I am an actor. I also write when inspiration strikes and have started producing my own content (like all the other actors you know). Recently, I needed to hold a casting call for one of my projects and being on the other side of the table was eye-opening, to say the least. I released my casting call for two men to play a couple. One was foreign with a distinct accent, the other was a non-white American. The character breakdowns were extremely specific. For one role, I specified he must be able to convincingly do an accent from another country (not British or American) and could preferably speak that language. This short was an ultra low-budget passion project, and while it was deferred payment, I was able to offer a small day rate to my actors. Very small. Still, the submissions started flying in. For these two roles, I amassed over 250 submissions. Surprisingly, about a third of them came from agents and managers, some whom I’d previously met in showcases and classes. I was surprised that my project was attracting such interest. There was one manager who even tracked down my email address and directly asked that I consider his client. One found me on Facebook messenger and asked there. I was taken aback by the commitment
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