When an actor is struggling to figure out their casting type, one useful question I ask is:
Are you better playing strong characters who have a weakness – or are you better at playing vulnerable characters who are called on to show strength?
Knowing the answer can be helpful.
The thing about casting types is: nothing is definitive.
For years, Liam Neeson was the calm, sensitive guy. Then one day he woke up and he was the ‘Taken’ guy.
Actors change, actors grow.
Your Casting Type may not be anything like your real personality. Many actors are better at playing their shadow side. The parts cut off from your personality may find their expression in the characters you play.
That being said, a few times a year I’ll meet a posh, naturally RP actor who wants to “focus on more edgy roles”. They usually can’t do them. At least not in the way they want. But they can play “person of wealth/privilege who commits a crime.” If they accept that, they can have a lot of fun.
Thinking about casting types is enough to make most actors want to quit the industry. Everyone has an opinion; their drama school teachers, their agents, their husbands and wives, their showreel makers.
With no shortage of opinions, at some point, you need to make a decision. Rather than focus on what every random industry person tells you, you should probably look inward, and see what resonates with you, all the while being humble enough to know; you probably can’t do everything.
Al Pacino can’t do what Jim Carrey can do. Jim Carrey can’t do what Al Pacino can do. That’s okay.
What can you do well? What types of roles do you excel in?
You can’t ignore how the industry perceives you, but you should also have a strong sense of what you are capable of.
We all know actors who think too much about this stuff. Usually the result of insecurity, of being too concerned with the opinions of those around them, they never take decisive action on headshots, showreel scenes and the general business of branding themselves. Instead, they safely stay in mediocrity; trying to be a piece of everyone, settling on being no-one, not even themselves.
If you asked me, I could probably give you a strong indicator of what your casting type is. But a much better, more complete answer, resides within you, the actor.
