Talent (Actors)

This section will cover the different stages of hiring, auditioning and managing your talent.  The content will go beyond what you will need to manage yourself (e.g. riders), but will give you a better grounding of the realities of productions.

Classifications

The actors or hosts in your production are called talent.  There are different categories and depending on the type of production/country, they may have different names. The categories below are the best fit for the most common classifications. A general term for any actor that is not in a leading or supporting role is supporting artist.

• Leading actor/regular actor

  • These are the main characters in the film/TV show

  • They earn the top wage and are featured in promotions/posters, etc

  • These are the actors that are secured first and can often carry a film if well-known

• Supporting actor

  • These actors fill the place between the leading actor and bit-part actor

  • They typically feature in a number of scenes/episodes but may not be regular

  • They still play an intricate part of the story

• Supporting Artists (SAs)

  • These are the parts listed below (e.g. background extra) and generally cover non-speaking roles

  • They are often critical to making a scene believable and authentic. Such as people drinking in a pub, or passers-by in a street or soldiers in a battle scene.

• Bit-Part player/bit player

  • Just a small acting role. This could typically be a single line.  

  • They are sometimes called an 'under 5' referring to the number of lines

  • These are actors often work around other jobs and may be aspiring actors that have not yet broken into supporting or leading roles

• Day Player

  • A television actor with no long term contract

  • This is usually limited to a single episode for TV, or may only be needed for one scene/day's filming

• Featured Extra

  • A background extra that is clearly seen on screen but still has no speaking role

• Cameo

  • Typically an uncredited role by a well-known celebrity.  This also includes a cameo from the director (such as Alfred Hitchcock)

• Background Extra/Walkon Part

  • Non-speaking role in the background

  • Typically just a face in a crowd (if more featured prominence, it would be classed as a featured extra)

Casting

Managing The Cast

Cast management is usually down to one of the assistant directors although this does depend on the production size. The crew positions page gives more details on who manages what, although a brief summary is below:

• 1st AD manages the principal (main) cast although they are also responsible for managing the entire set, including crew and extras through cues

• 2nd AD hires extras through casting agencies. They ensure both the principal cast and Supporting Artistes are in the right place at the right time

• 3rd AD manages the Supporting Artistes, although in large productions, there can be an Assistant Director (crowd) for particularly large crowd scenes