The first heart you win over is that casting director. In first meetings, they'll be the ones who see your pitch for the character. And then as you get further up, they'll be the ones reading with you in front of the network.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
I've now been doing this for ten years, and I actually got to skip a stage of going to casting directors, and now I meet with the directors, either for lunch or an audition room, and I still read sides; you're never going to get around that, but I'm not the best person to go on an audition.
Whether I'm writing the script, or someone else writes the initial draft, I'm always an actor's director first. I always try to listen to them a lot and try to put their voices into their character.
Meeting with the director is an audition.
Casting is everything. Getting the person that you imagined is this character and then seeing what they bring to it.
As an actor, you're in the hands of producers and directors. It's important to find out who you're working with.
As actors, you become an expert at starting over.
Actors look for characters. If they read a well-written character, and if they think the director's not an idiot, they're going to sign up and do some acting.
So much about being a director is getting the show ready for that first preview audience. I have a lot of experience making events that only happen once; it's opening and closing night in the same three-hour span.
As the lead actor, you naturally get involved with a show.
Your audience gives you everything you need. They tell you. There is no director who can direct you like an audience.