As an actor, you may find that you’re constantly going up for similar roles for film and TV auditions. While you may have hoped to get to show off your acting range, the sad truth is that most casting directors aren’t really interested in stretching you too far. In most cases, they’ll probably take one look at your headshot and decide whether you’re the right “casting type” to play the role.
Every actor naturally has a type that they can easily play. In this article, we’ll be explaining the importance of knowing your type as an actor in order to improve your chances of landing the next role.
What Does “Casting Type” Mean?
Even if you’re brand new to the world of acting, the term “casting type” probably isn’t new to you. Every actor has a type that they are suited to. Essentially, your type is a combination of your age, sex, physicality, and personality. Roles within your type are much easier for you to play as they are naturally closer to you as a person.
By embracing your acting type and going for roles that match your type, you’ll instantly be more likely to succeed in landing the job. While many actors hope to take on more challenging roles throughout their career, professionals working in the medium of film tend to prefer casting actors within their type. This is because film is a visual medium — if you play “against” your type, it will be much harder to deliver a believable performance.
You may assume that a character that fits into a recognisable type is automatically a stereotypical character. For instance, some films that follow unoriginal formulas feature instantly recognisable characters like “the girl next door,” “the geek,” “the Queen Bee,” “the bad boy,” and so on. However, well-written subversive scripts still make use of some of these types without becoming overly stereotypical. So, regardless of what type of film you’re auditioning for, knowing your general type is vital.
While focusing on your type may seem like it will limit your individuality by putting you in a casting box, the reverse can actually be true. Once you know your general type, you can use your own unique traits and styles to make your audition or performance stand out. So, while a character may fit neatly into a certain traditional type, and you as an actor may also fit that type, your individuality can save the character from being too stereotypical.
What Are the Different Types of Roles in Acting?
Even the most well-written scripts tend to lean on character types. In some scripts, these types will be more obvious and recognisable. Here are a few examples of common character types that often appear in scripts.
- The Girl Next Door
- Queen Bee or Mean Girl
- Business Man or Woman
- The Geek
- Maternal or Paternal Figure
- Bad Boy
- Leading Man or Hero
Of course, this list of casting types are all pretty stereotypical high school types — there are dozens of other “types,” many of which don’t have their own names. Sometimes, you may find that your type is simply defined by a list of characteristics
How to Find Out Your Casting Type
Now that we’ve discussed what acting type means and a few examples, here are some methods of determining your own type.
Think About What Makes You “You”
In order to determine your type, you’ll need to be brutally honest with yourself about who you are. While you may dream of playing the dashing leading man, if you’re the wrong physicality or age, casting directors and audiences will have a difficult time accepting you in the role.
Start by examining your physical traits.
- Age – Determine your playing range. While most actors can play a few years younger or older than their real age, try to be honest with yourself about what ages you can realistically play. Remember, the camera will pick up every wrinkle!
- Height and weight – Your body type plays a role in determining your type. While these physical traits have absolutely nothing to do with acting ability, many casting directors have an image of the character type in their minds and your physical traits will play a factor in your suitability.
- Looks – Things like hair colour and attractiveness can also be important in determining your type. If you are conventionally attractive, for instance, you may fit well into the Queen Bee or Jock type. If you have more unusual features, you may find yourself better suited to play outcast types. While some actors assume that good looks are crucial for success, there are plenty of excellent leading roles that suit actors with more unconventional looks.
- Personality – Think about the dominant aspects of your personality. Are you always making jokes? Do you tend to keep quiet and pensive or even awkward in social situations? Are you confident and outspoken? These types of personality traits will help you to portray certain types of characters with more ease and with more depth and detail than some other actors. Play to your strengths!
- Vocal type – Think about the quality of your voice and natural accent. Different vocal qualities instantly give off a different impression.
Ask a Professional Casting Director for Guidance
If you have thought about your unique traits and still can’t place yourself within a specific “type,” you may benefit from speaking to professionals in the industry. A casting director is a great place to start as it is their job to look at actors and decide what roles they may be suited to.
Reach out to casting directors and casting director’s assistants on social media and ask them if they wouldn’t mind taking a look at a few of your photos and clips. Try to contact lesser known casting directors as they will be more likely to have the time and willingness to help out.
If you can’t find a casting director who is available to help you, try contacting other industry professionals. Directors, cinematographers, and even other actors can be very helpful as a second pair of eyes. Find open Facebook groups that are geared towards emerging film artists and make a public post — you’re bound to receive lots of comments offering suggestions of various character types you may suit.
Compare Yourself to Other Actors
Most actors naturally find themselves towards certain characters that they’d like to play. As you watch films going forwards, keep an eye out for characters that you think you could play. Notice which actors are cast in these roles. If they have a lot in common with you from the list of traits above, you may have found your type!
Take a look at these actors who bear similarities to you and look at other roles they’ve played throughout their careers. Look for patterns. If they tend to play similar types of characters, it may be that you would also be suited to play this type of character.
Accept Your Type
If you come to realise that your casting type isn’t exactly what you initially hoped it might be, it’s important that you learn to accept it. Fighting against your natural type can do more harm than good for your career. While you may dream of playing a certain role, you may simply not be the right age, have the right look, or possess the right qualities as an actor.
Of course, this is not to say that everyone should stay in their lane and only play characters that they are stereotypically suited for. Casting actors against type is far less common in the industry than it could be. Unfortunately, as an actor, it’s not usually up to what type of character you play. In some cases, the onus lies on our screenwriters, directors, and casting directors to expand their vision for a film and a role, and take a chance on a brilliant actor who may not conventionally fit the “type” of the character!
How to Use Your Type to Your Advantage
Once you’ve nailed down your unique type, you can begin to use it to your advantage. If you’re smart about it, you may even find that you’re able to obtain more roles from your new-found knowledge!
Market Yourself Effectively
As an actor, you should be trying to market yourself amongst industry professionals. While your agent is responsible for submitting you for roles, there’s a lot that you can do to get your name and showreel out there — by networking and using social media to your advantage, you may even land an audition or two for yourself.
Knowing your type can help you to become better and self-promotion in the following ways:
Headshots
Once you know the type or types you are realistically suited to play, you can make sure your headshots show off these types. For instance, if you think you’re best suited for period drama ingenue roles, a super edgy, modern shot isn’t going to do you any favours.
Many headshot photographers recommend that you have a few contrasting headshots at your disposal so that you can show off the range of casting types you are suitable for. For instance, if you know you’re good for period dramas but also for has-as-nails Queen Bee roles, choose a second shot that shows off this side of your personality.
Show Reels
These days, many actors make their own showreels before they get professional work. This helps them to market themselves to potential employers. If you’re planning on filming some showreel scenes, make sure to film scenes that show you off in your most “castable” light — in other words, choose to play characters that fall into your natural casting type for acting.
Add Your Heading Text Here
On rare occasions, you may come across an open casting call for a film role. While this opportunity can be exciting, be careful to ensure you are somewhat suited for the role in question before submitting an audition.
If you choose to audition for roles that are way outside of your range and type, not only will you waste your own time, you’ll also waste the time of the production team, too. They may remember this in the future which could count as a mark against you.
Of course, if you think you’re suited to play the role and it falls outside of your normal type, go for it! Just be careful to avoid reaching too far.
Make a Career Plan With Your Agent
If you think your agent doesn’t fully understand your type (and if you don’t have an agent yet check out our ‘how to get an agent for acting’ article), schedule a phone call or a meeting where you can discuss the types of roles you think you are best suited to. Knowing your type, and discussing your type with your agent can help you to come up with a more detailed career plan together — plus, it will help your agent to put you up for the roles you are likely to land!
Once your career progresses and you have a few more roles under your belt, the conversation can become about branching out from your established type to avoid typecasting.
Final Thoughts
Knowing your unique type can help you to improve your chances as an actor in an ultra-competitive industry. However, don’t let yourself get too bogged down by worrying about defining your exact type. Most people fit into a couple of traditional types. And of course, lots of good scripts try to avoid stereotypical types altogether. The most important takeaway here is to know your own traits and know the general vibe that you can play — it’s definitely not an exact science! As you get more experience in a variety of roles, you’ll probably learn which types of characters you enjoy the most.
