Discovering Lost Actors, at both ends of the age range.

Actors, they All need a break

An actor is nothing without a part to play. Whilst it can be shouted 'there is no excuse', because with a camera in your phone and the internet as your outlet everyone can create.... they don't. OK, to craft a film may take study, but that is there to be learnt too.

I am often noted as saying I find a complete difference between US and UK actors. UK actors claim to have trained then do little more in the way of daily routine. US actors do classes and train non stop, like sports people they work the job. Australians are a fantastically different mix.
When on a huge US series recently I asked the US exec why there were so many Australians playing leads in action and driven US series. The answer was, that they are fit the part well in manner and body shape. UK males tend to be metro, US male actors are image protective, Australian actors can be built like farmers and have a 'don't care get in there approach'. You believe them in rugged roles.

It is interesting, but as young actors look for a break, and discover themselves, at the other end of the age scale, there are so many older actors also looking to re-invent themselves. Actresses who left to have children, actors who left to do more regular jobs so they could support a family. They, when released from the ties that took them away from the art form they would have loved to follow, are available to come back. Whether through local theatre, festivals, or internet publicity like CastingCall Pro, they can come back.

As a director the choice is huge, but, you often go with those you know. Great directors like James Cameron (whom I worked with) uses the same actors, so does Clint Eastwood etc... and Spielberg too. I had two actors, lost to the industry, that I deliberately revived when I stepped in to direct some episodes of Shades Of Bad. They now have active show reels again.

The first was Oliver Degnan who I used, well maybe 30 years ago! He was a child actor in the film The Usual Children, re-issued so many times, first as Millennium Madness then as Mystical Christmas. It was the first lead role for actress Laura Aikman, who 30 years on is still playing leads.
In Usual Children, Oliver played an off the wall off kid. In Shades Of Bad I needed youth who was unpredictable, a gamer and computer boff who could help Doris understand the potential in the future given technology. Who had an edge of violence.

The second actor was Nick Simons who I have seen on stage so many times, working with the above mention kids so many times. But after a financial London career, he is now available to the art again. He stepped into working with a camera like he had been doing it for years. And he had never worked with a camera, or to a camera before. He listened and was a dream.

The result, my favourite episode of Shades Of Bad of all time is The Sinister Jeweller, episode 59. Shot in a few hours at Nick's house it intercuts with exteriors shot in Barcelona (episodes before and after), and Oliver back at Doris's house planning to kill her best friend Wilma.

Take a look. These guys should have agents, maybe I will make that my next mission....
..... SSP