I was just contacted by some random actor on DM asking if I have any projects coming up. I told him that I had a few. He then asked me for a role in one of these projects.
I am not a filmmaker. I am an actor. Even if there were roles to be filled, I have nothing to do with casting. I can’t just put someone into a project that I am in. It doesn’t work that way. Even if I had the ability to cast a role, it would come in the way of a casting call. I wouldn’t just give a random stranger, that I have never met, with no headshots and no reel, a role.
Yes, roles are given all the time to people who know people, but those relationships take time to build. The lead role I have in a short film coming up was given to me, but it’s a relationship with someone that has developed over 6 months. The filmmaker is aware of my ability and offered it to me based on that.
The guy who contacted me ended up blocking me because he wasn’t happy with my response, which was,
“Sorry, but in order to get roles in projects, you have to find casting calls, submit to them to try and get an audition. And then audition to try and get the role.”
His loss. He had the opportunity to network with someone who is willing to teach him how to break into acting, but instead he got upset.
Simon Shih 