In this episode, Georgie and Pierce chat with Tree Petts, an award-winning casting director, founder of the Casting Directors Association, and owner of her own casting company Tree Petts Casting. She has worked with some of the world’s foremost directors, including Michael Gracey, of The Greatest Showman, over ten times. Tree specialises in casting Films, Commercials, Photographic, Branded Content, and is known for her knowledge, enthusiasm and abundant energy. As an specialist in casting and over 20 years of experience in all areas of the industry, Tree is an expert on what you can expect as you pursue your acting career,
She talks to Georgie and Pierce about her early career in acting, how to stand out on a Casting List, how commercials differ from dramatic roles, how to make contact and get yourself noticed, and answers many questions on the busy world of Casting.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
BEST MOMENTS
‘For about 15 years I was an actor. I find it really helps with casting because I know where actors are coming from, I know the nerves.’ – Tree
‘You need to have a picture of your head that doesn’t have too much body. You need just your head. If I’m scanning those lines, your face is not popping out on anything because it's so small. Make sure that they’re cropped well.’ - Tree
‘If you’re doing self takes and you’re not landing a role, never ever think that it’s a reflection on your acting ability because the way choices can be made for commercials is very arbitrary.’ – Tree
‘I think it’s really comforting for actors to know that it’s not as black and white as ‘you’re right for the role, you’re not right for the role.’’ – Pierce
‘I would say, on Mandy, if you’re not too worried about it I would put a mobile number because they do check the breakdowns to make sure dodgy people aren’t getting on to Mandy. But Spotlight I will go through agents.’ - Tree
‘That’s the thing about commercial casting. This is not the major feature film that’s going to change your life. It might be a nice bit of money but you just have to enjoy them, I think. Enjoy doing self tapes, enjoy what you bring to the role. Send it in and then get on with your life.’ – Tree
‘I do think now that everything is so diverse. I see a lot of non-binary people and we Casting Directors are very on top of the changes in language, what you can ask for and what you can’t ask for.’ – Tree
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com