"Your reflection should be the same as your projection." - David Patrick Green (founder of Hack Hollywood)
Branding vs. Typecasting
Think of branding with your business cap on.
Let's take the example of potato chips. If you hear the word "Lays" you know what to expect right away. But if you hear the word "Proper" you probably don't know what that is, unless you're from New Zealand.
It's the same with actors. What do you think of with the names Johnny Depp or Jim Carrey? Maybe cooky and offbeat characters? They are branded as character actors.
Let's not confuse this with being typecast. That's the idea that you are only a good actor playing a certain character.
Sandra Bullock was famously typecast as the rom-com queen until she was able to break out of the shell in The Blind Side.
It's important to understand what branding yourself can do for you as an actor because it has the potential to save your career, no matter the stage it's in.
Mae Ross of 3-2-1 Acting Studios explained that "for an actor to brand themselves, they are marketing themselves according to their physical appearance and personality, both of which dictate what types of characters they are likely to be offered to play."
How to Find Your Brand
There are multiple ways that someone could find their brand. The number one key to remember though is that you cannot tell yourself what your brand is!
I repeat, you are not the one to decide your brand!
Nonetheless, you need to know your brand because a casting director only has a minute with you, and that minute tells them everything they need to know.
So, put yourself in a casting director's chair and think about how they see you. It's most likely different from how you see you.
My favorite activity for finding and knowing your brand is old fashioned asking! That's right, ask around to learn how others see you.
Be sure that when you do, you ask those in different stages of life, i.e. teenagers, young adults, older adults, full time jobers, stay at homers, etc. When you hear their answers, you better believe them.
"If you're in denial about your type, you won't book the job - it's that simple." - Anthony Meindl (LA-based acting coach)
I polled friends, family, and strangers this week and learned some pretty interesting things.
Out of over 20 people I had fill out a form for me, the top type they see me as is "best friend." I guess that makes me a very friendly person, huh?
(During my workshop with Tom Todoroff, he told me I looked like the girl next door.)
The little form I handed out included a space for my age, any celebrity they might compare me to, my ethnicity, and 21 different types they could choose from.
If you decide to do this, feel free to create your own types and spaces as you see fit.
I based mine on forms from an agency showcase I did in high school. Funny enough, I received a lot of "best friend" back then too!
Doing this little activity was a great lesson for me because I gained valuable insight as to how people view me. A lot more people than I expected said I was exotic.
By the way, I did this mostly anonymously so I don't know who said what.
I also learned that my supposed age range is somewhere between 16-25, with the average being 20. I am more often than not cast as the high schooler though so the age wasn't a big surprise.
The Importance of Branding
If you don't brand yourself first, someone else will.
Have you ever met with an agent and been asked the question, "How do you see yourself?" This is the agent's way of understanding your brand and making sure it matches with what they see in you.
With me, I am typically always smiling and my skinny figure makes me seem smaller too, so it could be harder for agents or casting directors to see me as the villain, no matter how much I want to play the evil queen.
Storytime: The opposite could be said for Morgan Fairchild, who pleaded with the producer of The Initiation of Sarah to allow her to read for the good girl. She was cast as the villain and was told that a "pretty girl is a dime a dozen," but it's difficult to encounter a good bad girl. He told her that she has power and should "own it."
Once you identify your brand, be careful that it covers all of your public faces (aka social media). In the growing technological period we're in, many casting directors will look you up on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. They want to know you are the same in front of them as on the internet.
If you follow me on social media, you will see that I have my headshot as my profile picture on all my social media accounts so it's easy for people to identify who I am.
(If you don't follow me yet, go ahead and do so now. I'll wait...)
Branding is similar to the sayings "fake it 'till you make it" and "dress for the job you want." If you want to be a working actor, act like you are and eventually it will catch up to you.
Knowing your brand and selling your acting and even physical strengths can play a big part in the future roles you get and how you are spoken of among casting.
If you didn't catch my last post about casting directors and what they want to see in an actor, click here.
What is your brand??