Most actors who read this column are familiar with breakdowns, but for those of you who aren’t, here’s a quick primer on one of the most essential parts of the casting process.
Once upon a time, prehistoric agents wearing loincloths (designed by Armani) would drive from casting office to casting office, pitching their clients in person. That changed in the ’70s, when a young man named Gary Marsh started a company called Breakdown Services. His business plan was to create listings of every single project that was actively looking for actors. Casting directors would send him the details, Gary’s minions would create a “breakdown” of every character, and that information would be released to every agent in town.
When I started, breakdowns were physical sheets of paper that were delivered to our office by 9 a.m. We used to spend the entire morning working on them, our assistants would then stuff envelopes with pictures, and a messenger would deliver those submissions to the casting directors.
Now, breakdowns are posted on a website and we make electronic submissions. This saves actors a fortune on pictures and it saves us a bigger fortune on messenger fees. Best of all, casting directors get our
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