Last week I had an audition for a feature film being directed by Peter Jackson (King Kong and The Lord of the Rings).
My agent submitted my head shot for the role of a doctor, and told me I was reading for that role. Well, when I got to the audition, I was given the sides (the short section of the script I would be reading), for a different character. It was actually for the role of an uneducated rural man who buries old junk in a sinkhole behind his house!
Turns out the producers did not want any information about the script going out to the public, so everyone read the same sides no matter what part they were being considered for.
I had to make a tough decision. The character they asked me to read for was a part I would never book; I just don’t look like a rural junk collector type of guy. If I tried reading “in character,” it would look silly. If I tried reading it as a doctor, that would be equally ridiculous.
I decided not to follow the description of the character. Instead I created a different character I could reasonably be considered for and changed a few words so that it made sense. It was very clear that the director was really just looking for a certain type of personality, so the words we read were irrelevant. The movie is called The Lovely Bones. Since I was not cast, I guess I did not possess the look or personality needed for this film.
Have you ever had an unusual audition? If so, share it with others. Leave a comment below.