Casting - Please Remember to Look Like Your Headshot

I can't believe anyone even has to verbalizer this, but you do. As we get ready to cast a pair of upcoming web episodes we are reminded of the headshots that looked nothing like the actors attached to them. The balding, pushing-sixty actor with the twenty-year-old headshot that he submitted for the role of a man in his late thirties.  Or the tatted-up woman with the shaved head who submitted a long-haired headshot for a bubbly, frilly, conservative, girly-girl. I get that they are actors, but how can either one act their way into having hair, reversing their age, or removing an arm full of tattoos?
The truth is we love casting. It's always more a fun day than a fucked day. There is nothing more exciting than hearing talented men and women bring life to words and adding their own perspective on the characters drawn in your head. We give actors water, cookies and scenes to play with. They give us nuance, smiles and imaginary people brought to life.
There is no hard and fast rule to casting for us, but we do have lessons learned from miss-castings in the past. We don't cast real life significant others - that's a natural disaster waiting to happen and has. If an actor has white powder under their nose and talks a lot or smells like a vat of Jack Daniels, we usually pass. If an actor has more attitude than the combined attitude of the rest of the people in the room, that's a no-go. If an actor farts while entering the room loud enough to hear and just ignores it, we usually pass on that one too.
We look for chemistry, talent. flexibility and family. Our sets are playful, creative places that are like the  slightly dysfunctional family you grew up with and love, particularly at Christmas.
So we're off to post for the casting roles now. Wish us no balding trying-to-pass-as-thirty year-olds and some girlie-girls in skirts. You'll be able to watch who we went with soon at www.spentv.com.