atmosphere in the room that allows the actor to do their best work. As the casting director, a lot of times you have to get beyond the fear in the room. You have to turn that negative energy around.
I really appreciate it when people are prepared, open, and receptive. I know it’s hard for the actor to deal with depression and rejection. I get that too, when I don’t get something that I’ve gone out on. It stays with me for days. It’s tough and you’re human and you have to know that something else is going to come along and it’s going to be the right thing. It’ll happen. I am the classic example of what can happen to you after many years of hard work. It just takes one person to recognize that you have talent and give you a shot and then everything changes. Of course, it’s also so much luck. It’s so many of those kinds of things; that’s why I never take for granted where I am. I know that I got to this place because of a series of lucky events. Now it’s my job to stay here by working hard and keeping up the faith people have in my work. It’s the very same for an actor. It can happen at any time. You just have to be ready for it when it does.
Denise Chamian
323.378.6093
606 N. Larchmont Blvd. Suite 202. Los Angeles, CA 90004