Backstage Magazine Digital Edition: January 14, 2021 by Backstage

01.14.21

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Y O U R

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

S A G

A W A R D S®

C O N S I D E R AT I O N

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY AN ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES

MAHERSHALA ALI RAMY YOUSSEF

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

HIAM ABBASS MAY CALAMAWY

THE PERFORMANCES PHENOMENAL.”

“

FROM THE ENSEMBLE REMAIN UNIVERSALLY

AN UNLIKELY DUO, FUNNY SUBTLETY UNDENIABLE WARMTH.” “

PLAYING OFF EACH OTHER WITH BRUTALLY AND

GOLDEN GLOBE ® WINNER

EMMY® NOMINEES

RAMY YOUSSEF

BEST ACTOR

LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

MAHERSHALA ALI

TELEVISION SERIES MUSICAL OR COMEDY

SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

PEABODY WINNER

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Y O U R

S A G

A W A R D S®

C O N S I D E R A T I O N

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A N ENSEMBLE IN A COMEDY SERIES OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

ELLE FANNING

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

NICHOLAS HOULT

r a l l e t “S . ” s e c n a m r o f r pe

01.14.21

Michelle Pfeiffer reveals the secret to her Hollywood staying power

Jason Sudeikis scores big with “Ted Lasso”

Riz Ahmed

points the way to success: “Trust yourself, breathe, and surrender”

4 Pages OF CASTING NOTICES

BACKSTAGE .COM

Shaka King mines the true story behind “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Your SAG Awards voting guide to supporting film + TV comedy performances

F O R

Y O U R

S A G

C O N S I D E R AT I O N

A W A R D S

C O N S I D E R A T I O N

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE

YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II SACHA BARON COHEN JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT MICHAEL KEATON FRANK LANGELLA

JOHN CARROLL LYNCH EDDIE REDMAYNE MARK RYLANCE ALEX SHARP JEREMY STRONG

A STAGGERINGLY

“

EXCELLENT ” ENSEMBLE. FILM.NETFLIXAWARDS.COM

Contents The Green Room 8 TV studios halt production in L.A. amid rising COVID-19 cases 10 This week’s roundup of who’s casting what starring whom 12 Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt on building the ensemble of “Ted Lasso”

Advice 16 NOTE FROM THE CD Make the most of lockdown 18 #IGOTCAST Ziga Poromon 18 SECRET AGENT MAN What can I commission?

Features 6 BACKSTAGE 5 WITH... Riz Ahmed

vol.62, no. 2 | 01.14.21

Cover Story

Defying Expectations Michelle Pfeiffer went from Orange County beauty queen to three-time Oscar nominee by breaking the “bombshell” mold Hollywood had waiting for her. “I said to myself: I don’t want that career. I don’t want that life” page 22

14 MEET THE MAKER Shaka King, “Judas and the Black Messiah” co-writer and director 16 THE ESSENTIALISTS Jamie Walker McCall, production designer 20 IN THE ROOM WITH Julia Kim 28 SIDE SPLITTERS Our favorite SAG Award–eligible TV comedy performances 32 SPOTLIGHT STEALERS The SAG Award–worthy supporting film performances of 2020 40 ASK AN EXPERT Nancy Carson on getting experience as a child actor

Casting 36 New York Tristate 37 California 38 National/Regional Michelle Pfeiffer photographed by Andrew Macpherson. Cover designed by Ian Robinson.

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01.14.21 BACKSTAGE

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BACKSTAGE, VOL. 62, NO. 2 (ISSN#53635 USPS#39740) IS A WEEKLY PUBLICATION, WITH OCCASIONAL DOUBLE ISSUES IN MARCH, MAY, SEPTEMBER, FEBRUARY, JUNE, AUGUST AND DECEMBER AND ONE ISSUE PUBLISHED IN APRIL AND JULY (except the fourth week of December) by Backstage LLC, 45 Main St., Brooklyn, NY 11201, $3.99 per copy, $99 per year. Periodicals postage paid at Brooklyn, NY 11256 and additional mailing offices. Printed in USA. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Backstage, 45 Main St., Ste. 416, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Publication Mail Agreement No. 40031729. ©2017 Backstage LLC. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Backstage LLC: Joshua Ellstein, Chief Executive Officer.

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F O R Y O U R C O N S I D E R AT I O N

Backstage 5 With...

Riz Ahmed By Benjamin Lindsay

Since his star-making, Emmy-winning performance on HBO’s “The Night Of,” there’s been little doubt of Riz Ahmed’s staggering talent. (That he’s also an accomplished MC as part of Swet Shop Boys and a dedicated activist is all the more impressive.) “Sound of Metal” may be his best work yet. He stars as Ruben, a recovering addict and heavy metal drummer who loses his hearing, a role that sees him mining new emotional depths.

What’s your No. 1 piece of audition advice? Tell yourself you’ve already got the job; [don’t go] in there trying to please someone or with that thing on your shoulder monitoring your performance. You’re in there; you’ve got a job. Now let’s play; let’s be loose. Do you have an audition horror story you could share with us? I auditioned for “Slumdog Millionaire” and accidentally ripped Danny Boyle’s shirt open. He [said to] me, “Don’t be worried about being rough with me” [while auditioning to play Dev Patel’s character’s older brother]. I just got carried away, threw him up against the wall, [and] ripped all the buttons off his nice, expensive shirt. We just kind of awkwardly stood there staring at each other. He was like, “OK, thank you for coming in.”

What’s one screen performance every actor should see and why? There are really so many I could mention. One actor we all lost this year is Irrfan Khan. I think of Irrfan Khan in “The Lunchbox.” He has this quote that I hold onto, which is tips for acting but also tips for living. He says, “You have to surrender to the dance of uncertainty.” That’s everything. Surrender, don’t control the dance, find the movement, the push and pull in it—let it find you.

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What’s one piece of advice that you would give your younger self? Trust yourself, breathe, and surrender. When you open yourself up like that and you breathe, you find it’s all there, all right there, if you can just ride the wave as opposed to try and make the wave.

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How did your role in “Sound of Metal” make you a better actor? I guess the challenges were also part of the appeals of this project for me. I just wanted to try to find something that would be really immersive and overwhelming, as the best indie filmmaking is. It’s often a high-wire act that is really invigorating because of that. And so when I met [co-writer– director] Darius Marder, he told me that he wanted it all to be for real. He wanted the drumming to be real drumming; whenever I’m onscreen playing the drums, I really would be. And he also said there was sign language to learn, because this character becomes fluent at some point, and I loved his style of thinking. It ended up being really enriching and opening me up in new ways as an actor and as a person. I think a big challenge of both of [those elements] for me was that I’m a very wordy guy—in the sense that I play with spoken word and rap, and I’m a verbal communicator—and both drumming and sign language are nonverbal communication. Having my kind of wordy crutches taken away from me took me out of my comfort zone [and] put me off-balance, but also opened me up in a set of new ways—put me out of my head.

“★★★★★. THE MOST VITAL FILM YOU WILL SEE THIS YEAR.” “THE ENSEMBLE IS OUTSTANDING.” “SPIKE LEE GETS EXCELLENT PERFORMANCES OUT OF HIS CAST.” “DELROY LINDO IS OUTSTANDING.” FINANCIAL TIMES

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Industry

TV Studios Halt Production in Los Angeles In response to surging coronavirus numbers across California, Netflix, Disney, and others have shut down through mid- and late January By Diep Tran

Chandra Wilson on “Grey’s Anatomy”

A NUMBER OF TELEVISION studios with shows filming in Los Angeles have announced an extension of their holiday production hiatus to mid- and late January due to the COVID19 pandemic; among them are Netflix, CBS, NBC, and ABC. The decision was in response to a letter from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which encouraged industry leaders to pause production while L.A. remains the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in California. “Although music, TV, and film productions are allowed to operate, we ask you to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases. Identify and delay higher-risk activities, and focus on

lower-risk work for now, if at all possible,” said the LACDPH in its letter to studio heads. Television productions typically resume after the holidays in early January. But CBS Studios was the first to announce an extended hiatus, saying that its shows will resume staggered production throughout the month. Then Warner Bros. Television, Lionsgate Television, Sony Pictures Television, Universal Television, as well as the Disney-owned Disney Television Studios, 20th Television, and ABC Signature announced that they would also delay the production restarts for their L.A.-based shows until later in January. This will affect more than two dozen shows, including

“Grey’s Anatomy,” “This Is Us,” “American Horror Story,” and “Never Have I Ever.” “Southern California hospitals are facing a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before. Patients are dying in ambulances waiting for treatment because hospital emergency rooms are overwhelmed. This is not a safe environment for in-person production right now,” said SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris in a statement. SAG-AFTRA is encouraging its members based in Southern California to stay home and refrain from accepting on-set work for the next several weeks. If a member is asked to work in January, they are encouraged to contact the union. Hollywood studios have spent

millions of dollars to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on set, with regular testing and safety protocols in place. But the reasoning behind the decision is not just due to the coronavirus itself: With Southern California at 0% ICU capacity, any workplace injury could prove deadly. “Even putting aside the risk of acquiring COVID on set—a risk that we have done a great deal to mitigate through our safety protocols—on-set production always poses some risk of injury, whether because of a stunt gone wrong, an equipment failure, or a garden-variety fall. Right now, with few, if any, hospital beds available, it is hard to understand how a worker injured on set is supposed to seek treatment,” said SAG-AFTRA national executive director David White in a statement. At the time of printing, California has the second-highest COVID-19 infection rates in the country, with the 14-day test positivity rate at 12.7%, and 2.4 million cases since the start of the pandemic. The state is currently under a stay-at-home order, with most nonessential businesses closed. In L.A., the coronavirus positivity rate is currently at 17.8%. The county had around 400,000 infections in November; it’s now at more than 800,000 cases and is expected to climb. To date, more than 11,000 people have died from COVID-19 in L.A. County. ABC

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“Christina Applegate continues to do the best work of her career.”

FOR YOUR SAG AWARDS ® CONSIDERATION

“Linda Cardinelli turns in an impressive performance.” FYC.NETFLIX.COM

Kenzari and Thompson to the project, but additional actors have yet to be announced. Nicole Dorsey will direct the film, which is written by Imran Zaidi and is set to start filming in Montreal this spring.

What’s Casting

Christmas Comes Early to HBO Max A 2021 holiday film is already casting By Rebecca Welch

STAY IN THE LOOP ON INDUStry and casting news with our write-up on who’s been slated for recent film and television roles! Please note that shoot dates are subject to state and county restrictions and may change. Refer to Call Sheet for updates, and keep checking Backstage for the latest news on project development during this time.

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FILM

Noma Dumezweni Goes Under the Sea By Casey Mink

For the latest news, check out backstage.com/resources to find thousands of production listings, casting directors, acting classes, agents, and more!

FOLLOWING HER FAN-FAVORITE work on HBO’s “The Undoing,” Noma Dumezweni is moving from elite Manhattan to the deep blue sea. The Tony Award nominee has signed on to Disney’s upcoming live-action adaptation of its classic movie-musical “The Little Mermaid” in a brand-new role created for this rendition. She joins a cast led by Halle Bailey as Ariel, Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, and Javier Bardem as King Triton. Rob Marshall is directing the project, which will feature new music from Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

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MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON

“8 Bit Christmas” The holiday season may have just ended, but HBO Max is getting an early start on the next one. While kids and adults alike hoped to find the newest XBox or PlayStation under their trees this past Christmas

morning, the streamer is looking back to an earlier model. In the film, based on Kevin Jakubowski’s novel of the same name, the coveted console in question is the original Nintendo Entertainment System, which becomes the obsession of a 10-year-old boy in 1980s Chicago. He sets out on a “Super Mario Bros.”–style journey to obtain the system after the adults in his neighborhood blame the NES for a recent tragedy. Rich Delia Casting has been chosen to add actors to the Michael Dowse–directed production, which will star Jacob Laval of “John Mulaney & the Sack Lunch Bunch.” Cameras are set to start rolling in February in Toronto.

“Balestra” Marwan Kenzari (“Aladdin”) will clash with Tessa Thompson in the psychological drama “Balestra.” Thompson will play a disgraced Olympic fencer dead-set on making a return to competition. The athlete turns to experimental technology in a desperate attempt to make a comeback, using lucid dreaming as an unconventional way to extend her training hours. But she soon finds herself wavering between worlds while grappling with questions about a stranger that appears in her subconscious. Atomic Honey Casting has already attached

“Outer Range” Aliens, ghosts, or ancient civilizations may be on the verge of discovery in Amazon’s upcoming series. The streaming network has given the go-ahead to “Outer Range,” starring Josh Brolin and Isabel Arraiza. In a small town in rural Wyoming, a rancher at risk of losing his family and livelihood discovers the unimaginable at the edge of the wilderness. Suspicion in the town grows as the man tries to make sense of the unfathomable mystery he’s unearthed on his land. Aibel/Holbrook Casting has already assembled an impressive ensemble: Joining Brolin and Arraiza as series regulars are Tom Pelphrey, Imogen Poots, Lewis Pullman, Tamara Podemski, Shaun Sipos, Noah Reid, and Lili Taylor. The thriller is looking toward a late January start, with the first season wrapping filming in late June. New Mexico and Las Vegas will serve as backdrops for the series.

“ONE OF THE YEAR’S TEN BEST. McDormand adds another indelible character to her gallery of tenacious women, refusing to be a casualty of economic hardship as she discovers both the struggle and the rewards of transient living.” David Rooney,

For Your Screen Actors Guild Awards ® Consideration

Cast in a Motion Picture

Frances McDormand • David Strathairn Swankie • Linda May Male Actor in a Supporting Role

David Strathairn • Bob Wells

Female Actor in a Leading Role

Frances McDormand

’

A FILM BY CHLOE ZHAO

Female Actor in a Supporting Role

Swankie • Linda May

NomadlandFYC.com

always lose to the worst idea with full support.”

Brendan Hunt and Jason Sudeikis on “Ted Lasso” The Slate

No Turkeys Allowed

Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt on how “Ted Lasso” built one of the year’s best ensembles By Gillian Russo

The following interview for Backstage’s on-camera series The Slate was compiled in part by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming interviews and to submit your questions.

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writers, and the all-or-nothing motto behind the scenes of “Ted Lasso”: No turkeys. Sudeikis and Hunt have messages they hope audiences take from the show. BRENDAN HUNT: “Don’t judge a book by its cover. The conclusion you first draw about someone is often informed merely by what you’re bringing to it, and it will lead you to underestimating the full depth of the people you have so judged.” JASON SUDEIKIS: “It’s also: Don’t allow yourself to be in those boxes. So, sometimes,

TELEVISION

The TV Academy Injects Exciting New Blood By Casey Mink

Want to hear more from Sudeikis and Hunt? Watch our full interview at backstage.com/magazine, and follow us on Instagram: @backstagecast.

THE TELEVISION ACADEMY, WHICH most notably presents the Emmy Awards each year, has announced six new members of its governing body. Among them are “Insecure” creator and star Issa Rae, and “One Day at a Time” co-showrunner Gloria Calderón Kellett. The group, which also includes four executives from Apple TV+, Amazon Studios, ABC, and Anonymous Content, will help steer the direction of the Academy throughout 2021. “We are thrilled to be able to leverage the collective expertise of this talented group of television innovators as we navigate this extraordinary time in the history of our industry,” said Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma in a statement.

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COURTESY APPLE TV+

IF YOU’VE BEEN AS HOOKED on Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” as we have, you’re in luck. The sports sitcom, born from a series of NBC Sports commercials about a hapless American football–turned-soccer coach, was recently renewed for a third season, and Season 2 begins filming this month. In a recent Zoom webinar with Backstage, writers, producers, and stars Jason Sudeikis (who plays Ted Lasso) and Brendan Hunt (who plays Coach Beard) talked about how they developed their characters from a short-form arc into a full narrative series, their advice for comedy actors and

a great coach, a great mentor, [or] a great partner is someone who sees more in you than you’re allowing yourself to see in yourself. Sometimes your baggage—emotional, political, what have you—gets in the way of your intuition, and sometimes it takes an outsider, whether it be a therapist, a coach, a bartender, [or] an Uber driver to get you out of your head or shift your perspective a little bit. A thing we say in the writers’ room all the time—and this is an improv mantra—is the best idea with no support will

Good comedy acting (and auditioning) requires subtlety and enthusiasm in equal measure. JS: “I like watching auditions with the sound off. Once you hear what they sound like, when it comes down to choices… Because I have a theory, personally, and it stems from a lot of plane travel: Watching movies on the seat in front of you, where you’re listening to music and you’re watching people, you don’t really want anybody to be able to tell that they’re watching a comedy with the sound off. You’re looking for people that have it in the eyes, that keep a little something back, that it’s not all presentational; and that’s a big part of it. And also, looking for an essence, not a type.” BH: “[What] you can’t really get a sense of until you’re in callbacks is who’s a good hang. I don’t know if this was luck or what, but once we got there and we’d all been working together for a while [on ‘Ted Lasso’]—we were sitting in our office one day, and we just had the observation: There [are] no turkeys. Everyone’s game; everyone’s up for it; everyone’s fun to talk to and work with.”

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BEST ACTRESS

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K AT E W I N S L E T

S AO I R S E RO NA N

“Kate Winslet gives the performance of her career.” T h e H o l l y w o o d Re p o r t e r

“Saoirse Ronan continues to astonish.” A BC N e w s

“A chamber duet by two virtuosos.” The Wrap

★★★★★

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Meet the Maker

Shaka King, “Judas and the Black Messiah” co-writer and director By Benjamin Lindsay

Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya in “Judas and the Black Messiah”

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consultant, and he often corrected us on information that I’d read in some kind of academic text,” King remembers. “He’d say, ‘No, that’s not how it went down,’ and then he’d pull his phone out, and he’d have me on the phone with the person who actually experienced it or the person who was adjacent to it so they could correct the record.” There’s a reason such historical blind spots exist: According to historian Curtis Austin, 73% of all newspaper articles covering the Black Panthers at the time were written either by the FBI or by people the

“We had bad information, and Fred Hampton Jr. knew that this can’t fly; this is not how it went down.”

FBI recruited. Those biased accounts then infiltrated the academic essays and research materials King and his three leads—Daniel Kaluuya (who plays Hampton), Lakeith Stanfield (who plays FBI informant William O’Neal), and Dominique Fishback (who plays Hampton’s bereaved partner, Deborah Johnson)—dove into during their prep work. And the cycle continued. Specifically, the filmmaker cites the climactic shootout between Jake Winters (Algee Smith) and the police, and how some meaningful facts got misconstrued in his conception of the scene with co-writer Will Berson. “We had bad information,” King admits, “and Fred knew that this can’t fly; this is not how it went down. So we had to

dramatize and create characters and create a narrative that corrected it—that was closer to the historical record.” To have the opportunity to correct the commonly understood facts in a studio feature like “Judas and the Black Messiah” is, simply put, “an honor.” “I feel really fortunate to be selected by the universe to get to do that,” King says. “And I just hope I’ve done a good job with that responsibility.” Today, reflecting on his own journey, King says that this was the first time since his feature film debut in 2013 with “Newlyweeds” that he felt empowered to make another movie. Even picking up the 2014 Independent Spirit Award for director to watch was “prior to ‘Moonlight’ and what my friend calls the ‘Black excellence industrial complex,’ ” so he turned instead to more diverse small-screen platforms like HBO and Hulu. “It was really a desire to tell this specific story that brought me back to the movie industry,” he reflects. It speaks to King’s reticence to give “too much power to institutions or the opinions of others” as a creator. (The institutions responsible for our frequently false impressions of the Black Panther Party are just the tip of the iceberg.) That, too, is the advice he’d give to creators who are getting their start. “For me, as an artist, I constantly have to remain in this place of discovery,” he says. “What are my interests? What am I excited about? What intrigues me? And I allow that to be the sole motivating force in the things I make, as opposed to pleasing a critic or Black intelligentsia or the Academy, or seeking validation from outside forces. It’s a dangerous place to be as an artist, and especially as a Black artist. Don’t do it.”

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GLEN WILSON

THE GOAL OF MAKING ANY movie based on real events is to uncover important and sometimes little-told truths for audiences. In the case of “Judas and the Black Messiah,” there were two such revelations. Based on his discussions with Fred Hampton Jr. (the real-life son of the film’s central figure, late Illinois Black Panther Party chairman Fred Hampton) and firsthand accounts from the chapters of 1960s Chicago, director and co-writer Shaka King found himself course-correcting his tellings of moments that have allegedly been falsely reported for the last 50 years. In doing so, he has taken steps to amend our culturally embedded understanding of the Black Panther Party at large. “Fred Hampton Jr. showed up on set to essentially be a

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Make the Most of Lockdown

THE ESSENTIALISTS

JAMIE WALKER McCALL production designer

By Marci Liroff

AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE’VE been living through unprecedented times these last 10 months as the world continues to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and skyrocketing case numbers in Los Angeles and beyond. The vaccine is finally (slowly) being rolled out, but we’re not out of the woods yet. I’m sure I’m not alone when I say I’ve had a lot of time on my hands while in lockdown. But I’ve been truly inspired to see how actors have been using this moment to learn new skills and brush up on some old ones. When film and TV production stopped in mid-March, for instance, I took on several new clients who had never acted before who wanted to “dip their toe in” to see if it was for them. I’ve never coached people who had literally no experience, and no one was more surprised than

They pulled from Broadway’s shiniest elements. “We call it ‘our 44th Street.’ We combined a bunch of different theaters, and we kind of took the best of each street and threw it all

into ours, because Ryan really wanted all these lights and movement…. [For Sardi’s,] I tried to keep the vibe the same, with the rug pattern and the wall colors and all the artwork on the walls. We tried to make it at least recognizable, because I know how important it is in the theater community.” Murphy is a world builder. “He paints such a vivid picture for me in my mind that it’s easy— well, I wouldn’t say easy, but he brings you into that world instantly through his writing or just speaking. I always

simultaneously to record your audition. Use the Zoom recording as a backup. You can also take acting classes from masters around the world. Every acting teacher I know has pivoted to teaching their classes online, and that means you can learn from pros you’ve always wanted to study with, no matter where you are. It’s still important to audit these classes to find the right teacher for you, and you want them to be small (no more than 15 students) so that you’ll have the chance to get up and work on a scene each week. In your downtime, don’t be afraid to binge that hot new series. As you may have noticed, 2020 was a great year for television. Do your research on which shows to watch, and you’ll find performances that you can study over and over. But be a bookworm in addition to a couch potato! It still blows my mind that many actors

love every meeting I get to [have] with him to talk about a project that we’re on, because he’s so specific. He has such an idea in his head, and then it’s just my job to pull it out visually, to make it happen. He’s so collaborative in that way, and he really does paint the picture for me. And then it’s just my job to make it happen.”

haven’t read the world’s most important acting books. Now is the time to do a deep dive and learn from some of the greats. Aside from acting, this is also a prime time to explore other creative passions. A friend of mine learned how to play the guitar so well that he’s now writing songs. I got back into playing the piano. We’ve all seen our friends and neighbors making homemade bread. All of these pursuits will enhance your life as an actor. You’ve got to have a rich and colorful life with new experiences to draw from. Keep these things in mind, and when we come out of this pandemic, we’ll be more talented and have some new tricks up our sleeves!

Want more?

Read our full Note From the CD archives at backstage.com/ magazine

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ILLUSTRATION: MARGAUX QUAYLE CANNON; “THE PROM”: MELINDA SUE GORDON/NETFLIX

BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

me that it felt incredibly rewarding. You, too, can start doing something that you said you’d never do. I promise it’ll open up your heart. Here are a few ways to spark your creativity. Now is the time of the selftape. Since production has slowly started picking back up, auditions are definitely happening digitally; but as a casting director, the last thing I want you to do is put yourself in harm’s way by going into a studio to get a professionally produced self-tape. We are now very happy to view your self-tapes that are recorded on Zoom or any other online video platform. As long as it’s lit well with good sound (and, hopefully, a good reader), we’re good. One strategy that I’ve found successful is to put your reader on Zoom and have your real camera (or phone) running

Theater zealots who’ve watched Netflix’s “The Prom,” Ryan Murphy’s sparkling adaptation of the 2018 Broadway musical, saw some of their favorite Theater District haunts onscreen—sort of. Production designer JAMIE WALKER McCALL explains how the team recreated the best of Broadway on-camera.

By Casey Mink

The Slate

The Actor’s Remote Resource We’re not letting creativity + productivity stop in the face of coronavirus. We’re taking you directly to industry power players through Instagram takeovers and Q&As, YouTube Lives, and most excitingly, Zoom-hosted seminars for interactive group classes! Guests include: Jason Sudeikis, Elle Fanning, Dylan McDermott, Rachel Brosnahan, Alison Brie, Chrissy Metz, Aishe Dee, Ricky Gervais, Anthony Mackie, Bradley Whitford, Nicholas Pinnock, Susan Kelechi Watson and more!

To get all the details and view the full schedule, please visit backstage.com/magazine.

culture +

Spotlighting the people and projects you need to know

Secret Agent Man

What Can I Commission? “DO YOU TAKE 10% OF THIS?” Clients ask me that all the time. And I’m not just talking about beginners; I’m talking about experienced actors. As you know, agents get 10% of what you earn. So if you’re making $5,000 for one week of work, we take $500. That’s simple math. But here’s the thing: When you’re on a shoot, there are other ways for you to make money besides the agreed-upon compensation. In those situations, I find actors rarely know what their reps are allowed to commission. So, let’s go over some of the more common fees, payments, and penalties that you might receive on a film or a TV show. Agents are not allowed to touch the following:

On the flip side, agents are allowed to commission the following:

1 2

Overtime: There’s no limit here. If you receive some, we take some. Fitting fees: There’s a good chance you’ll have to go in a few days early so they can fit you for your wardrobe.

4 5

By Jalen Michael As the saying goes, there are no small parts, and ZIGA POROMON swears by the adage; the actor knows every role is a chance to grow. Every job is an opportunity. “Honestly, I’m not specific in roles I look for, but I do lean toward supporting roles, usually, because of my acting experience. As long as I meet the qualifications—gender, ethnicity, skills, location—I’m happy with whatever role I come across.” Your best self is your most sincere self. “Make sure you are profound and truthful in your profile. Showcase your experience and your best skills. Your profile is an introduction to who you are and what you have to offer as a performer.” Build bridges to your success with Backstage. “After getting cast in my first paid acting role with an American production company, I built a fun relationship with the directors and my cast mates. It has helped me increase my networking. None of this would have happened if I hadn’t applied to the posting on Backstage.”

BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

Ziga Poromon

TO SEE YOUR SUCCESS story in print, tweet @Backstage using the hashtag #IGotCast, or email us at igotcast@ backstage.com.

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ILLUSTRATION: SPENCER ALEXANDER; POROMON: COURTESY ZIGA POROMON

Per diem: On overnight shoots, actors receive $60 per diem. That money should cover any expenses you might incur while you’re on location, especially on the days when you’re not working. Meal penalties: When you’re on set, the producers have to feed you every six hours. If they’re late, they have to pay you $25 for the first halfhour and $35 for the second, and it keeps going up from there. Wardrobe and prop allowances: If you supply your own clothes or props, the production has to pay you for the right to use that stuff. The amount depends on how much material you’ve provided and how long they need to use it. Relocation allowances: If you live in Los Angeles and you book a series regular role on a show that shoots in another city, you’ll have to relocate for the duration of the shoot. The amount is negotiable, but you’ll probably receive between $5,000 and $10,000 to cover your expenses. Forced calls: When you’re working consecutive days, you must be allowed 12 hours of rest between the time you

wrap and the time you’re called back. If the producers violate this break period, they have to give you an additional day’s pay. (This one can put a lot of money in your pocket if you’re on an extended shoot.)

The rates vary by contract, but they’re based on the amount of time you’re there. Character fittings: You’re going to make a lot of extra cash if you book a role that requires prosthetics. For example, let’s say you’ve been cast as a monster in a horror movie. That’s great, because they’ll probably need to create plaster molds of your body and special contacts for your eyes. That takes time, and you’ll have to go in for multiple sessions. Rehearsal pay: This is rare, but commissionable. Looping and ADR: After you wrap, you’ll usually have to go back at some point so you can re-record some of your lines. Now, please understand that mistakes happen. Agents are (usually) human. So if your reps commission the wrong item, point out the mistake in a gentle tone, and I’m sure they’ll correct it right away. They might even force a smile when they do it!

#IGOTCAST.

S:10.25”

Pictured: American Airlines team members surviving and co-surviving cancer with SU2C ambassador, Tim McGraw

Join American Airlines and Stand Up To Cancer in our mission to help make everyone diagnosed with cancer a long-term survivor. Donate $25 or more and you’ll receive 10 American Airlines AAdvantage® Miles for every dollar you give.

Visit StandUpToCancer.org/AmericanAirlines to learn more. Stand Up To Cancer is a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a 501(c)(3)charitable organization. American Airlines, the Flight Symbol logo and the Tail Design are marks of American Airlines, Inc. ©2019 American Airlines, Inc. All rights reserved.

culture +

Spotlighting the people and projects you need to know

In the Room With

Julia Kim

Authenticity guided the search for the multigenerational immigrant family of “Minari” By Elyse Roth

“MINARI,” A 1980S-SET STORY ABOUT A KOREAN FAMILY THAT starts a farm in the American Midwest, dives deep into the meaning of immigrant narratives and the American dream. It offers a poignant depiction of a multi-generational family trying to build a life in a new land. Julia Kim, a casting director who herself is the child of Korean immigrants, was tasked with assembling this onscreen clan. The search took her into Korean American pockets of the United States to find bilingual kids, as well as into South Korea itself—all to create an authentic family portrait. What was the casting process for “Minari” like? I had about five weeks. We were dealing with international travel restrictions for actors from South Korea, so we had to think of backups. The kids and the backups were top of mind. Choices for 7- and 11-year-old first-generation children of immigrants is not exactly a long list in traditional databases. I dove into the community, which is not versed in the film

industry. I found a Korean language school [and] Korean churches, and I knew Orange County had a huge Korean population. I went to the Korean newspapers and I put out an ad, and they put it out onto all their different branches nationally. That first leg of the search was really about getting the word out—as wide of a net as possible—and then, the momentum built. Before I knew it, I was watching self-tapes of kids who

had never acted before and narrowing it down, knowing that Steven Yeun was playing the father and having the mother in mind. They had to be bilingual and also come from families where they would have a parent who was able to go to Arkansas for the shoot. It was about finding the right kids and then tackling all the other little hoops. Did you hold chemistry reads to cast the family? We had virtual chemistry reads. We put the brother and sister together to see how they interacted, because neither of them had acted onscreen before. We had them improv and gave them scenarios, and they had a natural chemistry. Noel [Cho] has a little brother, so she already had that big sister vibe. Alan [S. Kim] has a twinkle in his eye. He likes practical jokes. He loved to laugh; he wasn’t shy. We knew that temperament was right. It’s somewhat easier to dial someone back than try to coax a shy kid to be more energetic. Alan came down to do a bunch

of scenes with Steven, ad libbing and creating scenarios. In general, where do you look for new talent? If it’s an older person or somebody who’s not an actor but I want to find some unique faces or types, I go into senior community centers and the Y. I look up where certain ethnic communities congregate and go into that community, whether it’s a market that sells certain foods or a mini mall that has a lot of shops from a specific community. I talk to people, and I create these very simple flyers so when they think of someone, they reach out to me. I go to churches, religious centers, skate parks for kids. It depends on the assignment. I try to disarm people, because everybody is a little shy or has their guard up. Schools are savvy to casting people coming in. I love the challenge of thinking of creative ways to find people.

Want more?

Read the full interview at backstage.com/magazine

RAQUEL APARICIO

BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

backstage.com

“Romantic, hilarious and heartwarming. Anya Taylor-Joy captures the sparkle of Emma.” – HARPER’S BAZAAR

F O R Y O U R S C R E E N A C T O R S G U I L D AWA R D S ® C O N S I D E R AT I O N O U T S TA N D I N G P E R F O R M A N C E B Y A

O U T S TA N D I N G P E R F O R M A N C E B Y A

F E M A L E ACTO R I N A L E A D I N G RO L E

F E M A L E A C T O R I N A S U P P O RT I N G R O L E

Anya Taylor-Joy

Mia Goth Miranda Hart

O U T S TA N D I N G P E R F O R M A N C E B Y A CA ST I N A M OT I O N P I CT U R E

O U T S TA N D I N G P E R F O R M A N C E B Y A

Anya Taylor-Joy Johnny Flynn Josh O’Connor Callum Turner Mia Goth Miranda Hart Bill Nighy

M A L E A C T O R I N A S U P P O RT I N G R O L E

Johnny Flynn Josh O’Connor Callum Turner Bill Nighy

Sign up at FocusInsider.com for exclusive access to early screenings, film premieres and more. For more on this film, go to FocusFeaturesGuilds2020.com.

Directed by Autumn de Wilde

“THE BEST PICTURE OF THE YEAR” - THE NEW YORKER, RICHARD BRODY

“CLEVER AND UNPREDICTABLE. EVAN RACHEL WOOD’S PERFORMANCE IS EXTRAORDINARY” - INDIEWIRE, ERIC KOHN

FOR YOUR SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS® CONSIDERATION OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

EVAN RACHEL WOOD

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

DEBRA WINGER GINA RODRIGUEZ

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

RICHARD JENKINS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE

EVAN RACHEL WOOD DEBRA WINGER GINA RODRIGUEZ RICHARD JENKINS

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“TH E B E ST P I CTURE O F THE YE A R” U S WE E KLY, M A R A R E I N S T E I N

“A CRACKLING ENSEMBLE CAST” IGN, KRIST Y PUCHKO

“FUNNY, HEARTFELT, EMOTIONAL, JOYFULLY ORIGINAL… A TRIUMPH” T H E H O L L Y W O O D R E P O R T E R , T O D D M C A R T H Y C

Sign up at FocusInsider.com for exclusive access to early screenings, film premieres and more. For more on this film, go to FocusFeaturesGuilds2020.com

SOUNDTRACK AVAILABLE ON CAPITOL RECORDS

“THE PERFORMANCE OF CAREY MULLIGAN’S CAREER – ‘PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN’ L ANDS LIKE A LIGHTNING STRIKE” THE NEW YORK TIMES,

KYLE BUCHANAN

WINNER BEST ACTRESS Los Angeles Film Critics Association

Carey Mulligan FOR YOUR SAG AWARDS® CONSIDERATION

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE CAREY MULLIGAN

F I

O B

K E

O B

D K Z E

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ALISON BRIE JENNIFER COOLIDGE L AVERNE COX OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE BO BURNHAM CLANCY BROWN OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE CAREY MULLIGAN BO BURNHAM ALISON BRIE CLANCY BROWN JENNIFER COOLIDGE L AVERNE COX CHRIS LOWELL MOLLY SHANNON CONNIE BRITTON

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY EMERALD FENNELL

“

“THE BEST PICTURE

“FLANIGAN’S DEBUT PERFORMANCE IS BOTH HARROWING AND POSSESSED OF AN ELOQUENCE THAT HAS NO NEED FOR WORDS” TY BURR

“FLANIGAN AND RYDER INHABIT THIS PORTRAIT OF FEMALE FRIENDSHIP IN WAYS THAT FEEL MIRACULOUS” SHERI LINDEN

Sign up at FocusInsider.com for exclusive access to early screenings, film premieres and more. © 2020 FOCUS FEATURES LLC © 2020 FOCUS FEATURES LLC For more on this film, go to FocusFeaturesGuilds2020.com.

“AN URGENT, EXTRAORDINARY FILM FOR THIS VERY MOMENT. SIDNEY FLANIGAN’S PERFORMANCE IS ASTONISHING” MARY SOLLOSI

E OF THE YEAR” WINNER

Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize Berlin International Film Festival

WINNER

Best Actress - Sidney Flanigan New York Film Critics Circle

WINNER

Best Actress - Sidney Flanigan Boston Society of Film Critics

FOR YOUR SAG AWARDS CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES ®

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

SIDNEY FLANIGAN

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE TALIA RYDER SHARON VAN ETTEN

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE THÉODORE PELLERIN RYAN EGGOLD

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE

SIDNEY FLANIGAN TALIA RYDER THÉODORE PELLERIN RYAN EGGOLD SHARON VAN ETTEN

“ROBIN WRIGHT’S EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE REALLY PACKS A PUNCH” Benjamin Lindsay, BACKSTAGE

FOR YOUR SAG AWARDS® CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES INCLUDING

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE ROBIN WRIGHT

Written by JESSE CHATHAM and ERIN DIGNAM Directed by ROBIN WRIGHT Sign up at FocusInsider.com for exclusive access to early screenings, film premieres and more. For more on this film, go to FocusFeaturesGuilds2020.com.

FOR YOUR SAG AWARDS® CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE DAKOTA JOHNSON

TRACEE ELLIS ROSS

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ZOË CHAO

JUNE DIANE RAPHAEL

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE KELVIN HARRISON, JR. BILL PULLMAN EDDIE IZZARD ICE CUBE

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE DAKOTA JOHNSON TRACEE ELLIS ROSS KELVIN HARRISON, JR. BILL PULLMAN ZOË CHAO JUNE DIANE RAPHAEL EDDIE IZZARD ICE CUBE

“PURE MOVIE HEAVEN” FOR YOUR SAG AWARDS® CONSIDERATION IN ALL CATEGORIES

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Diane Lane OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE Kevin Costner OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Lesley Manville Kayli Carter OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE Jeffrey Donovan Booboo Stewart OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A CAST IN A MOTION PICTURE Diane Lane Kevin Costner Kayli Carter Jeffrey Donovan Lesley Manville Sign up at FocusInsider.com for exclusive access to early screenings, film premieres and more. For more on this film, go to FocusFeaturesGuilds2020.com.

BRIEFPART PAR BRIEF NUDITY NUDITY

2020–21 Film Awards Season Calendar January 2021 THROUGH JAN. 12 JAN. 11

Golden Globe Awards TV nominating period 30th annual IFP Gotham Awards ceremony

JAN. 11–FEB. 1 JAN. 13–30

Screen Actors Guild Awards nominating period Golden Globe Awards film nominating period

JAN. 26

Film Independent Spirit Awards nominations announced

JAN. 26

National Board of Review Awards honorees announced

March 2021

February 2021 FEB. 3

Golden Globe Awards nominations announced

FEB. 3

Writers Guild of America Awards TV nominations announced

MARCH 7

26th annual Critics’ Choice Awards ceremony

FEB. 4

SAG Awards nominations announced

MARCH 8

FEB. 9

Academy Awards shortlists announced

Producers Guild of America Awards film and TV nominations announced

FEB. 10–23

Golden Globe Awards voting period

FEB. 10–MARCH 10

MARCH 5–10

MARCH 8–9

Academy Awards nominating period

Directors Guild of America Awards film and TV nominations announced

SAG Awards voting period

MARCH 14

27th annual SAG Awards ceremony

FEB. 16

WGA Awards film nominations announced

MARCH 15

Academy Awards nominations announced

FEB. 26

21st annual American Film Institute Awards ceremony

MARCH 21

73rd annual WGA Awards ceremony

FEB. 28

78th annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony

MARCH 24

32nd annual PGA Awards ceremony

April 2021 APRIL 10 APRIL 11

74th annual British Academy Film Awards ceremony

APRIL 15

36th annual Artios Awards ceremony

APRIL 15–20

backstage.com

73rd annual DGA Awards ceremony

Academy Awards voting period

APRIL 24

36th annual Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony

APRIL 25

93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony

01.14.21 BACKSTAGE

Michelle Pfeiffer went from Orange County beauty queen to three-time Oscar nominee by breaking the “bombshell” mold Hollywood had waiting for her. “I said to myself: I don’t want that career. I don’t want that life” By Manuel Betancourt Photographed by Andrew Macpherson

Defying Expectations IN 1979, A YEAR AFTER EARNING HER VERY first onscreen credit on an episode of “Fantasy Island,” 21-year-old Michelle Pfeiffer was determined to never again play “The Bombshell.” That was, in fact, the name of her character on the short-lived ABC sitcom “Delta House,” a spinoff of “National Lampoon’s Animal House,” in which Pfeiffer was tasked with the role of the ditzy blond, the kind whose name you’d never even care to learn. Today, she remembers it as “really kind of a humiliating experience.” “It was a mixture, because it was a great BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

break for me; I moved to L.A., and it was a regular income. And, at the same time, it was degrading,” she says. “I was surrounded by all of these very accomplished theater actors, and then there was ‘The Bombshell.’ I said to myself: I don’t want that career. I don’t want that life.” True to form, Pfeiffer, now in her 60s and earning her best reviews in years as Frances Price in Azazel Jacobs’ “French Exit,” worked hard to build a career and a life that didn’t reduce her to just her looks. Which is not to say that the California-born actor’s good

BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

“FRENCH EXIT”: LOU SCAMBLE/SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

looks, much like Frances’, have been incidental in the decades since. “In her youth, she had been renowned for her beauty and style,” Patrick deWitt writes of Frances in his 2018 novel of the same name, which he adapted for the screen. It’s a line that could very well refer to Pfeiffer herself, were it not followed by the admission that while these attributes were still in evidence, Frances had a “searching, malevolent flicker in her eye that marred her person.” A moneyed widow who lives in infamy in New York society and flees to Paris, where she must contend with the impending loss of the wealth she hoped wouldn’t run out before her death, Frances is defiantly odd—“more than odd,” she threatens at one point. Like many of Pfeiffer’s most memorable characters, she uses her beauty as a kind of weapon, an armor she’s learned to deploy just as icily as her honeyed indifference and flippant condescension. In one hilarious sequence, she calmly sets fire to a centerpiece at a restaurant when a rude Parisian waiter opts to ignore her requests for the check; in another, she playfully banters with a homeless man in Central Park before coldly chastising an insufferable cop who approaches her to ask if she’s being bothered. “I’ve never read anything like this script,” Pfeiffer says. “It was just delightful and odd and wicked and tragic. And somehow it has all these sort of disparate tones coming together, and it makes sense in a way that is breaking a lot of the rules. You can’t even really comprehend why it is that it works.” When Frances heads to Paris with her son Malcolm (Lucas Hedges) for her life’s third act (“Or the coda, if you’d rather,” she deadpans) she sets in motion a droll tragicomedy of errors that involves a cruise psychic, a lonely French socialite, a stoic P.I., and a black cat (voiced by Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy Letts) whom she knows to be the reincarnation of her late husband. It’s the kind of role that allowed Pfeiffer to truly let loose. “I loved her take-no-prisoners attitude,” Pfeiffer says. “It’s just so refreshing to see characters like that, because we spend all of our time trying to be polite and not hurt people’s feelings, and along comes this person who is breaking all of those rules. And yet, there’s an underlying fragility about her.” If it had been set and produced in a different time, “French Exit” may have suited one of Pfeiffer’s early childhood idols, those silver screen sirens whose striking features went hand in hand with their searing performances. “When I was really small,” she remembers, “I would stay up very late at night and watch old black-and-white movies. You know, probably Bette Davis and Joan Crawford and all of those amazing actresses. I remember watching—and I don’t know where I got this—but I remember watching and thinking, I can do that. And then, of course, nothing came of that.” It wasn’t until she was working as a

“FRENCH EXIT”: LOU SCAMBLE/SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

checker at a supermarket that the epiphany of her chosen career came to her—this time with follow-through. “I was having a really bad day at work. I was not a very good checker; my cash register never balanced out right at the end of the day, no matter how hard I tried. And there was a customer going on and on about the price of their cantaloupes, and I remember, in frustration, kind of looking up to the heavens and saying, ‘OK, what is it in this life that you want to do?’ ” The answer was all too clear: Become an actor. Pfeiffer confided this newfound revelation to just one person, who suggested she enter a beauty pageant. It took all of her self-restraint to not throw him out then and there. The pageant, the friend explained, would be the perfect way to meet an agent who often judged it. And that’s how former supermarket checker Michelle Marie Pfeiffer entered and won the Miss Orange County beauty pageant in 1978, signed with an agent, and began taking acting classes in a workshop in East Los Angeles. She finally felt at home. By the time her next big role after “Delta House” came around, as the lead in 1982’s highly anticipated musical sequel “Grease 2,” Pfeiffer realized that not playing the bombshell wasn’t enough. Even before the film was released, she found herself yet again being scrutinized in ways that felt both inevitable and unsustainable. “I was so uncomfortable with the way we were being presented to the public,” she says. “I remember there was this big ad, and it [read], ‘Too hot!’ And it was me and [co-star] Maxwell Caulfield together, you know? I just felt like, Oh, why are they shoving us down people’s throats like that, telling them that

we’re hot? What if they don’t think we’re hot? I was so uncomfortable. And then I started to feel the pressure of having to live up to what I felt were unrealistic expectations.” That experience pushed Pfeiffer to actively pursue parts that would help others see her as the character actor she aspired to become. She famously lobbied hard for the role of coke addict Elvira Hancock in Brian De Palma’s gritty gangster pic “Scarface.” The director was wary of casting an unknown and was only convinced she’d nail the part after an electric screen test that Pfeiffer still considers some of the best work of her early career. (It famously ended with a bloodied Al Pacino.)

I’m always just looking for the humanity in the part, and there’s always something below the surface that contradicts what is happening on the surface. I’m looking for what that is. What are we hiding in that scene?

In “French Exit”

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That concern with getting others to look beyond their own first impressions of her extends to how Pfeiffer has come to approach her work. Whether giving life to a chaste French noblewoman (in 1988’s “Dangerous Liaisons”), a troubled housewife (in 1992’s “Love Field”), or an imprisoned, conniving mother (in 2002’s “White Oleander”), Pfeiffer has long been perfecting the ability to embody women whose inner contradictions are both revealed and concealed by their very gestures. “I’m always just looking for the humanity in the part, and there’s always something below the surface that contradicts what is happening on the surface. I’m looking for what that is. What are we hiding in that scene? “I had an acting coach who would say, ‘OK, what do you think’s going on with this character in this scene?’ ” she continues. “And you go, ‘Well, I think she ordered the pizza, and I think it’s cold, and I think she’s not really happy about it.’ And he’d go, ‘OK. Now, what do you really think is going on?’ I never forgot that. Inevitably, your first instinct is usually just a cerebral one, and you have to really stop and question that. Because usually what’s going on underneath has nothing to do with what you’re doing.” Walking that tightrope of conveying what’s not being expressed is central to her portrayal of Frances, whose pursed lips and stiff physicality (“It’s confident, and it also just has a very slight hint of drama; I think it’s a self-awareness that’s constant”) betray an uncontrollable inner turmoil that reveals itself in due time. Carefully attuned to deWitt’s droll comedic dialogue, Pfeiffer makes Frances’ breathy one-liners (“There’s a goodly part of me that wants to set this building on fire. What do you think of that?”) sound cutting and tragic in equal measure. “The parts I get the most excited about playing are when I can visualize them immediately,” she says. “When I hear their voice, the rhythm in which they speak, and their dialect. It’s almost like a lyrical thing, like a musical thing. Frances was just such a challenging part, and something I had never come close to trying to unravel.” Despite her sterling roster of roles, which have nabbed her three Academy Award nominations, a Golden Globe Award, and a Silver Bear for best actress from the Berlin International Film Festival, among others, Pfeiffer confesses that she’s not one to revisit past work. It’s mostly a way to avoid being too self-critical. “[That instinct has] mellowed in time,” she clarifies, “only because I watch myself less. I don’t look at dailies anymore, which has improved my life tremendously. And I really only watch the film once when it’s finished so I know what I’m talking about—and then I don’t see it again.” She’s not so much priding herself on only looking forward as much as reassuring herself that it’s the only way to avoid being paralyzed by past missteps. There are, she 01.14.21 BACKSTAGE

admits, scenes—and entire performances— that still haunt her. “Yeah, I don’t know why they stick in my memory. I mean, there are some performances I just would rather redo completely. I just feel like I missed the mark. Not that the work was bad, but the overall choice that I made for that character was wrong.” Pfeiffer remembers one experience in particular, in which she wholeheartedly believes she botched what ended up onscreen. (Just BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

don’t ask her to tell you which project she’s referring to.) “I had an idea of who the character was. The director had an idea of who the character was. And the writer had an idea of who the character was. I spent the film trying to please them both, and I didn’t listen to my own instincts. And I was right, and what happened was I ended up not pleasing anyone.” Asked how such impasses can be overcome, considering how much of filmmaking

depends on collaboration between actors and directors, Pfeiffer smiles. She knows, of course, that the ideal is to have an understanding with her director from the very beginning about who her character is and what world she’s inhabiting—finding that balance between an actor’s instincts and a director’s vision. “But sometimes,” she explains, “it’s a matter of [saying], ‘Oh, good idea.’ And then you just do what you want.” backstage.com

“MICHELLE PFEIFFER DELIVERS A ROLE FOR WHICH SHE’LL BE REMEMBERED.”

- Peter Debruge, VARIETY

“MICHELLE PFEIFFER IS A NATIONAL TREASURE WHO DESERVES A BEST ACTRESS OSCAR® EVEN IF THEY DON’T DO OSCARS ® THIS YEAR. JUST GIVE IT TO HER AND GET IT OVER WITH.” -Ty Burr, THE BOSTON GLOBE

“‘FRENCH EXIT’ IS A WINNER THAT FIRMLY PLACES MICHELLE PFEIFFER, A THREE-TIME PAST NOMINEE, BACK IN THE HEART OF THE BEST ACTRESS OSCAR ® RACE. SHE TOPS AN ACES CAST THAT IS SUBLIME IN EVERY WAY IN AN ABSURDIST COMEDY THAT IS SURREAL, DARK, WITTY, QUIRKY, HUMANE, AND ODDLY TOUCHING.” - Pete Hammond, DEADLINE

“MY GOD, THAT MICHELLE PFEIFFER IS ELECTRIFYING, ISN’T SHE? AND SHE ALWAYS HAS BEEN. AND DID I MENTION THAT PFEIFFER IS DYNAMITE?” - Matt Dougherty, AWARDS DAILY

“PFEIFFER AND HEDGES SHINE TOGETHER. WITH ITS ELEGANCE, QUIRKINESS, AND SARDONIC HUMOR, THIS HAPPENS TO BE A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY BETWEEN MOTHER AND SON THAT FIND EACH OTHER AND NEVER LET GO.” - Alessandra Rangel, IN SESSION FILM.COM

“MICHELLE PFEIFFER GIVES A PERFORMANCE FOR THE AGES AND IS, ALWAYS AND FOREVER, A GODDESS. WHAT A GIFT, JUST TO WATCH HER WORK.” - Jason Adams, AWARDS WATCH

“MICHELLE PFEIFFER DAZZLES. HER FRANCES IS AN INSTANT CINEMATIC ICON. PFEIFFER AND LUCAS HEDGES HAVE PERFECT MOTHER-SON CHEMISTRY. ‘FRENCH EXIT’ IS EXACTLY THE FILM NEEDED RIGHT NOW.” - Frank J. Avella, EDGE MEDIA NETWORK

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BEST ACTRESS Michelle Pfeiffer

Our favorite SAG Award–eligible TV comedy performances By Backstage Staff

AIDY BRYANT, “Shrill” You know those screen stars who just make you want to be friends with them? Bryant is the epitome of that phenomenon, and nowhere is it more apparent than on this Hulu original. In the actor and writer-producer’s capable hands, the quiet, self-deprecating, decidedly un-shrill Annie Easton goes from wanting to fade into the background without upsetting anyone to exploring her own self-worth and confidence.

THE CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, including its effects on the entertainment industry, helped us appreciate one of 2020’s rare constants: the abundance of fantastic television. As Hollywood prepares for an unusual season and Screen Actors Guild Award nominators catch the best series of last year, we’re rounding up the small screen’s worthiest individual performances in TV comedy.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series PAMELA ADLON, “Better Things” As the writer, director, executive producer, and star of “Better Things,” this industry vet gives us what we never knew we needed: pure, unadulterated Adlon. Watching her play Sam Fox, a delightfully acerbic actor and single mom to three girls, makes us feel like our inner monologues have been set free. The level of authenticity she brings to her character and the series over four seasons is unmatched.

LINDA CARDELLINI, “Dead to Me” Cardellini has her work cut out for her on Netflix’s “Dead to Me” as a character who is both sweetly naive and a walking cyclone; Judy Hale leaves chaos in her wake while smiling the most earnest smile. But in Cardellini’s care, material that shouldn’t feel cohesive combines to form a portrait of a woman soldiering through her pain and seeking to better herself.

AWKWAFINA, “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens” The TV comedy landscape has been made better by Awkwafina’s presence. Every element of this Comedy Central series, from her character Nora’s hunched physicality and deadpan delivery to her offthe-wall aspirations for a more fly lifestyle, clearly emerges from the writer-producer-star’s highly original sensibilities. In particular, her scenes opposite Lori Tan Chinn as Nora’s grandmother are so funny that they demand a rewatch.

D’ARCY CARDEN, “The Good Place” One of TV’s most consistently surprising and delightful performances in recent memory, Carden’s Janet is a character for the ages. The friendly not-a-robot of the afterlife, programmed with near-omniscience, became more and more of a wild card as this series expanded its already impressive reach; the actor’s standout episode features countless Janets intermingling, and you can watch any one of them for laughs.

Awkwafina on “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens”

LILY COLLINS, “Emily in Paris” Any TV story centered on a charming-but-flawed hero needs a leading actor

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who understands its tonal qualities on a cellular level. In fact, it’s mostly up to them to define and maintain the show’s appeal. As the titular millennial marketing executive and fish out of water in the City of Lights, the infinitely charming Collins provides a quintessential example of how to carry a series. MAYA ERSKINE, “Pen15” The success of “Pen15” rests entirely on the shoulders of its creators and stars, Erskine and Anna Konkle, who do the kind of comedic character work as 30-somethings playing middle schoolers that shouldn’t work on paper but somehow has for two hilarious seasons. Erskine makes Maya Ishii-Peters’ sexual awakening through the confusion of puberty particularly relatable in a series designed to make you cringe. ELLE FANNING, “The Great” Long live Catherine the Great—Fanning’s portrayal of the Russian empress, that is. Funny, complex, surprising, and entertaining, the actor’s work as she traces the character’s arc from submissive betrothed to authoritative mother-to-be is what makes this Hulu dramedy work. As Catherine grows into an indomitable presence, Fanning’s performance becomes one of this year’s most memorable. We’ll readily overlook historical inaccuracy to see another season of her

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“AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM QUEENS”: ZACH DILGARD; “BETTER THINGS”: SUZANNE TENNER/FX

CHRISTINA APPLEGATE, “Dead to Me” We don’t want to live in a world where Applegate isn’t on the small screen. Luckily,

Liz Feldman’s “Dead to Me” is infinitely watchable, thanks in large part to Applegate’s glorious turn as the widowed, wine-swilling Jen Harding. She’s as good at digging deep for emotional breakdowns as she is at muttering scathing insults under her breath.

Pamela Adlon on “Better Things”

“BLACK-ISH”: GILLES MINGASSON/ABC

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Side Splitters

RITA MORENO, “One Day at a Time” From the moment she first entered the scene with the most Moreno-esque of flourishes, this legend has been a reliable source of comfort on Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce’s sitcom revival (now sadly canceled by both Netflix and Pop TV). As Lydia, abuela of the Alvarez clan, Moreno knew when to ham it up and when to let her charisma speak for itself in moments of lovely sincerity. ANNIE MURPHY, “Schitt’s Creek” “Ew, David!” For lessons on how to use line delivery to produce instantly memorable quips, look no further than Murphy’s ditzy Alexis Rose. Her distinct combination of bubbly, bratty, and sweet reached its peak on the final season of “Schitt’s Creek,” which featured the Emmy winner warming our hearts as much as she cracked us up.

Tracee Ellis Ross on “Black-ish” sparring with enemies and conspiring with friends.

“BLACK-ISH”: GILLES MINGASSON/ABC

“AWKWAFINA IS NORA FROM QUEENS”: ZACH DILGARD; “BETTER THINGS”: SUZANNE TENNER/FX

JANE FONDA, “Grace and Frankie” A master at everything from acting to political activism, Fonda continues to remind us why she’s a star on Season 6 of “Grace and Frankie.” Portraying a woman coming to terms with her age, lucidity, and health is never easy, but Fonda delivers dry humor with poise and dignity, proving time and time again that this legend has still got it. JONICA T. GIBBS, “Twenties” The ease with which Gibbs leads this Lena Waithe–created series makes it hard to believe it’s her first starring role; she has the ability to embody a character such that you feel as if you know her. Whether Hattie is alone onscreen or connecting with her best friends or boss, Gibbs has such command of the frame that eight episodes don’t feel like enough in which to fully enjoy her performance.

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ALLISON JANNEY, “Mom” Bonnie is a mess who unapologetically screws up other people’s lives. But Janney is so pitch-perfect in her physical comedy, so endearing, and so damn funny that she makes this frankly horrible woman inherently affable. Who else could pull that off? It’s no wonder the seven-time Emmy winner frequently sweeps at awards shows—and will surely continue to do so. ANNA KONKLE, “Pen15” Don’t let the winking prankster title fool you; “Pen15” grapples with more than the facile concerns of being a teen. As middle schooler Anna Kone, Konkle charts an especially emotional arc on Season 2 of the hit Hulu series as she navigates her parents’ ongoing divorce. Anna’s scenes in the finale with her mother (Melora Walters) will leave you in tears.

CATHERINE O’HARA, “Schitt’s Creek” Much has been said about O’Hara’s iconic performance as Moira Rose—but we guarantee she’d have the oddest, most delightful way of saying it herself. O’Hara dominated the spotlight every time she was in frame with her line readings as the wacky, wig-wearing, past-her-prime actor and one percenter. Having rounded out her final, Emmy-winning season as the lovable narcissist, the actor left us wanting more.

JANE LEVY, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,”

ISSA RAE, “Insecure” For four seasons, this HBO masterpiece has depicted

MAITREYI RAMAKRISHNAN, “Never Have I Ever” Newcomer Ramakrishnan was cast in the leading role of Devi Vishwakumar from an open call on Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s hit dramedy. The actor’s synthesis of awkwardness and hilariously feigned confidence makes it easy to see why. Along with the familiar trials facing high schoolers, like an overbearing mother and hopeless crushes, Devi is dealing with—or refusing to deal with—the loss of her father. Ramakrishnan guides us on her coming-of-age journey beautifully.

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life in Los Angeles for Issa Dee, played with blundering perfection by Rae. Although you constantly feel compelled to grab her by the shoulders and swivel her away from an impending bad decision, you never once lose empathy for the not-so-indefatigable heroine, and that’s thanks to the cocreator–star’s knack for being funny, relatable, and painfully insecure.

Individuals in Film

which finds the titular character hearing others’ thoughts in musical form after an earthquake, requires much more commitment than such a comedic conceit might suggest. Levy brings a silliness to Zoey, especially in the show’s musical numbers, but remains psychologically astute and wonderfully reactive throughout. It takes actorly precision to pull off what she delivers episode after episode.

TRACEE ELLIS ROSS, “Black-ish” Rainbow Johnson is your typical sitcom mother: frazzled but poised, put-upon yet supportive. But Ross and the creators of ABC’s stillsubversive comedy have turned that trope on its head by adding new qualities: goofy, badass, and often borderline deranged. The actor has again and again demonstrated her chops, making us love the Johnson family and its matriarch even more than we already did. ALIA SHAWKAT, “Search Party” Things have spiraled far out of control on this neo-noir satire (first on TBS, now HBO Max) about hapless hipster Brooklynites avoiding criminal consequences. But as this story shifts to unexpected new genres, Shawkat’s portrayal of Dory Sief stays grounded while retaining an air of indescribable mystery. The series may sometimes lose the plot—in the best, most intentional way

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Andre Braugher on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” possible—but you can count on Shawkat, gazing at her own reflection, to keep pulling us in.

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series

LILY TOMLIN, “Grace and Frankie” No one can deliver a punchline quite like Tomlin. Season after season on this Netflix buddy comedy opposite the equally brilliant Fonda, Sam Waterston, and Martin Sheen, the legend continues to delight as a woman with a tenuous grasp on both her sanity and social standing. Feeling blue? Tune in to any scene featuring Tomlin on “Grace and Frankie,” and you’ll laugh.

MAHERSHALA ALI, “Ramy” Ali was allegedly cast on Ramy Youssef’s comedy about modern-day Muslims because he reached out to say he was a fan. We’re glad the two-time Oscar winner did; his work as Sheikh Malik reconfirms his onscreen magnetism. He serves as a foil for the fictional Ramy, delivering stirring monologues that guide the former on his religious journey, all while retaining a natural warmth that puts Ramy, and us, at ease.

JOSIE TOTAH, “Saved by the Bell” We’re back at Bayside High

ANTHONY ANDERSON, “Black-ish” Juggling a growing family,

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HANK AZARIA, “Brockmire” The six-time Emmy winner keeps proving his bona fides as a comedic actor, particularly in the profanity department; many of the unprintable lines Azaria spits are masterpieces. The fourth and final season of this IFC series found his baseball announcer, Jim Brockmire, walking the balance beam of sobriety and reexamining several frayed relationships. Watching Azaria convey Jim’s discovery of the simple joys of compassion was unexpectedly touching. ANDRE BRAUGHER, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Captain Raymond Holt is so quietly nuanced, he’d be right at home in a prestige drama. In fact, the more seriousness and subtlety Braugher brings to the character, the more hilarious his line deliveries become. Opposite the over-the-top Andy Samberg and the rest of the beloved crew at the titular precinct, Braugher continues to make playing unamused highly amusing.

DON CHEADLE, “Black Monday” If you enjoy the idea of Cheadle snorting a line of cocaine and then high-fiving a robot butler, “Black Monday” is the comedy for you. This wild ’80s throwback stars Cheadle as the suave Maurice Monroe, a stockbroker who has the world at his fingertips and craves more. Watching this one-of-akind leading man, you’ll crave more, too. TED DANSON, “The Good Place” The legendary Danson expanded his actorly repertoire as Michael, a demon who manages a section of the land of the departed, on Michael Schur’s idiosyncratic and deceptively ambitious comedy. On the show’s final season, Michael unveiled more layers of empathy for his human friends and cracked us up. “The Good Place” is over, but Danson remains on NBC; he now stars on Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s amusing “Mr. Mayor.”

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“BROOKLYN NINE-NINE”: JORDIN ALTHAUS/NBC; “WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS”: RUSS MARTIN/FX

HAILEE STEINFELD, “Dickinson” Who knew Emily Dickinson’s life could be infused with modern issues, goofy irreverence, and a compelling coming-of-age arc? This Apple TV+ hit does so with confidence, especially with its leading performance; the always watchable Steinfeld manages to take the poet’s creative process seriously while highlighting her odd quirks, romances, and ambitions. More than anything, you sense that the actor is just having a blast.

in one of the newest hits of the season, from NBC’s Peacock, Sam Bobrick, and Tracey Wigfield. The revival’s ensemble, which includes original series faves Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez, is brimming with charm, but Totah steals every scene as popular and privileged cheerleader Lexi. As with her voice work on “Big Mouth” Season 4, this rising star uses her comedic talents to blaze trails for transgender representation on screen.

career, and his kids’ sense of Blackness in the lily-white surroundings of upper-middleclass suburbia, Anderson’s Dre Johnson has been equal parts modern philosopher and swaggering goofball on ABC’s hit sitcom for six wonderful seasons. The naturally funny Anderson’s ability to pull off both continues to impress, as do those moments when he digs deeper.

JIM CARREY, “Kidding” Expectations were high for Carrey’s return to television in this dark comedy from Showtime about a kids’ TV personality going through a crisis. But we should have known he would find a way to subvert whatever we imagined the series to be. Particularly on Season 2, Carrey’s work as the grieving Jeff, aka Mr. Pickles, expanded upon the thoughtful performances for which the actor is often overlooked.

“RAMY”: CRAIG BLANKENHORN/HULU

Television Individuals in Film

Harvey Guillén on “What We Do in the Shadows”

STEVE CARELL, “Space Force” From the moment General Mark R. Naird guffaws at the idea of a Space Force only to immediately learn that he’s leading it, Carell (who co-created this workplace comedy with Greg Daniels of “The Office”) reminds us of his myriad on-camera skills. With “The Morning Show” shooting delayed, we’re glad Carell is finding his way into this year’s awards conversation, where he continues, somehow, to be underrated.

“RAMY”: CRAIG BLANKENHORN/HULU

JESSE TYLER FERGUSON, “Modern Family” ABC’s longest-running comedy came to an end with Season 11, and we’ll miss the uproarious updates from the Pritchett clan (and the Dunphys, the Tuckers, and the whole sprawling family). Picking a standout from this four-time SAG Award–winning ensemble has always been tricky, but it’s Ferguson who deserves credit for finding fresh, funny ways of expressing the holier-than-thou exasperation of dear Mitchell. WALTON GOGGINS, “The Unicorn” A lighthearted CBS sitcom doesn’t sound like the right framework for a character

character and don’t want to see him leave their screens. As Chidi Anagonye, Harper delighted and endeared himself to us for four twisty seasons; we’ll miss his many inventive ways of having Chidi freak the fork out. SEAN HAYES, “Will & Grace” The genius of Hayes’ SAG Award–winning performance as Jack McFarland, during the series’ pioneering original run and again on its equally great revival, is that he never turned the character into a clown. The gay man Hayes created—manic, over-the-top, expressive to a fault—was too specific to be dismissed as stereotypical or contrived. If anything, Jack was the most true-to-life of this show’s sassy quartet.

HARVEY GUILLÉN, “What We Do in the Shadows” Guillén’s Guillermo de la Cruz stands out as the human among vampires that you can’t help but root for on this Emmy-nominated comedy hit. His adorable, sweater-clad familiar hopes to become a vampire himself, despite discovering he’s a descendant of Van Helsing. The actor is particularly great at making this hilarious conflict clear while slaying vampires to protect his master, Nandor (Kayvan Novak), on Season 2.

HUGH LAURIE, “Avenue 5” Laurie has always needed his own comedy vehicle. In this HBO series from Armando Iannucci, that vehicle is a spaceship—and, hey, why not? As Ryan Clark, captain of the titular interplanetary cruise ship adrift in the cosmos, he finds every opportunity to outright embarrass himself for the sake of farce. An early reveal involving substantially different accents is something only Laurie could pull off.

WILLIAM JACKSON HARPER, “The Good Place” It’s the sign of a great TV performance when, as a series finale approaches, viewers feel that they intimately know a

Mahershala Ali on “Ramy”

“BROOKLYN NINE-NINE”: JORDIN ALTHAUS/NBC; “WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS”: RUSS MARTIN/FX

DAN LEVY, “Schitt’s Creek” It’s a real testament to Levy’s skill as the writer, star, and sometimes director of “Schitt’s Creek” (and Emmy winner for all of the above!) that despite David Rose’s never-ending sarcastic tirades and eye rolls, the guy managed to be completely endearing and immensely lovable—someone you want to root for and then get drunk with. EUGENE LEVY, “Schitt’s Creek” A longtime vet of the industry, the elder Levy knows comedy— which means he also knows how to inhabit the role of the straight man. He played a well-heeled stiff as the Rose family patriarch, Johnny, who’s in over his head and out of his comfort zone after being forced

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to liquidate his assets and move to the titular town. Over six seasons, his performance retained its absurdity—but found touching depths, too. ROB MCELHENNEY, “Mythic Quest: Raven’s Banquet” While watching “Mythic Quest,” there are going to be times when you can’t stand McElhenney’s video game creative director, Ian Grimm. But then he’ll do something that has you in stitches, and you’ll hold off on wishing he was an end-of-level boss you could vanquish. McElhenney makes it clear, in surprisingly touching moments, that there’s more to this narcissist than meets the eye. BEN PLATT, “The Politician” Platt continues to showcase his indomitable skill on Ryan Murphy’s dark comedy that both glamorizes and ridicules elitism. Playing aspiring future POTUS Payton Hobart, the Tony Award winner walks the line between boyhood tenderness and ruthless ambition to brilliant effect. That we also get to hear him sing is the cherry on top.

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study about living with grief. But whatever alchemy this series has concocted is working, thanks largely to its leading man. As widower and single father Wade Felton, Goggins finds the balance between genuine emotional depth and schlubby charm. He’s one of those actors who seems to have chemistry with everyone.

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LARRY DAVID, “Curb Your Enthusiasm” As much as we hate the fictionalized Larry David, we love the performance given by the real man. How can one person find so many fresh ways to express hilarious outrage? Two decades after HBO’s “Curb” first began, we are still truly elated to have his dumbfounded face wreaking havoc in Hollywood again.

JASON SUDEIKIS, “Ted Lasso” Sudeikis always showcases the kind of charisma you can’t fake, but his everyman vibe and whip-smart comedy chops have never found a better match than in the role of Ted Lasso, an upbeat American football coach hired to lead an English football team. The freshman season of the Apple TV+ series, co-created by Sudeikis, announces itself as a fish-out-of-water comedy before its leading man unveils poignant layer after poignant layer. RAMY YOUSSEF, “Ramy” In this age of peak TV, we’re finally hearing stories and voices that have, until now, been pushed to the margins. We still have a long way to go, but on his semi-autobiographical Hulu series about a millennial Muslim, the Golden Globe– winning Youssef provides hope. “Ramy” is whip-smart, hilarious, and proof of those changing tides.

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The SAG Award–worthy supporting film performances of 2020 By Backstage Staff

AHEAD OF THE FEB. 4 SAG AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCEMENT, the time has come to brush up on the year’s top film contenders. Backstage has rounded up our picks for the strongest supporting performances in movies. For your consideration, here are some of today’s most talented scene stealers.

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role MARIA BAKALOVA, “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” A welcome addition to the bizarro “Borat” universe, Bakalova shines as Tutar, the titular Kazakh journalist’s teenage daughter and willing accomplice in his latest plot: to win over “McDonald” Trump. For every clandestine farce the mockumentary concocts, Bakalova is right in step with Sacha Baron Cohen, delivering improvised, side-splitting dialogue with unwavering commitment. Wa wa wee wa, this rising star is very nice indeed.

Ashley Blaine Featherson and Vanessa Williams in “Bad Hair” farmhouse, embodying a woman teetering on the brink of sanity at various points in time, age, and space. Under her command, each iteration is delivered impeccably.

TONI COLLETTE, “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” In Charlie Kaufman’s latest mind fuck, the ever-malleable Collette astounds with her portrayal of violent neuroticism and unsparing maternal attachment. Alongside David Thewlis, she hosts Jesse Plemons’ Jake and his new girlfriend (Jessie Buckley) at the family

OLIVIA COLMAN, “The Father” We’ve seen a nonstop succession of superb screen work from Colman since her Oscar win for “The Favourite.” Now, as the daughter to an ailing Anthony Hopkins, she

Glenn Close in “Hillbilly Elegy”

DOMINIQUE FISHBACK, “Judas and the Black Messiah” You can expect to be seeing a lot more of Fishback. Already an impressive, innate talent with credits on “The Deuce” and in “Project Power,” among others, she lends Deborah Johnson, the activist and mother-to-be of Fred Hampton’s (Daniel Kaluuya) child, the gravitas of an actor well beyond her years. Fishback’s portrayal of grief and outrage make this one of the year’s most heartbreaking performances. JODIE FOSTER, “The Mauritanian” Fun fact: Foster hasn’t won a SAG Award since the first ceremony. The preternaturally charismatic star has only continued to excel since 1994’s “Nell,” and this year’s “The Mauritanian” is no

GLENN CLOSE, “Hillbilly Elegy” This season, we can confidently crown Close as the queen of one-liners.

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seems to remove even more barriers between herself and the camera lens. What is it about magnetic performers like Colman who can turn crying into high art? Her tears are stars in their own right.

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“HILLBILLY ELEGY”: LACEY TERRELL; “BAD HAIR”: TOBIN YELLAND/HULU

ELLEN BURSTYN, “Pieces of a Woman” We’ll champion any movie in which the story’s emotional climax involves Burstyn, sweater-clad in a gorgeously lit kitchen, howling at the top of her lungs. In all seriousness— and this film about a woman grieving the loss of her baby is certainly not lacking in seriousness—this screen legend delivers a monologue about living through the Holocaust as an infant that will seep into your memory.

Her larger-than-life Vance matriarch represents the hard-knock starting point of this story’s multi-generational narrative. While her grandson fights to circumvent his poverty-stricken family legacy in the Appalachian backwoods, Close’s Mamaw unapologetically steeps herself in all things “hill people.” She demands, and earns, our attention.

“MINARI”: COURTESY A24; “NEWS OF THE WORLD”: BRUCE TALAMON/UNIVERSAL PICTURES

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Spotlight Stealers

“HILLBILLY ELEGY”: LACEY TERRELL; “BAD HAIR”: TOBIN YELLAND/HULU

“MINARI”: COURTESY A24; “NEWS OF THE WORLD”: BRUCE TALAMON/UNIVERSAL PICTURES

LESLEY MANVILLE, “Let Him Go” Manville is something of a pro at playing imperious or even outright villainous, but there’s always been a cheeky flair to her domineering characters. Not so in Thomas Bezucha’s modern Western about a retired couple (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner) seeking to recover their grandson from a family of gangsters. As Blanche, matriarch of the sinister Weboys, the actor stuns with her delivery of increasingly disturbing threats.

hand in hand—as with the infamous Playboy Club scoop. DIANNE WIEST, “Let Them All Talk” Between this mostly improvised Steven Soderbergh comedy and J Blakeson’s “I Care a Lot,” Wiest has begun an onscreen renaissance that deserves to be celebrated. Her skills lie in lulling us into a false sense of security before striking with a suddenly poignant moment; here, it’s a lovely speech about artificial stars in the night sky that illuminates what this story is really pondering.

ALICIA VIKANDER, “The Glorias” Alongside Julianne Moore, Lulu Wilson, and Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Vikander brings Gloria Steinem’s life story to the screen and makes the feminist icon more intimately familiar to us than she’s ever been. Rocking those aviator glasses and looking uncannily like a young Steinem, Vikander conveys the character’s frustrations and triumphs, showing how those often went

VANESSA WILLIAMS, “Bad Hair” “It’s just hair!” shrieks Zora at one point in Justin Simien’s horror-satire; her weave, bloodthirsty and born of an ancient malice, then proves

Youn Yuh-jung in “Minari”

it’s very much not just hair. Williams plays the former supermodel and rising music TV executive with the kind of flair that only she can. This diva was born with the ability to blend bone-chilling callousness and pure, fabulous camp. YOUN YUH-JUNG, “Minari” Irreverent, foul-mouthed, and, at least in young David’s (Alan S. Kim) eyes, as un-grandmotherly as can be, Soonja complicates the central Korean American family’s fragile dynamics in “Minari” from the moment she arrives. Youn’s delightful comedic timing gives way to poignancy as David and his grandmother evolve from cheekily adversarial to genuinely friendly. It’s a great example of a performance that gives a film its heart.

Television

VALERIE MAHAFFEY, “French Exit” In Azazel Jacobs’ “French Exit,” veteran character actor Mahaffey is a quintessentially memorable scene-stealer, just left-of-center enough to captivate while playing off Michelle Pfeiffer in a way that brings out her darkly comedic best. Mahaffey’s Madame Reynard is as depressing as she is coyly charming, and the actor holds us in the palm of her hand.

look anywhere else when the supporting star is lighting up the screen, inviting the audience in with her eyes while maintaining an air of mystery. It can be tricky to act in a movie within a movie, but Seyfried manages to personify what being a true 1930s Hollywood star meant, both on and off set.

Individuals in Film

exception; in fact, she’s at the top of her acting game. As real-life criminal defense lawyer Nancy Hollander, fighting for a Guantanamo Bay captive’s deserved justice, she brilliantly calibrates outrage, determination, and devastating despair.

HELENA ZENGEL, “News of the World” It takes a lot to pull focus from Tom Hanks; to do it as a young actor with few lines (mostly in the language of the Kiowa people) is even more extraordinary. Zengel matches Hanks on every step of this perilous journey across America’s antebellum South. Her Johanna Leonberger is lost in more ways than one, as evidenced by the actor’s every profound gesture and facial expression.

Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel in “News of the World”

SAOIRSE RONAN, “Ammonite” Francis Lee’s tale of samesex desire is the kind of two-hander that only works with a pair of immensely skilled actors. Opposite Kate Winslet’s Mary Anning, Ronan lends Charlotte Murchison a restrained yet visible yearning for a better life. It’s the guiding light that takes the character from despondent grief to burgeoning vitality, all delivered masterfully by Ronan. AMANDA SEYFRIED, “Mank” Seyfried does more than steal each “Mank” scene she’s in as Marion Davies; she robs us blind. It’s hard to

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01.14.21 BACKSTAGE

Television

YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” Even amid an impressively stacked ensemble, this recent “Watchmen” Emmy Award winner rises to the top. His Bobby Seale, put through the wringer of the 1969 American justice system to the point of dehumanization, is the beating heart at the story’s center. Abdul-Mateen so beautifully personifies the infallible human spirit that he’ll have you calling for justice all these years later. SACHA BARON COHEN, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” It’s a testament to Baron Cohen’s brilliance that in the same year he gave us another “Borat,” he turned in his most subtle performance to date in this Aaron Sorkin legal drama. His take on Abbie Hoffman, one of the real-life seven accused by the government of conspiracy, is as multilayered as it is surprising, somehow both completely laid-back and full of outrage.

communicates much while saying little as media titan William Randolph Hearst. His authority is all the more palpable opposite Oldman’s Mankiewicz, whose chaotic presence eventually brings out Hearst’s spite. There isn’t a shred of doubt in Hearst, or in Dance’s portrayal of him.

video game adaptation featuring everyone’s favorite blue hedgehog. As powerhungry scientist Dr. Robotnik, the actor’s madcap energy fills the screen; this is a role that seems to have drawn Carrey’s blood, sweat, and tears.

LUCAS HEDGES, “Let Them All Talk” Hedges is making a name for himself holding his own against veteran female stars: Frances McDormand in “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” Nicole Kidman in “Boy Erased,” Julia Roberts in “Ben Is Back,” Michelle Pfeiffer in this year’s “French Exit.” As Tyler, the nephew of Meryl Streep’s renowned author, Alice, he again does what brilliant supporting actors should: complementing those around him while creating a full-fledged character.

CHARLES DANCE, “Mank” A veteran actor who can always be relied upon to give onscreen dynamics an edge— that withering glare!—Dance

CALEB LANDRY JONES, “The Outpost” The war film genre earned a solid new entry this year in this thrilling depiction of

Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong in “The Trial of the Chicago 7” Herman J. Mankiewicz, Burke’s performance has us wishing for a follow-up called “Orson.” JIM CARREY, “Sonic the Hedgehog” Frequently overlooked in film awards races (because big comedic performances are criminally undervalued), Carrey provides yet another opportunity for voters to make it up to him in this live-action

Leslie Odom Jr. in “One Night in Miami”

“DA 5 BLOODS”: DAVID LEE/NETFLIX; “ON THE ROCKS”: COURTESY APPLE TV+

CHADWICK BOSEMAN, “Da 5 Bloods” Boseman applied what he learned playing titans like T’Challa and Jackie Robinson in order to breathe life into another Black hero: fallen Vietnam soldier Stormin’ Norman. With conviction and grace, the late actor portrays the leader of Spike Lee’s fictional squad as a fearless educator and seeker of justice in the fight for Black liberation. TOM BURKE, “Mank” You can’t tell the story of “Citizen Kane” without Hollywood wunderkind Orson Welles. Enter Burke—and what an entrance it is, with that uncanny, rumbling basso— bringing vivid and precisely rendered life to the young icon of golden age Hollywood. While David Fincher centers his film on Gary Oldman’s

BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

“THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7”: NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX; “ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI”: PATTI PERRET/AMAZON STUDIOS

Individuals in Film

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role

backstage.com

“DA 5 BLOODS”: DAVID LEE/NETFLIX; “ON THE ROCKS”: COURTESY APPLE TV+

FRANK LANGELLA, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” Langella is always good, obviously. But he might be at his best when he’s being bad, such as in this recreation of the trial following the protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. As the bigoted Judge Julius Hoffman, he hideously embodies the systemic racism of the U.S. justice system in a way that feels true to the period, yet disconcertingly similar to our modern times.

Clarke Peters and Delroy Lindo in “Da 5 Bloods” heartwarming and heartshattering, Miller’s turn as teenager Jadin Bell manages to convey the effects that adversity can have on the human spirit, no matter one’s age. The rising star’s charm and vitality endear us to Jadin, making his loss all the more devastating and giving this wrenchingly dramatic story its heft.

a mission with his daughter (Rashida Jones) to determine her husband’s fidelity, wants only to out-charm everyone in the room. That’s until the actor hints, subtly yet brilliantly, at the ache of lifelong regret. LESLIE ODOM JR., “One Night in Miami” Playing a beloved star always comes with risks, and if the star is a singer, that’s doubly true. How to recreate their vocal prowess without resorting to lip syncing? Odom’s portrayal of Sam Cooke could be the gold standard for this trick. He puts his own stamp on the inimitable crooner, giving him cinematic life.

BILL MURRAY, “On the Rocks” Sofia Coppola’s reunion with Murray after “Lost in Translation” echoes that classic in several key ways, but his performance here finds the actor in a more easygoing, optimistic mode. You get the sense that his Felix, on

Bill Murray in “On the Rocks”

JONATHAN MAJORS, “Da 5 Bloods” We have yet to see a project that isn’t made better by Majors’ casting. In “Da 5 Bloods,” he runs the gamut as the semi-estranged son of Delroy Lindo’s PTSD-suffering, Trump-supporting widower searching for bones and gold in a foreign land. From simmering resentment to unabashed flirtation to lifeand-death terror, this rising star goes above and beyond in each and every moment.

DAVID STRATHAIRN, “Nomadland” As Dave, a soft-spoken modern nomad who takes a shine to Frances McDormand’s Fern, Strathairn obscures all traces of his usual leading-man charisma. What makes this such a winning supporting performance is the way he underlines the character’s loneliness without ever pulling focus. Every note of his quiet, unexpectedly touching onscreen moments feels authentic. STANLEY TUCCI, “Supernova” Actors seeking out the definition of a multilayered performance can look to Tucci’s subtle, astonishing, ultimately devastating work as a man with early onset dementia in this two-hander opposite Colin Firth. His wordless moments, in particular, convey oceans of depth, whether it’s his quiet confusion putting on a sweater or watching his lover grapple with their impossible circumstances. He can break your heart with only a glance.

REID MILLER, “Joe Bell” This is practically the textbook definition of a breakout performance. Equal parts

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MARK RYLANCE, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” Academy Award winner Rylance, serving here as the titular misfit group’s lawyer, William Kunstler, provides what is basically this film’s sturdy spine. With wry zingers and an air of genuine warmth, Rylance convinces us, within moments of his introduction, that he’ll do whatever it takes to get justice. His New York City–inflected delivery is also spot-on.

Television

“THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7”: NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX; “ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI”: PATTI PERRET/AMAZON STUDIOS

DANIEL KALUUYA, “Judas and the Black Messiah” Kaluuya seems to have a sixth sense in his ability to get under our skin with a precise gesture or glare. His almost preternatural charisma is on display in Shaka King’s retelling of the FBI’s deceptive practices leading up to the 1969 assassination of Fred Hampton. Watching Kaluuya play the doomed Black Panther chairman, you may find yourself jumping out of your seat, fist raised in the air.

Individuals in Film

CLARKE PETERS, “Da 5 Bloods” Peters injects much-needed tenderness into this eclectic ensemble as Otis, the caretaking medic of the titular squad on a mission back into the Vietnam jungle to retrieve the remains of their fallen comrade (and a heap of buried gold). His warm, steadfast presence is a tide that lifts all boats. And the scene in which Otis hears life-changing news from his old girlfriend (Lê Y Lan) is masterful speechless acting.

the Afghanistan War’s Battle of Kamdesh. Grounding us through the battle’s complex logistics is Specialist Ty Michael Carter, who, in Jones’ capable hands, gives this story its emotional throughline. The “Get Out” and “Florida Project” breakout strikes gold again; his star is on the rise for a reason.

01.14.21 BACKSTAGE

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New York Tristate

SUBMIT YOUR CALLS FOR CAST AND CREW: Visit backstage.com/findtalent and click on “Post a Notice.” Include all relevant project requirements, including any pay, fees, dues, costs, required ticket sales or nudity. •

Casting picks of the week

Student Films

BY LISA HAMIL

‘Do You See Me’

Plays ‘Brooklyn’

• Casting “Brooklyn.” • Company: Shelter in Joy LLC. Staff:

Meg Fofonoff, dir.; Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson, music, lyrics, and book; Meg Fofonoff (Art Lab) and Showtown Productions; Samuel Dallas, general mgr. (ShowTown Theatricals); Alexandre Bleau, CSA, casting dir.

• Rehearse and record Feb. 22, 2021-Mar.

20, 2021. This will be a virtual revival, rehearsed and recorded in February and March ahead of being streamed on Broadway on Demand in May. • Seeking—Brooklyn: female, 18+, early

20s. Raised in an orphanage since her mother’s death. After becoming a famous Parisian singer, she travels to New York in search of the father she has never known. Taylor Collins: male, 30-49, Brooklyn’s father who never knew about her. A singer, poet and writer of songs, he met Faith in Paris in 1969. Wasn’t able to return to her due to being drafted into the Vietnam War; tenor/baritone. Street Singer: male, 30+, a street performer that plays a rusty, old crowbar. Narrator for the City Weeds’ production; tenor. Paradice: female, 35-55, Brooklyn born, a force of nature and natural born world shaker. Will do whatever it takes to remain the “Reigning Diva of the Decade”; soprano. Faith: female, 20-29, Brooklyn’s mother; a famous French dancer know through all of Paris as the “Parisian Butterfly”; soprano. Vocalist/ City Weed: 18+, any age or gender; a group of musicians who perform on a street corner under the Brooklyn Bridge. • Seeking submissions from NY. • For consideration, record a video of

you singing a cut of musical theatre song, introducing yourself and your song ahead of singing. Also include your headshot and resume and email it to brooklyncasting@showtown.nyc. Submissions deadline is Jan. 18, 2021. • Pays $1,414/wk. Equity Special

Production-Eastern.

BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

• Casting “Do You See Me,” a seven min-

ute short film that tells the story of the challenges a 15-year-old Black boy, named Trey, faces when walking home from school. These challenges include being racially profiled by people outside of his community and being judged by people in his community. “Do You See Me” explores how sometimes your own people make assumptions about you based on your appearance and how the color of someone’s skin is still seen as a threat in some communities.

stage

Staff: Maya Daughtry, CD-dir.; Jordan Stewart, dir.

stage

‘Brooklyn’ Reconnect with your family in NYC for this Equity virtual revival

film

‘Caretaker’ Confront your past in Los Angeles, CA for this SAG-AFTRA short

• Company: NYU Student Filmmaking.

Weathervane Theatre Season Explore this Equity repertory season in Whitefield, NH

• Shoots Jan. 17 in the Bronx, New

Rochelle, and White Plains, NY (if transportation may be an issue note that and production can try to make arrangements).

multimedia

• Seeking—Trey: male, 18-19, Black /

African Descent, a pretty outgoing and nice African American 15-year-old boy. He enjoys listening to music and playing NBA 2k21. He attends an all-boys private school that’s very prestigious. He has to walk home from school by himself for the first time because his Mom has to work late, and is unable to pick him up. He doesn’t see this as a problem at first and feels comfortable walking home by himself. This soon changes. Woman #1: female, 30-60, White / European Descent, lives in a nice big two story house with a 3 car garage. She is finically stable and is well off. She is also racist. When she sees Trey passing through her neighborhood she feels threatened by him because of the color of his skin. Chris: male, 18-24, Black / African Descent, a 17-year-old African American Male. He’s judgemental towards people he doesn’t understand or who are different from him. Trey bumps into Chris on the street and Chris bullies Trey based on his appearance and the way he carries himself. Mark: male, 18-20, all ethnicities, a 15-year-old boy who attends the same private school as Trey. He and Trey are good friends and often times they like to play NBA 2k21 together. Mark and Trey have a brief conversation after school before Mark is picked up. Jay: male, 18-24, Black / African Descent, a 17-year-old African

Entenmann’s Minis Social Media Campaign Savor some snacks in East Hanover, NJ

Audiobooks & Podcasts Drama Podcast Inhabit a surrealistic science fiction drama recording remotely

private school as Trey. He is Trey’s friend and he and Trey often study together after school together over FaceTime. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Production states: “We have a small

crew of four people: Director, AD, DP, Sound Engineer. The entire crew is getting rapid COVID-19 testing at CityMD the day before shoot (Jan. 16). We are currently looking into providing 15 min Rapid COVID-19 tests on set. If we aren’t able to have access to tests, we ask that you get tested the day before the shoot. CityMD provides free rapid COVID-19 tests with Insurance. If you don’t have insurance or may have complications getting access to a free COVID-19 Rapid Test let me know and I can try to make accommodations.” • Food and completed copy provided. If

you would like a snippet of the film with just your part let production know and that can be provided too.

Multimedia Entenmann’s Minis Social Media Campaign • Casting multiple people for an

Entenmann’s minis social media campaign shoot. Looking for real families/ couples in order to stay COVID-compliant. • Company: Lucky 13 Creative. Staff:

Melissa R., casting prod.

• Shoots Jan. 19 (likely less than a full day)

at Buttertree Studios in East Hanover, NJ. • Seeking—Real Couple: all genders,

35-45, Black / African Descent. American Male. He is close friends with Chris. When Trey accidentally bumps into Chris and Jay, Jay judges Chris based on his appearance. Jogger #1: male, 20-60, White / European Descent. As this man is jogging in a community with big houses with 2-3 car garages, he spots Trey walking. He immediately assumes Trey is up to no good and feels threatened by the color of his skin. Jogger #2: female, 20-60, White / European Descent. As this woman is jogging in a community with big houses with 2-3 car garages, she spots Trey walking. She immediately assumes Trey is up to no good and feels threatened by the color of his skin. Joey: male, 18-20, White / European Descent, to play 15-year-old boy who attends the same

• Seeking submissions from NJ and NY. • Send submissions to nycasting13@

gmail.com.

• Individuals will be asked to submit a

self-tape audition once selected.

• Pays $600/person. Must be able to

self-report.

Online Commercials & Promos Basketball B-Roll Shoot

• Casting B-roll of a basketball game to

be used for a web promo.

California casting

• Company: Gannett Co., Inc. Staff:

Danny Smight, visuals prod.

• Shoots one day likely between Jan.

11-29 (date TBD).

• Seeking—Basketball Point Guard: male,

20-35, Black / African Descent, a strong, athletic type who knows his way around the basketball court to run some solo drills/moves for the camera, which will be captured as B-roll footage for part of a larger piece.

• Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to dsmight@gannett.

com.

• For consideration, submit links to prior

athletic experience/basketball work. • Standard rate.

Hand Models for Corporate Video Shoot

• Seeking a variety of hand models for a

corporate video shoot. Non-union only. • Company: The Flatiron Works. • Shoots three TBD days mid-late

February in Hamden, CT.

• Seeking—Child: all genders, 6-13, send

a recent headshot. Also include a picture of your hand; shot from above showing your fingertips to your lower arm; also, include a picture of the thumb-side of your hand also from fingertips to lower arm. Adult: all genders, 24-50, submit a recent headshot; also include a picture of your hand; shot from above showing your fingertips to your lower arm; also, include a picture of the thumb-side of your hand also from fingertips to lower arm. • Seeking submissions from CT. • Apply on Backstage.com. • For consideration, submit a recent

headshot and an image of your hand from above showing your fingers tips to your lower arm. Also include a third shot of the thumb side of your hand also showing your fingertips to your lower arm. • Note: Actors must provide their own

transportation to and from the set. You will only be considered if you live in CT. Be aware that all people on set will have rapid COVID-19 antigen testing done. • Contract is a full buy out with an unlim-

ited term. Only your hand and arm will be on screen. The contract rate is flat and is all-inclusive of any other fees.

Film & TV Crew ‘Double Horizon,’ Short Film • Casting “Double Horizon.” Creator

states: “My short film is a setting of Charles Baudelaire’s poem ‘Delphine et Hippolyte.’ It tells the story of Hippolyte’s lost innocence and regret for the past as she creates a new path in life; visual inspiration is drawn from various photographers and painters such as Edward Weston, Leonardo, and Gustave Moreau as well as my love of Asian calligraphy and philosophy. Cinematic references include Persona, Barry Lyndon, Tarkovsky, and Maya Deren; looking for someone who can bring an energy to the space. It will be filmed in a poetic fashion - stylistic references could be Persona, Tarkovsky. I also draw heavily from my love of Asian backstage.com

calligraphy and experience as a live performer.” • Company: Joe Fee Music. Staff: Joe Fee, dir.-music composer. • Shoots end of February-mid March for one day in. • Seeking—Set Design: 18+, all ethnicities, to decorate, control set design, and possibly costume (if interested) for a short film shoot at the end of February or early March 2021. • Seeking submissions from NY. • Send submissions to info@joe-fee.com. • For consideration, write a brief message indicating why you are interested experience that you have that is relevant to this - especially if you have added experience or interest in costume. • To be discussed.

crass and gruff Gulf War veteran. He runs a local bar (The Mill) that Doc and Danny’s go for comfort and familiarity when they are furloughed home. Michaels large physique radiates his love of life. A life he loves sharing with other vets at The Mill. With Danny gone, Doc goes to see Michael one last time before embarking on a different path. Captain Lane: female, 40-60, Asian, White / European Descent, her sun bleached skin and muscular physique at her age show her adventurousness. She is kind and empathetic, having experienced working with scared scuba students a big chunk of her life. Must be certified scuba diver. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to

CaretakerShortFilm@gmail.com.

• Pays $100/day. Transportation and

meals included. Producers plan to apply for SAG-AFTRA Ultra-Low Budget Agreement.

Southern California

Comedic Short Film

• Casting a comedic short film (with hor-

ror elements) to shoot in January. Note: Actors who can walk the line between comedy and drama preferred. Improv experience a plus.

Short Films

• Company: Independent. Staff: Nate

Cohen, dir. (USC Grad).

‘Caretaker’

• Shoots Jan. 22-23 in Los Angeles, CA.

Shoot dates still TBD based on actor / crew availability.

• Casting “Caretaker,” a dramatic short

film following a recently discharged army medic as he mourns the death of his childhood friend and squad-mate. As the scars of his service in Afghanistan begin to show with damaging results, Doc must confront his loss and reclaim a new life without his close friend by his side.

• Seeking—Kevin: male, 22-36, (26) kind,

mild-tempered, and able to be the butt of the joke; eventually though, he’ll reach his breaking point and have to find his inner strength. Cynthia: female, 22-36, (26) the romantic interest of the lead. She’s attractive and comforting, but unafraid to speak her mind. Ego: male, 22-36, (26) is a charismatic jokester, who may not even be all that likeable at times; he’s confident and funny, but also has a dark side.

• Company: Caretaker. Staff: Jordan

McAfee-Hahn, dir.; Rui Xu, prod.

• Shoots final week of March in Los

Angeles and surrounding area.

• Seeking—Andrew “Doc” Connelly:

male, 25-32, White / European Descent, a calm yet tough soldier of Gaelic decent. He leaves the talking to others. When Danny - his boisterous best friend – dies on the battlefield, Doc spirals into a depression that he is unable to overcome on his own. Originally from central Iowa, where he shared a home with his oft-drug addicted mother, Doc must learn to trust others before his life runs out. Danny McLeod: male, 25-32, Black / African Descent, a confident leader who is always the center of attention. He and Doc are family and their dedication to each other allows them to challenge the other in significant ways. His upbringing in a family of divorce gave him the natural resilience that being Black in central Iowa requires. His family home was often a refuge for Doc, who had a very rough home life. Mary: female, 50-70, Asian, White / European Descent, a tough, spirited woman whose radiant personality gives her a youthful feel. She runs the library that Doc frequents while homeless. The daughter of a traumatized veteran herself, Mary grew up with the horrors of PTSD and recognizes the signs of a person on the brink. She also something special in Doc and pushes him in directions he never thought possible. Michael: male, 50-70, Middle Eastern, a

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Open to all types of audition materials.

Note: Improv experience is a plus. • No pay.

‘Silent Memory’

• Casting “Silent Memory,” a short film

that follows a young Hispanic boy that overcomes the bad memories of his journey crossing the border that are triggered when he meets a girl.

• Company: Pablo Ricardo Productions. • Rehearses in Spring in CA; shoot begins

start of Summer 2021 in Hayward, CA. • Seeking—Young Hispanic Boy: male,

16-25, Latino / Hispanic, knows sign language (don’t need to know; will be taught a few signs for the role). Young Female: female, 16-25, deaf and speaks in sign language (don’t need to know sign language; will be taught for role). Grandma: female, 60-85, Latino / Hispanic, Hispanic grandma of the lead. Mother: female, 40+, Latino / Hispanic, Hispanic mother of the lead who is deaf and knows sign language (don’t need to know sign language; will be taught for role). • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to enriqueG2013@

gmail.com.

• Submit photo with application.

• Pays $150- 200/day, plus travel and

meals provided. No participation fees required. Open for flexibility based on experience and/or adaptability.

Student Films ‘1037’

• Casting a “1037,” a student film.

Synopsis: Heartbroken by the sudden death of her father, a woman’s world starts to change around her as the number 1037 keeps bringing her good luck. However, as she learns more about what or who is sending her these signs, she must decide if she wants to follow the life the number wants for her, or lead her own life. • Company: BugHasAGun Productions.

Staff: Nora Ghannam, dir.

• Shoots Feb. 25-Mar. 2 in Los Angeles,

CA.

• Seeking—Eleanor: female, 28-35, early

30s; a go-getter who needs to come into herself and spread her wings as an adult. Worked her way through law school and now works at a corporate law firm as an associate. Slightly competitive, indecisive, and kind hearted. She wants to be a lawyer to help other people, but she also wants to please the people she loves - especially her dad. Dealing with dad’s death puts her life/priorities on hold. Best friends with Ryan. Ryan: male, 18-25, open to all ethnicities but preferably a red head. Loyal sidekick/confidant to Eleanor. He’s a summer intern at the law firm where Eleanor works at. Brutally honest, loyal, and a firecracker. He wants the best for Eleanor even if that means telling her what she doesn’t want to hear. He’s also learning that the corporate world isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. Best friends with Eleanor and has an undying admiration for her. Derek Reid: male, 30-45, White / European Descent, frat-guy meets trust-fund incarnate. Came from privilege and worked his way up as a partner at a corporate law firm. A typical “guys” guy, cocky, and somewhat abrasive. Wants to keep the corporate environment casual, although he knows the reality that law isn’t always exactly about justice, it’s about whoever your client is. Eleanor and Ryan’s boss. Jackson Myers: male, 14-18, a young teen trapped in the middle of a custody battle. Son of Moira Myers. Independent, decisive, and knowledgeable. He wants to be liberated from his parents household and find his own walk of life. He represents everything Eleanor is lacking, and through their relationship, they help each other. Moira Myers: female, 35-50, a mother struggling to keep her family together. Mother of Jackson Myers. Determined, desperate, and teasing. She wants to keep Jackson on her side in order to preserve her family and hurt her ex-husband. She is somewhat deceiving and willing to do whatever it takes to keep Jackson. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to bughasagun@

gmail.com.

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casting National/Regional • For consideration, submit headshot,

resume, and demo reel. • Meals provided.

‘927D’ (Working Title)

• Casting “927D,” a UCLA MFA student

production. Logline: Set in a small town, the Sheriff responds to an overdose call and must then make a death notification to the last person he’d ever want to see, his ex-wife. • Company: UCLA (MFA Production).

Staff: Jorge Parra Jr., writer-dir.

• Shoots Mar. 12-14 in the Los Angeles

area.

• Seeking—Sheriff John Carillo: male,

40-55, all ethnicities, a tough, hardworking professional. His job has exposed him to some of the most horrific circumstances imaginable and it has taken a toll on him. He doesn’t budge and has almost no reaction when faced with death and loss, until now. Sarah: female, 40-55, all ethnicities, John’s ex-wife. She runs her own ranch, confidently carries a shotgun, and is far from being a pushover. Her strong character clashes greatly with John’s. However, nothing can prepare her for the news she’s about to receive. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Include headshot and video reel. • Pays $125-250 per production day.

Meals provided.

‘Colette’

• Casting “Colette,” a UCLA short film.

Logline: When a catholic teen discovers she is pregnant, fears of harsh social scrutiny from her family and friends force her to weigh her options alone. • Company: UCLA MFA Student Film.

Staff: Sierra Falconer, writer-dir.

• Shoots Feb. 26-28 in Los Angeles, CA

(do not apply if you are not available for these dates). • Seeking—Colette: female, 18-22, to

18+ to play 15, naive, shy and just starting to feel comfortable challenging boundaries and rebelling against her hyper conservative mother in small ways. Will not consider minors for this role. Beth: female, 35-50, 40s, tight-faced, always on edge about something. Hyper-Catholicconservative widowed single Mother of one increasingly rebellious daughter. Nick: male, 18-25, 18+ to play 15, Colette’s boyfriend. Blissfully ignorant to her situation. This is an off screen role. Can be done remotely. To keep cast small, actor will not be on set during production. Minors will not be considered for this role. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to Sierra.falconer@

gmail.com.

• For consideration, include a cover let-

ter confirming your availably for Feb. 26-28. Note: There will be an on set safety producer and strict COVID-19 safety precautions in place to keep everyone safe for the duration of the shoot. Actors must live alone (or with a partner/roommate that does not work outside the house), or be willing to pod in a safety bubble with the crew. Note your living situation and if you feel comfortable living in a pod for the duration of the shoot.

BACKSTAGE 01.14.21

• Colette and Beth: flat rate stipend of

$100. Nick: flat rate stipend of $50.

‘Fossils’

• Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Pays $250/day. Travel reimbursement

driven by her grief and loneliness, digs through a beach for something lost but deeply precious to her.

not provided. Talent must have tested negative for COVID-19 within 7-14 days before production. Proof of negative test must be supplied by one day before production.

Peter Bui, DP.

‘Workhuman’

• Casting “Fossils.” Logline: A widow,

• Staff: Tina Bui, prod.; Alan Shi, dir.;

• Shoots Feb. 20 in Malibu, CA. • Seeking—Mary: female, 35-75, all eth-

nicities, a middle-aged widow, cast in a fog of grief after the loss of her husband, Mort. When this fog leads to both her own physical harm and to the loss of a tether to Mort’s memory, Mary, a resilient and resourceful woman, takes grief into her own hands and forges an unconventional path forward. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Auditions will be held over Zoom. • Lunch provided

‘Moonlight Dancer’

• Casting “Moonlight Dancer,” a student

film.

• Company: Chapman University. • Shoots Feb. 19-21/26-28; recording

dates for music early February.

• Seeking—Lyra: female, 18-22, Black /

African Descent, early 20’s, mezzo soprano A3-E5; talented, confident and driven, Lyra has what it takes to be a successful entertainer. Esther: female, 50-65, Black / African Descent, alto G5-E4; classically southern, god-fearing, and widowed, Esther’s priorities are simple: Lyra, her only daughter, and the church. Walt: male, 25-35, White / European Descent, tenor A3-G4; Walt thrusts Lyra into her downward spiral; he’s an achingly charming con man with a deceiving smile, who with time, grows increasingly more sleazy towards Lyra and others. Madame: female, 33-43, any ethnicity, alto E3-F5; the bombastic manageress of the “Crescent City Place”. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Send submissions to lbinstock3@gmail.

com.

• For consideration, prepare two sepa-

rate videos a singing and dancing audition of your choice (any song, style, can be theatrical, but keep in mind this is a film). Those who get called back will be sent sheet music and sides from the script for either an in person or Zoom audition. • Copy, credit, gas reimbursement or

driver, meal provided.

National Commercials

• For consideration, must include

headshots.

• Pays $75 for a two hour shoot.

National/ Regional

• Casting a commercial for

“Workhuman.” Basically, they make the workplace human. Talent must be currently based here in LA area. • Company: Vicki Goggin Casting. Staff:

Vicki Goggin, casting dir.

• Shoots Jan. 20, 21 and/or 22 (fitting Jan.

14-16) in Los Angeles, CA. Note: 12 shooting hrs. max on a shoot day. Talent will be shooting in close proximity/next to each other + interacting as in/in a typical office environment. Negative Covid test will be required day before fitting and again of crew/talent before shoot. Production will schedule advance PCR testing; Covid protocol will be implemented with on-set sanitizing, compliance + zoning systems. • Seeking—Wheelchair Users: male,

25-45, all ethnicities, those who use a wheelchair or arms crutches for their everyday physical mobility; this could include (but is not limited to) individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries, born with Spina Bifida ... it doesn’t matter as long as they need/use an assistance-device for mobility. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Casting will be via invited self-tapes

this week. Callback via Zoom is Jan. 18.

• Session: $500; Fitting: $75. Use Buyout:

$2500 includes (for motion/audio) cutdowns/re-edits/versions/alternates/ lifts/lengths + (for stills) all images shot on set/pulled from video without limitation on their number. • Use is all Motion Media, Audio Media +

Stills/Print Media, 1 yr from 1st use/ launch date, subject to auto-renewals @ client’s discretion for up to 3 additional 1 yr terms @ a 15% increase over the previous yr’s buyout; however unpaid usage (e.g. client’s websites + unsponsored/un-promoted social media channels + unpaid owned/ earned still m) will not be subject to cutoff (talent release will allow perpetuity for these).

Print & Digital Modeling Hospital Wardrobe Modeling Shoot

Plays ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ & ’Little Shop Of Horrors’

• Seeking Equity video submissions for

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (Lake Eola Amphitheater. William Shakespeare, playwright; Jim Helsinger, dir. Rehearsals begin Mar. 8, 2021; runs Apr. 2-17, 2021) and “Little Shop Of Horrors” (Lake Eola Amphitheater. Howard Ashman, book-lyrics; Alan Menken, music; Steve MacKinnon, dir.; Kim Ball, choreo.; Josh Ceballos, music dir. Rehearsals begin Apr. 13, 2021; runs May 7-23, 2021.). • Company: Orlando Shakespeare

Theater. Staff: Jim Helsinger, artistic dir.; Paige Gober, company mgr.

• Runs in Orlando, FL. Both shows will

rehearse and perform outside.

• Seeking—Equity Actors/Actor-Singers:

all genders, 18+.

• Seeking submissions from FL. • For consideration, video submissions

will be accepted via https://auditionsmanager.com/submission. php?AU=qWH5v2451 (preferred method) or by emailing a link to the video and PDFs of headshot and resume to auditions@orlandoshakes. org. Submissions deadline is Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. ET. Submissions will be reviewed in the order they are received. Note: Refer to the orlandoshakes.org website for a specific list of Orlando Shakes safety precautions. • Pays $746/wk. (2019/20 rates. 2020/21

rates pending.) Equity LOA Agreement. •

New Work Festival Staged Readings

• Casting Equity actors for roles in work-

shop readings of “Prima Donna” and “20K Leagues Under the Sea” during CATCO’s New Works Festival. Ohio actors are particularly encouraged to submit. • Company: CATCO. Staff: Leda

Hoffmann, artistic dir.; Rowan Winterwood, casting coord.

• “Prima Donna” rehearses Feb. 1-6, with

• Casting an audio book commercial fea-

Wardrobe modeling shoot. Models will be modeling new PPE attire in efforts to sell to hospitals.

a reading on Feb 6. “20K Leagues Under the Sea” rehearses Feb. 8-13, with a reading on Feb 13. All rehearsals and readings will be conducted virtually.

• Company: MOB Media. Staff: Jeffrey

Sherman, photographer.

ous roles in the two shows.

Audio Book Commercial

turing a sound engineer spokesperson. Monroe, president of digital services.

• Shoots in Escondido, CA. • Seeking—Audio Book Spokesperson:

30-50, all ethnicities, scripted role; will speak to the need for authors to translate their books into audio books.

• Seeking models for a Hospital

• Company: Kyro Digital. Staff: J.

• Shoots in Mission Viejo, CA. • Seeking—Doctor: male, 35-45, all eth-

nicities, a middle aged, professional doctor. • Seeking submissions from CA. • Apply on Backstage.com.

• Seeking—Equity Actors: 18+, for vari-

• Seeking submissions from OH. • For consideration, submit a headshot,

resume, and video of a contemporary monologue of not more than two minutes to casting@catco.org. Submissions deadline is Jan. 16.

backstage.com

National/Regional casting

• Callbacks will be held on Jan. 19 and 20. • Equity’s contracts prohibit discrimina-

tion. Equity is committed to diversity and encourages all its employers to engage in a policy of equal employment opportunity designed to promote a positive model of inclusion. As such, Equity encourages performers of all ethnicities, gender identities, and ages, as well as performers with disabilities, to submit. • Equity SPT Contract. Salary to be

determined (no less than $271/week).

Weathervane Theatre 2021 Season

• Casting versatile Equity actors, singers

and dancers for the Weathervane Theatre 2021 Season, the 56th Season of the Weathervane Theatre. This is a ten show Alternating Repertory Schedule. All Equity Actors will perform in three-seven productions. Length of contracts will vary based on package. We assemble a resident company of actors. Productions include: “Hello Dolly!” (Ethan Paulini, dir. Marisa Kirby, choreo.), “Buyer And Cellar” (Nathaniel Claridad, dir.), “Kinky Boots” (Kevin Smith Kirkwood, dir.-choreo.), “Amadeus” (Ethan Paulini, dir.), “Disaster!”, “The Addams Family” (Taryn Herman, dir.-choreo.), “Pippin” (Ethan Paulini, dir.-choreo.), “The Mountaintop” (Shinnerrie Jackson, dir.), “Fully Committed,” and “She Loves Me.” • Company: Weathervane Theatre

Players, Inc. Staff: Ethan Paulini, prod. artistic dir.; Robert Fowler, assoc. artistic dir.; Marisa Kirby, choreo.-company member. • Rehearsals begin June 14; runs June

26-Oct. 10 in Whitefield, NH.

• Seeking—Equity Actors: all genders,

18+.

• Seeking submissions from NH. • For consideration, submit unlisted

YouTube or Vimeo link to info@weathervanenh.org. Submissions deadline is Jan. 31 by 5 p.m. Virtual callbacks will take place via zoom Feb. 16-17, 2021. Submit three brief selections that demonstrate versatility and how you might see yourself fitting into the 2021 season. While a monologue is not required, it is highly recommended. • Pay TBD (min. pending - $505/week in

2019.) Equity LOA ref. LORT Agreement.

Musicals ‘Million Dollar Quartet’

• Casting Equity actors for “Million Dollar

Quartet.”

• Company: Mill Mountain Theatre. Staff:

Colin Escott and Floyd Mutrux, book; Ginger Poole, prod. artistic dir.; Payton Moledor, asst. artistic dir.; Seth Davis, resident music dir. • Rehearses July 13-27, 2021; runs Wed.-

Sun. with two shows on Sat. from July 28-Aug. 22, 2021 in Roanoke, VA. • Seeking—Carl Perkins: male, 20-29,

singer/lead guitarist; must be able to accompany themselves on guitar extremely well and be familiar with Carl Perkins’ music; should look and sound like Carl Perkins in his 20s; vocal range: backstage.com

D3-C6. Johnny Cash: male, 20-29, singer/guitarist; must be able to accompany themselves extremely well on guitar and be familiar with Johnny Cash’s music; should look and sound like Johnny Cash in his 20s; vocal range: D3-G#5. Jerry Lee Lewis: male, 20-29, singer/pianist; must be fun, energetic, and able to accompany themselves extremely well on the piano; should be familiar with Jerry Lee Lewis’ music; should look and sound like Jerry Lee Lewis in his 20s; vocal range: D4-C6. Elvis Presley: male, 20-29, singer/musician; must be able to play basic guitar and look/sound like Elvis in his 20s; vocal range: A3-C6. Jay Perkins: male, 20-29, bass player/singer, Carl Perkins’ brother; must be an extremely accomplishedbass player comfortable singing with others. W.S. “Fluke” Holland: male, 18+, drummer who plays onstage with the cast; must be an accomplished drummer with a good stage presence. Sam Phillips: male, 30-39, the founder of Sun Records and “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll”; a charismaticactor with a strong stage presence. Dyanne: female, 25-29, accomplished vocalist, Elvis’ girlfriend; should be comfortable singing solos in an alto range and covering all soprano parts in group numbers; seductive and confident; vocal range: A3-D5. • Seeking submissions from VA. • For consideration, prepare and submit

video audition as follows: Perkins/ Lewis/Presley/Cash: one minute selfaccompanied on piano or guitar and instrumental reel. Dyanne: one-minute song and one-minute monologue. Jay/ Fluke: one-minute instrumental demonstration and instrumental reel. Sam: one-minute monologue. Submissions deadline is Feb. 1, 2021. Submit to auditions@millmountain.org or Ginger Poole, Mill Mountain Theatre, 1 Market Square SE, Roanoake, VA 24011. • Pays $546/wk. Equity SPT Tier 7

Agreement.

• Personal recording equipment

preferred. • No pay.

Local Commercials

sounds. Talent must actually be able to play an acoustic guitar. Preference given to those who are advanced players who can really make the guitar sound great. All genres/styles of play are welcomed. • Seeking submissions from OH. • For consideration, submit a short video

Home Care Hospital Commercial

(one-five minutes) demonstrating your ability to play acoustic guitar to susan@ stewmac.com. Play original music or covers. Pick a genre or style that you like.

cial that tells the story of an in-home care patient and their nurse.

bursement provided. Must be able to travel to Athens, OH.

• Casting a home care hospital commer-

• Company: Content Pictures. Staff:

Antonio Esposito, prod.

• Shoots late January (exact date TBD) in

the Hartford, CT area.

• Seeking—Patient: all genders, 65+, all

ethnicities.

• Seeking submissions from CT, NY and

MA.

• For consideration, submit a video of

you saying “hello” and where you are from to ace@contentpictures.com. • Pays $1,000/10 hrs. Buyout usage.

Travel costs covered.

Online Commercials & Promos Beautiful Women With Acne Issues For Digital Make Up Project • Casting beautiful women with acne

issues. Note: This is a director assisted remote project. Talent will be demonstrating how they use foundation to cover any blemishes or imperfections. • Company: TubeScience. Staff: Sarah

Furlong, casting prod.

• Tentatively shoots in the next few

• Pays $50/hr., plus travel and meal reim-

YouTube Channel, Mime/ Jester

• Seeking a spokesperson to serve as

brand ambassador for the REW and REW Plus YouTube Channel. Company states: “The main responsibilities is to serve as an end screen spokesperson and shoot promotional videos for our page. You will be credited on IMDb and will receive a copy for your reels, as it is an unpaid gig for the moment. Jacqueline D. Box will serve as the brand ambassador for the YouTube channel.” • Company: Yard Lion REW. Staff: Yarnel

Nicolas, writer-dir.

• Talent will self-tape. Production is

based in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Production commences on a first come, first served basis.

• Seeking—Eny Matix: female, 25-44,

Asian, Ethnically Ambiguous / Multiracial, South Asian / Indian, Southeast Asian / Pacific Islander, the newest member of REW. Originally from NYC, she’s one of the few mimes that breaks the rules. She’s soft spoken, mysterious but also playful. • Seeking submissions nationwide. • Apply on Backstage.com. • Talent will be provided with IMDb credit

and digital copy.

weeks.

Student Films ‘The Crystal’s Curse’

• Casting “Titus: The Crystal’s Curse,” a

short NYU animation film. Synopsis: During a brawl inside the sacred Temple of Jegawa, the Crystal shatters, plaguing an endless storm on the Lakopian. The Prince of Jegawa believes that he is to blame for the Crystal’s curse. He abandons his name of royalty out of fear of never living up to his father’s expectations. Zalta Theigo comes unannounced on his son’s next hunting trip to convince him otherwise. • Company: NYU Animation. Staff:

Sundus Mustapha, dir.; Adriana Lucia Guevara, assist. casting dir.

• Remote position. • Seeking—Theigo: male, 38-45, the king

of a large northern city called, Jegawa. The father of Reuben; lead. Reuben: male, 18-25, 18, the prince of a large northern city called, Jegawa; lead. Crew: male, 18-25, 18, a Yorkie hunter. Reuben’s close friend; supporting. • Seeking submissions nationwide. • Apply on Backstage.com.

• Seeking—Beautiful Female With Some

Acne for Foundation/Make Up Project: female, 18-35, all ethnicities, you will be applying makeup.

Audiobooks & Podcasts

sarahfurlongcasting@gmail.com as soon as possible. We will send you submission instructions.

Drama Podcast

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • For consideration, submit a selfie to

• Pays $250/project. All media buyout/

nonunion.

StewMac Acoustic Guitar Kits Promo

• Casting a short promotional video to

demo StewMac’s new acoustic guitar kits.

• Casting an African American voice

actress, age early to mid 30’s for a dramatic podcast - surrealistic science fiction drama. This is a character acting part - not announcing. • Company: Spiral Opus. Staff: Roy

Burdine, voice dir.

• Records as soon as casting is complete. • Seeking—Michelle: female, 30-36,

Poling, VP of marketing; Susan Hilvert, dir.; Jacob Midkiff, cinematographer; Rachel Eldridge-Allegra, editor.

Black / African Descent, early to mid 30’s - struggling actress, runs a webcam on the side, and has been targeted by otherworldly invaders in an existential attack.

flexible based on talent availability) at StewMac’s video studio in Athens, OH.

com.

• Company: StewMac. Staff: Brock

• Shoots in January (exact dates TBD;

• Seeking—Lead Musician: 18-40, all

ethnicities, will perform a demo of an acoustic guitar kit that they have built themselves and give a testimonial about how easy it was to put together and how great the finished guitar

• Seeking submissions nationwide. • Send submissions to spiralopus@gmail.

• For consideration, actor must have pro-

fessional recording equipment set up (laptop, garage band, professional mic, for example) since recording must be done remotely. • Pays $100 flat rate (36 lines).

01.14.21 BACKSTAGE

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ILLUSTRATION: MARGARET RULING/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM; CARSON: COURTESY NANCY CARSON

Nancy Carson is the owner of the Carson-Adler Agency.

For me, it’s much more about talent than it is about experience. I also look for a child with great self-motivation, because there’s so much rejection in our industry. If a child wants to sing, I look for good pitch and a good sense of music. Beyond that, good training is a must. Otherwise, doing eight shows a week will quickly hurt a child’s sensitive vocal cords. That’s something I demand. And it goes without saying that if a child wants to dance, they must be properly trained, as well. The children who are the most successful are usually naturally good actors. Technique can be trained, but, in my opinion, natural actors really are born that way. They’re the ones constantly pretending to be various characters around the house and directing their friends in backyard productions. Kids who have done a lot of stage performance will need to learn the difference between that style and the understated style that works on-camera if they want to do that sort of work. I do think on-camera training that helps the child learn to use the camera and stay small enough to be real leads to more success. If they have already been on Broadway or a national tour, that speaks loud and clear to me about their experience level. But a résumé that includes leads in regional theater and even community theater and school shows will make me take notice. If I see some film work like student films, I view those as a plus. These things not only show experience, but also indicate a child who finds joy in acting. As I said at the start, motivation is first and foremost for me. I have had a child get their first Broadway role with absolutely no prior experience a week after we initially met. There are no rules set in stone in my crazy world.

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OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A TELEVISION MOVIE OR LIMITED SERIES

“KERRY WASHINGTON HITS THE EMOTIONAL HIGH NOTES OF MIA’S ANGER AND THE STOIC LOW NOTES IN THE RESERVED PERSONA SHE PRESENTS TO THE WORLD.”

“REESE WITHERSPOON NAILS IT WITH TOTAL ABANDON, TOTAL COURAGE AND TOTAL COMMITMENT TO PORTRAYING THE PAIN EATING AWAY AT ELENA’S SOUL.”

A T

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A W A R D S

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“A TRIFECTA OF ELEGANT WRITING, DIRECTING AND ACTING.” “DAISY EDGAR-JONES AND PAUL MESCAL ARE RADIANT.” “MESCAL IS A REVELATION.” “EDGAR-JONES IS SPECTACULAR.” E M M Y ® AWA R D N O M I N E E O U T S TA N D I N G L E A D A C TO R I N A L I M I T E D S E R I E S O R M OV I E

PAUL M ESCAL

PAUL MESCAL

DAISY EDGAR-JONES