After graduating from Yale, Darlene Kaplan went to New York City to work for the WPA Theatre as literary advisor and casting director. During her tenure there, the theatre produced over a dozen original works that moved on to great acclaim, both in the theatre and film, including Nuts, Key Exchange, Little Shop of Horrors and Steel Magnolias.
Kaplan moved to Los Angeles over a decade ago, and went to work as a staff casting director at Universal on such series as Coach and Columbo.
As an independent casting director, her work on series includes The Bonnie Hunt Show and Ray Bradbury Theatre; her pilots include Law and Order, The Antagonists and Nineteen. She has also cast such MOWs as Gold Rush, We the Jury, Adrift, Vestige of Honor and Love Can Be Murder.
For young actors, absolutely yes. Go and get your chops. You can freelance with agents, as there’s a smaller pool of actors and fewer casting directors, so you’ll be able to get to know everyone more quickly. Plus, there are wonderful, small companies where you can work. You can still walk down the street and bump into a friend who might say, “I’m doing a reading next week, would you be interested in doing one of the parts?” It’s a great place to get experience and build confidence. Some of my friends are working there constantly and they feel no need to move to Los Angeles.
There’s also the theory that any move you make brings action. That’s why people change agents. Every time you do something different, it wakes people up.
Having said that, I also believe that at a certain point in your career, you will have to move to Los Angeles. When I first came here, there was not a single pilot that didn’t also cast in New York. Now it has changed. Fewer and fewer Los Angeles-based productions are casting in New York.
Most of the actors I see are submitted through agents. But there are a few who submit themselves. One actor recently wrote to me saying he felt he was perfect for a series I was working on. I brought him in and he got a callback.
In general, I pre-read a lot of people for each role. I see the pre-read process as a way to help the right actors get ready for the producers. I feel strongly that my job is to bring in only those actors who are viable candidates for the role. Producers are busy and don’t have a lot of time to see everybody.
Yes, I do. When you’re in a play, let me know about it. Even if I can’t come, it’s important that I know you’re doing theatre. You never know what I may be working on.
Recently, on a pilot, I was having a lot of trouble casting one of the roles—we had seen everyone. Out of the blue, an actor sent me a postcard to let me know he was appearing on a television show. I realized we had forgotten him. I brought him in and he got the job! Postcards are the best way to communicate with us.
I’ve seen so many actors second guess what people want. The truth is, people are going to hire you for what you, specifically, bring to the role. You have to know who you are so you can infuse yourself into the character. It’s all about how you would be in certain situations. If you don’t bring to the reading who you are and instead bring something different, then we don’t see either the role or who you really are.
English actors begin from the outside and build inwards. American actors build from the inside out. If you can mesh the two, you can be brilliant. To me, the actor has to get as many different kinds of training as possible. Then, he has to come up with his own method. You can’t follow rules. You have to go with your instincts.
And when you’re looking for a teacher, don’t feel that just because one teacher is great for a friend of yours, that they will be perfect for you. If you don’t have trust and a connection with a teacher, if their language is not working for you, there may be another teacher who can reach you. Find the person you connect with.
It’s your fifteen minutes, and whatever works for you is fine with me. If you want to ask questions or talk first - that’s fine. If you just want to go to work immediately, I respect that too. For a lot of people, they come in prepared and are ready to do the role. They don’t want to be diffused. Others want to chat first. This has its disadvantages. I’ve seen a lot of actors talk themselves out of the audition. They spend so much time talking that by the time they get around to the reading part, the energy is diffused. Just the other day, an actor came in and charmed everyone in the room, but by the time he got to the reading, it went downhill. The minute the reading didn’t click the way the meeting did, I watched his face drain and the energy of the room dropped.
The only thing that bothers me is when people come in with an attitude of, “I don’t really want to be here.” Maybe they’re having a bad day. When that happens, I don’t mind if agents call and re-schedule. But if you decide to come in anyway, you have to leave your rotten day out in the waiting room. Just like I’m not going to sit down and tell you about my difficult day. More and more, producers tell me, “Nobody’s worth the baggage.” This is especially true for television. On film there’s more time and money. But with a series-regular role, for example, you may have to spend seven years with that actor. So you want them to be pleasant and passionate about wanting to do the work.
You need to have a strong presence. You can be the most brilliant actor in the world but may never be able to carry a single-lead in a television series. A lot of our biggest television stars are also personalities. But, if you have talent and not the presence, it doesn’t mean you can’t be a lead in an ensemble piece. Thank God for shows like ER and NYPD Blue.
Some people just walk into the room and have an aura about them that people like. It’s not about looks; it’s not something you can learn. But I am not saying you have to be born with it. Often, actors gain this weight and presence as they begin to mature. On the other hand, some actors are charismatic when they’re young, but as they mature, they lose it. Others, like Gene Hackman, start as young character people who mature into leading men. So you can’t think and plan, “I will do such and such in my twenties, and this other thing in my forties.” What you have to do instead is to study your craft and your life continuously, so you grow in confidence, not only as an actor, but as a human being.
Darlene Kaplan Entertainment
818.981.5114
4450 Balboa Ave. Encino, CA 91316