How We Role: A Podcast for Actors by Casting Networks
How We Role: A Podcast for Actors by Casting Networks, breaks down an actor's journey, one topic at a time. Join award-winning actor, writer and host Robert Peterpaul alongside industry talent and experts as they discuss how to build a successful career as a performer and beyond in the entertainment industry. From inspirational casting stories to practical advice on the craft of acting, tune in to expand your skill set and book that role.
Discover fresh casting calls at castingnetworks.com.
How We Role: A Podcast for Actors by Casting Networks
How to Act Truthfully in Horror & Fantasy Genres with Casting Director Suzanne Smith
Want to know the key to grounding an acting performance in a heightened world? Emmy and Artios Award–winning Casting Director Suzanne Smith* (Resident Evil, Band of Brothers, and the Outlander universe) joins host Robert Peterpaul to explore the craft of acting truthfully in fantasy, horror, and period stories. Suzanne pulls back the curtain on what actually books roles: clean, human choices over theatrics; accents that honor rhythm and region; posture and breath that reflect period constraints; and self-tapes that highlight your eyes and thinking, not your props.
From accents and rhythm to intimacy, combat, and self-tapes, we explore the human choices that anchor big stories.
• Grounding performance in heightened genres.
• Practical audition tips for horror, fantasy, period, and other genres.
• How to do a "heathly" horror scream.
• 2 skills every actor should know.
• Out of the ordinary self tapes tips and more!
*Suzanne Smith is an Emmy & Artios Award winning Casting Director with over 30 years experience. Her mentor, Rose Tobias Shaw, was a tough, funny and smart American Casting Doyenne who helped Suzanne sharpen her skills into the Casting Director she is today. Not one to let her dyslexia be an obstacle, Suzanne began her career casting musicals including Tommy, Carousel and Crazy for You. She segued into film and television where she continues to make her mark to this day.
In her downtime, Suzanne enjoys walks with her beautiful dog Annabella and taking kickboxing classes where she's been told she smiles whilst boxing. She also has an unusual talent for not needing a watch or alarm - she can wake up at any time thanks to her own internal clock.
This is - How We Role. Discover fresh casting calls at castingnetworks.com.
Follow Host, Actor and Producer Robert Peterpaul (Amazon's Sitting in Bars with Cake, The Art of Kindness podcast) on Instagram @robpeterpaul and learn more at robertpeterpaul.com.
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Hi, I am uh Suzanne Smith. I'm British. I live in London. My height is five foot five. And you're listening to How We Roll.
SPEAKER_00:When it comes to working in entertainment, there's a lot of hows, and they all boil down to how we navigate this wild industry. While how we follow our dreams is uncertain, how we roll along the way is in our hands. Welcome to How We Roll, a podcast for actors by casting networks. Hello actors. It's your friend Robert Peter Paul here wishing you a happy spooky season. I don't know about you, but I love nothing more than curling up with a good fantasy or horror flick at this time of year. And I'm always amazed at how the actors in them handle such high stakes. Sometimes literally vampire stakes. In case you're wondering the same, I thought we could break down exactly this how to act truthfully in heightened worlds. Joining us is a prolific casting director who specializes in just that. Today's guest is Suzanne Smith, an Emmy and Artios Award-winning casting director with over three decades of experience under her belt. Suzanne began her career casting musicals including Tommy, Carousel, and Crazy for You. She seamlessly segued into film and television where she continues to make her mark, casting freaky flicks like the Resident Evil franchise, to period pieces like Apple's Michael Douglas-led Franklin, to her latest series, Outlander Blood of My Blood. In her downtime, Suzanne enjoys walking with her pup Annabella and taking kickboxing classes. She also has an unusual talent for not needing a watch or alarm. She can wake up at any time, thanks to her own internal clock. Now that's a supernatural power I need. Suzanne gives so many tangible nuggets of wisdom, from breaking down auditioning for genre-specific projects to staying grounded in CGI-driven worlds, to nailing the on-screen scream. I can't wait for you to hear this conversation, friend. And if you enjoy it, please pass it on to another actor. We'd also love to get you involved. Submit your hows for a chance to be featured on our next episode on social media at Casting Networks and at Rob Peterpal. Now let's go to a faraway land. Here's how we roll with acting truthfully in heightened genres. We're rolling. Well, thank you so much for being here, Suzanne. I'm thrilled to talk with you today.
SPEAKER_01:Lovely to be here as well.
SPEAKER_00:You know, from Alien versus Predator, I have to geek out for a second to Carnival Row, to now Outlander, Blood of My Blood. I am such an admirer of your work, and I feel so grateful to have you here today because I think the work you do is what grounds these fantastical projects that are sometimes literally up in the air. So thank you, first of all, for everything you do.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. Well, I enjoy what I do, and that's the main thing, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00:You can tell. And I think good work always comes from when people enjoy it and have that passion for it. So you're here today to help us break down kind of a spuktacular topic. How actors can stay grounded in heightened fantastical worlds or genres like the worlds you help build. So I can't wait to get into that. But first of all, here in the States, it is spooky season, Suzanne. Your work does get into the horror realm. And so I'm wondering what films or TV shows actually scare you? What's something that freaks you out?
SPEAKER_01:Well, I think the I remember going to see Nightmare on Elm Street with a friend.
SPEAKER_00:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:And I just went, ah, Freddie Krueger is. But then, you know, I've seen other things and I'm going, fine. So I don't know. I think it's uh sometimes it's the unpredictable that I think shocks people. It's uh but then you know, as a so-called rational human being, but are we are we all rational? Um sometimes. Sometimes, you know, when you're walking down a dark street, you go, oh, I'm all by myself. So you it's all those things because you know, we do have stories. We have seen stories in in uh so many. So it's uh it is like the beginning of a film like, no, don't go to that mansion up the driveway. No, you're not gonna knock on the door.
SPEAKER_00:But we can't help ourselves sometimes. Yeah, go walk inside. It's interesting too, because you're, I'm sure, on set for scary scenes sometimes or scarier moments. So I'm sure you've seen how the sausage is made to some extent. And yet if you could still get carried away in a story, I mean Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well I mean uh uh it is, it's uh um and a lot of it is is green screen. I mean it's uh i i you know, actors uh having to pretend that there's a must there. And there isn't. But uh so you've got to make it real, haven't you?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, the power of the mind. And we're gonna get into all that today. I want to acknowledge that you populate so many incredible and fantastical worlds on screen, most recently again, in including Outlander. It seems like so much fun, as you mentioned at the top of the show, but also a lot of work. What draws you to casting these projects specifically that aren't necessarily grounded in everyday reality?
SPEAKER_01:I have the kind of mind that likes a challenge. So give me something that has that is uh that is challenging. And I love history, I love fantasy. I used that's what I used to read as a child. It's a a lot of science fiction and and fantasy. And I knew all I used to read all the the fables um from all over the world because I love stories. And I suppose it's I'm dyslexic, so I see things, I I I'm quite visual and also, you know, sort of when I'm reading, I hear as well. So it it it's it's important uh to me. Um to have that uh sort of overview of uh of things when I'm reading a script. It's sort of I have to I have to engage with the with the with the with the material sort of uh yeah. So it's uh Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:The grounding and seeing the bigger picture is is super helpful. And in this world, especially today, we need these series to kind of take us away into these magical journeys. And they are relatable, they're grounded, like we said, but with Outlander now, you're collaborating with a lot of the same creatives. And it made me curious, Suzanne, before we get into the actual topic here, what is your dream collaborator? What do you kind of value most in the process of collaborating with others?
SPEAKER_01:I I think it's important that we all have voices and can share um an opinion and also be persuaded, you know, sort of or swayed, or oh, I never thought of that. Or and that happens from both because it's exciting to uh, you know, can we change that? You know, sort of can uh in when I first started, it was it was very male-centric scripts. And then slowly we have changed, and even so, you know, I I have always asked, you know, can that be a woman? Can that be this? Can that be that? You know, just to and then when you get something like Outland or Blood of My Blood, you know, which uh you know Diana Gabaldon was a female writer uh of the of the books that they're based on. So you have got, and you've got a very strong in both shows, you've got very strong women characters, which is which is wonderful for actresses to have that. But um and it's not just one, there's more than one who who uh who are strong. And I think in in Blood of My Blood i you do sort of uh uh see sort of how hard it was being a woman at that time and how hard it is uh sort of giving birth. Uh how uh that you had no say in who you wanted to marry. It was the the guys had far more power in those days. But the the women are still strong and and can sometimes get what they want.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Well, it's true. I mean, even I believe in in the first episode, we're right in that kind of female perspective. And it what I appreciated is that it's sort of put your typical beginning of an epic story on its head, in the sense of we're mourning this king-like male figure, but it's from the female perspective when traditionally you see the son sort of mourning the dad and he's gonna take over and he you know, he respected her, Peter Mullen, who plays her father, you know, respected um Ellen.
SPEAKER_01:And if if he had the opportunity, she she would have been his successor. But it was the males who were the successor.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. And I love that perspective too, because I think we all have to get to that point where we're respecting each other, and it's it's a different way-end, I found, to the series. And as we kind of embark on empowering actors to find their own voice, maybe in this wild, fantastical world, and to arm them with some knowledge, I thought a good place to start would be the auditions. So you could feel free to use Outlander as an example here, Blood of My Blood. What's, first of all, the biggest misconception you think actors have when they're auditioning for a fantasy or supernatural series?
SPEAKER_01:Aaron Ross Powell Sometimes I think you get if you read a story about sort of uh uh um say, for example, a god, then you you think in your head, oh, it should be this or it should be that. But I don't I I mean with Outlander on Blood or My Blood, uh you have one thing in common. You'd uh for a lot of the roles, you you have to do a Scottish accent. You know, that's that's one thing that you do have to uh and we know on the show we do have a number of Scots, and we have a number of people who are not Scottish but have uh a sort of Celtic background or or can do a very good Scottish accent that even some of the Scottish actors go, I didn't know. I think it it's do your research, you know, on what uh on what it should be, you know, sort of uh, you know, if it's based on a book, you do have a sort of an idea in your head as an actor of what you think the character might be. But in the script they might have changed something, you know, they might have given somebody a softer side than and how do you play a villain? There's different ways of playing a villain. You don't need to be, you know, sort of appear evil.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. I mean, even we have the devil rose Prada as a the great example of Maryland Street you know, coming in and being a very quiet, soft-spoken person who technically is the villain of the story. And I think you're you're right there. That contrast is super interesting. I I've heard you speak about the importance of having the accent in the audition. I wonder, since there certainly are coaches that come into play. Of course, I'm assuming the actor being, you know, in so alignment with the role and kind of being grounded in a fit takes maybe precedence. So would you say you have to be perfect in the accent or just kind of do your best and you'll be able to hear if they can get it?
SPEAKER_01:Do your best, but sometimes, you know, sort of I I've done quite a lot of American shows. So sometimes that that you do have to be uh as perfect as possible because it would be sometimes a bit like if you're a Brit and an American's trying to do a cockney accent and you just and you just go, I'm not.
SPEAKER_00:I know. Well, Treca Trey. No, sorry. That was that was kind of a more rose. I thought, you know, a way to get into auditions here and getting some advice from your brilliant brain. I thought we could warm up with a little game I'm calling scary good audition advice. Here's how it works. I'll conjure up a genre you've cast for, and you give us some wickedly good intel or wisdom, the best piece of tangible or unique advice you have to offer for actors auditioning for that specific kind of project. How does that sound?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, I might go off tangent, but I love a tangent.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, this is designed as a flash round, but inevitably we're gonna go down to some spooky dark woods.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I've heard you give a lot of great, very tangible advice in the past, so I'm extra excited. The first genre as we roll into this game is horror. What would you say is a tangible piece of wisdom for actors auditioning for horror? Maybe something we don't think about.
SPEAKER_01:Just make it real. You know, don't don't have to heighten anything because uh any character, no matter if you're doing a comedy or horror or whatever, just make it make it real.
SPEAKER_00:What about supernatural? When maybe some CGI comes into play and there's other elements.
SPEAKER_01:So you it's so supernatural. Okay, you're a fairy, so what do what do what do you do? Don't wear wings.
SPEAKER_00:Have you had that? Have you had people wearing wings in an audition?
SPEAKER_01:No, I haven't, but now I've said it. Do you know some of the I have had other things where people have turned up in a costume I once did I I once cast musicals. Um crazy for you, right?
SPEAKER_00:A lot of great musicals.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I did carousel for the National Theatre with Nick Heitner, and an actress came into the room and she had like a crinoline dress.
SPEAKER_00:Oh wow.
SPEAKER_01:And she did her uh singing audition, and it was just like Nick and I couldn't look at each other. We were just going, Oh no. And then when she went out, we just went, what? Don't wear a costume.
SPEAKER_00:Um That's great advice. Kind of the essence of the character, maybe.
SPEAKER_01:You can have the essence of the character. If you're playing a doctor, you don't need a white coat and a stethoscope. Um sometimes it does help if you are doing historical, fantasy historical. Yes, that's my next one.
SPEAKER_00:Period pieces. That's actually my next one here.
SPEAKER_01:I mean always make sure that uh if you stand or sit, because if you're male or female, you're gonna you're gonna have tight costumes, so you can't you know slump.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:You have to hold yourself. I mean, if if you are um you know and try standing sometimes if it to give more uh power to something, especially if you're tall.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so kind of the idea of it. But that's great in an audition sense, because even if you're auditioning for something period-wise, you know, you're not gonna go out there by the corset and X, Y, and Z. No doubt. You can still you can hold yourself as if you have it on.
SPEAKER_01:Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Um that just gives you that, you know, if you're playing a soldier, it just gives you even if you're a soldier in the First and Second World War, because I did Band of Brothers, so you you have to iconic, by the way.
SPEAKER_02:Yes.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, you you ha you you're not playing modern, you know, where you can slouch on a chair or yeah, people held themselves in in different ways. So also think in a period, you know, how how did they walk? Uh how uh what kind of fabric costumes that will give a restriction? Because you know, I've done things like Versailles, and uh again, you know, you're it's not it it's you're not sort of lounging on a city. So it's um but then there's other shows that you are lounging in a city, and then it you know, you can you can do I don't mind if somebody wants to sit or somebody wants to stand, as as long as we can see your eyes and face, you know, that's that's the the important thing. A lot of foreign actors uh like to do uh props and or or they will do, say it's in a forest, they will actually shoot it sort of in a forest.
SPEAKER_00:Oh, that was a question I had for you because a lot of these scenes are very environment-based. And so I'm wondering, is I mean, I found even with my own auditions lately, I just have more fun if I'm not throwing up the backdrop and like keeping it perfect with the ring light, if you're actually sort of doing it in the space with a clean background, of course. Yeah, what's your it sounds like you're okay with that if someone literally shoots up the phone?
SPEAKER_01:As long as you're real, you're you know, you're you're real. Yeah. I mean, it's I need to see your face. So, you know, sort of it doesn't mat I mean, nowadays you just do it on it, people can do it on phone. It it's not you don't need, you know, massive lights, massive camera. You you you sometimes it's beneficial to have somebody to read with you. I mean, we have cast um we have cast actors who didn't have people to read with them. On one show, we um actually my associate was very clever and uh she she put her voice in between the actor. He got rough.
SPEAKER_00:Oh. Oh, so they submitted just their lines and then they set his lines.
SPEAKER_01:He was a Mexican actor, and uh I didn't have anybody to read with him, and and she she um put her her her voice in between.
SPEAKER_00:The kindness of casting. See, there we go. Uh we've all been there too, where we sometimes have to quickly just do a self-take and maybe we record our own voice or friends and just play it. Friends children. It works.
SPEAKER_01:We do offer Zooms, you know. On on Silo, uh uh Kate who works with me, she's American, Kate Callwell. Um and she um she does a zoom. You know, if people want to zoom, uh we she does Zoom auditions with um Oh that's see again, another kindness.
SPEAKER_00:Before we put a period on the period section of this game, which is Oh yeah, sorry, sorry.
SPEAKER_01:See, I told you that I'd do a tangent.
SPEAKER_00:Listen, this is it's barely even a game, honestly, Suzanne. I'm just throwing words out the key words at you, but I would love to know. I heard you talk about with period pieces specifically, a very simple choice. And I've heard the opposite of this as well when you're auditioning for maybe an ABC or melodramatic soapy show. They'll say, have them do it again with, you know, more glam. For period, you've said a simple, tangible thing you can do is just don't wear makeup. Can you expand on that a little bit for people at home?
SPEAKER_01:Well you know, it's sort of it's kind of self-explanatory, but you've got false eyelashes. It sort of takes it away, doesn't it? Sort of uh uh from a period piece uh to a modern piece. Uh if you've got you know heavy eye makeup and you're in a silo, um it doesn't quite sort of go with the with the genre. It's you know, subtle makeup is fine, but having sort of auditioning with somebody who's got purple lips and it's period piece, which has happened, doesn't quite sort of go because all you're doing is looking at also if you try and sort of put a wig on sometimes that doesn't you you want to see what you really look like. If you uh and you know, if you there are some people who do have alopecia and so forth, so it's you know sort of uh we're uh sort of that's that's fine. But if you we know what you normally look like and suddenly you've put a red wig on or something, it doesn't quite go, you know, with match your headshot. Also sometimes is is if you've had a sort of dramatic uh but it also comes to guys, you know, suddenly they're clean-shaven and they got this big beard which makes them look about 10 years older than this. They happen to be in a play, you know, it's not their fault, you know.
SPEAKER_00:I know. Do you see do you get questions from teams sometimes? Because I'm always tempted to ask my agent, what headshot did you submit? Was I more scruffy? Was I clean-shaven? If I'm not sure, sometimes you just know the character you make a choice and you think you can't. Do you get that at all? Like the person wants to make sure they kind of match the vibe that made you want to call them in, or it doesn't really matter.
SPEAKER_01:I have asked people to can they shave, you know, especially if you're paying playing like it meant to be a teenager or something. Like, you know, some teenagers do have, you know, sort of moustaches or or uh but to make yourself look older because it's that psychological thing, because if somebody's looking at I mean I never, never, never ask anybody's age, because that's just you know you put somebody in a box as soon as you start sort of saying, you know, how old you are. You know, oh, oh you're 28, but you oh oh no, you're too old, but you didn't know, and you were going to cast them as a 22-year-old, you know. Sort of it's um so uh yes, we have sometimes put clean shaven, you know, it's just to make sure that if you are playing a teenager or 20-year-old, that it's sort of it we try and be as helpful and give as much information as possible um to for actors. Because sometimes, as you know, you you'd get these pages and you just go. Hmm? So w what what who, what, how?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yes. Yes. You go through all the the the five W's there. Just hearing you talk, it makes me wonder. I know I said we were gonna move on from period, but before we put the the actual period on the period, I would love to know have you heard of iPhone face? Is that dude is that common to play with casting? Have you heard of that?
SPEAKER_01:Or iPhone face?
SPEAKER_00:This I I think.
SPEAKER_01:What is iPhone?
SPEAKER_00:This is what the kids are saying. It's like you either have iPhone face or you don't. So iPhone face is sort of like if you see an actor, or it's just in life, with people walking around, you don't believe that that person's never seen an iPhone. It's like you just look at their face and you say, nah, that person's like they just they look modern. Do you feel like you see actors who just not necessarily their appearance and their their wardrobe, but they just look too modern. Is that a thing? No. Okay. We can dispel iPhone face, everybody. This is a real this is a real trending topic.
SPEAKER_01:I asked my team. I'm gonna say iPhone Face.
SPEAKER_00:It might just be in America, because we're we're weird, but iPhone Face is a trending thing. I don't I had to ask you, Suzanne. Okay. The last one I had was fantasy. I think we talked about fantasy a little bit, but I would love to hear just a a bit more in the sense of auditioning, creating that environment. I mean, you said you've had people tape outside. I know for me, sometimes just playing outdoor noises before you start recording or whatever gets you in the mindset. But it just seems like it's the kind of thing that when it works, it works, right?
SPEAKER_01:It's just Yeah, well, recently I I've just watched a couple of auditions where the act uh the actors used, they had voices, they'd recorded so like voices talking, and then they came in with their lines over the voices, which I thought, oh that does work. You know, that was Okay. So if you feel it's like you're quite clever with your uh with your recording that. How did you do that? I just went, oh, that's interesting. Because it was a speech. It was a speech that somebody that a guy was giving. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Well, it's that's a good point too. It's that moment before. You know, how are you walking into the scene? What are you carrying with you? And it, you know, it's not cheating if you have something like that and it works. I think that's really cool.
SPEAKER_01:But how do you start? I mean, in the in the good old days when we it used to be just room auditions, you know, you would I would always advise, you know, just take your time before you say the first word. I mean, now you're at home, so it's up to you, you know, how you how you start it. You know, sort of it's where do I look? Do I go from side to the to the front? It depends on who you're talking to. You know, if you're talking to a child, you're talking it it really does depend.
SPEAKER_00:It's too much power sometimes. Sometimes you're talking to five people in the scene, you're like, I'll put one there, one there, one there.
SPEAKER_01:Then you just just focus on one person.
SPEAKER_00:Focus on one prison. That's great advice. So with Blood of My Blood, were there any out-of-the-ordinary auditions that kind of stand out to as we're talking about these very environment-based or different things that stand out to that actors have done. I wonder if there's, you know, one or two stories you have in that regard.
SPEAKER_01:In a in uh in um Blood of My Blood, you know, we uh it was unusual, is that you already had a story that you were doing the prequel for. So you knew who the main characters, and I'd cast the whole all the seasons of Outlander, all eight seasons. Only seven have been shown so far. Um so you we had pictures of some of the characters that we knew that we had to find the younger versions of. So uh we put them all up on the wall. So we managed to find, you know, sort of uh younger pictures of Graham McTavish and uh Bill Patterson and people that we knew we got to find, Gary Lewis to find their younger versions of um Annette Badland. So we had all the photographs, so but also we knew that the kind of essence that they have, you know, sort of like Dougal is sort of devil make hair and uh also height-wise, because you uh um you knew that with Column, because of his um leg deformity, that we had to find somebody who was shorter than uh than his brother. Um Bill Patterson is quite short, so we knew that with that role we had to find somebody who was a certain size, you know, sort of height-wise. So it and then you know who was Scottish, who was English. It's all those, all those things that come into play, you know, sort of you knew that um that uh Brian Fraser is not going to be it's gonna be, you know, six foot, you know, sort of uh um and that Ellen uh it had red hair. So you knew that all those things that come into play, of course, you know, sort of you can dye hair, you can. Um, but you can't with height, you can't really fake it.
SPEAKER_00:Uh I guess gone are the days of the Apple box, you know, people staying on the embrace. Yeah. Well, you know, it's interesting because with this example, obviously there is the pre-existing universe, so it's a little bit easier for actors to do their homework, but it could be with this, with any other genre roles. Is there one thing that tells you an actor immediately understands the world when you're watching auditions?
SPEAKER_01:I suppose it's sometimes it's also a rhythm of p the way people speak. So I say accents, but it's also the way, because not every Scottish accent is a Highland accent. If you're doing a sort of guttural uh Glaswegian accent, it doesn't work.
SPEAKER_03:Interesting.
SPEAKER_01:Um doing your homework is because you have got all those seasons of the show, so you can sort of see, you know, what it's about. Um and also, you know, there were certain characters that had nudity, so you know, the um nudity has changed so much since the beginning of Game of Thrones. Uh so you have to be very um, you know, we have um uh a nudity. coordinator on set so you you do have and we had to be very you know careful what we um what we said you know we wanted to show or not show and it's it's it is uh something that you know actors have to be comfortable to uh sign up for because not everybody um can or wants to you know sort of it's that has changed in all the years since the beginning of Outlander and and um and Blood of My Blood. That has changed quite a lot.
SPEAKER_00:This reminds me I was a reader for this television series that was auditioning and all these female identifying performers were coming in and it was an intimate scene and I mean first of all the the bravery it takes to kind of walk into a room with strangers and do that is beyond me. But I was blown away by how different everybody's choices were and how they made it their own. So I'm wondering Suzanne have you seen in the sense of auditioning I guess actors sort of brilliantly navigate the more romantic audition scenes. Like when there's a big kiss, sometimes they say just make intimate eye contact or lean in a little bit. What are sort of your tips and tricks there?
SPEAKER_01:All all our actors, because we had a director there as well. So it's they all respectfully do you mind if I can touch your hand? Can I do you know that it was because you have to show some kind of chemistry. So it can't be you know so you have to so can I do this? So it was all very respectful on on what people felt comfortable with male and female because it's not again it is we we tried to make sure that they chatted outside so it wasn't that cold you know but it still was you know because you don't you don't know uh somebody that uh uh that that you are going to you know peck on the cheek or come close you don't have to you because you can fake it to yeah but it you know we we were very sort of meticulous on on on how uh and also it's it's quite difficult because you are trying to get them in the same shot. It's not quite the same as it will be it would be on set where you would have the different camera angles. So it it is a little bit closer. Oh no that doesn't work. Can we it's a dance or what do we do? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah it's a bit of a waltz. Okay well in addition to that and romance I'm just gonna list some of the things that actors get to do in Blood of my blood. So there's there's romance at and those scenes as we talked about there's grief and mourning there's horseback riding there's accents throughout there's combat there's getting a finger chopped off there's conflict negotiations, heavy dialogue, fantastical elements, and that's just episode one, Suzanne any advice on how actors can make these very high stakes life or death emotions feel truthful without tipping into overacting? Because there is that saying of like give me everything and I'll scale you back.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. But especially when you're first meeting an actor I think it's hard doing a one scene uh and and and making it sound real instead of sort of uh making a a meal of it. It's it's hard I mean it is hard. What I would recommend to to any actor actress is two things learn to drive and wr learn to ride a horse.
SPEAKER_00:I love that.
SPEAKER_01:Because that's that happens in historical, in fantasy you're always going to have horses aren't you? Yeah cowboys, you know sort of Yeah that's super smart. It it is because you know we have had we did have an actor who said yes I can ride and then we you know we do have um uh they go for a riding lesson to assess their ability. And I think it came back oh he might have been on a donkey no you can't ride oh no and is that that's a big deal breaker because there's probably just well it wasn't that case but you know if you're chosen sort of early enough you you you you can learn to ride. But also you know some some people are allergic to horses you know and you you don't know that do you that uh at the time so it's uh um getting back to his is the the his all the emotions I mean if if you have got fighting skills and you know a lot of actors now do have you know reels with them fighting or they've done it in drama school not sort of in in the UK um you get a fighting certificate from your three year course.
SPEAKER_00:That's fun.
SPEAKER_01:So you do learn how to use because you know so many Shakespeare shows you know Macbeth etc have you know fighting scenes in them so you um have to learn how to to um use a sword and how to uh how to fight as though you know you it looks like you're throwing a punch or get or being punched um so you do have to learn how to take a fall and so forth. So you do learn um quite a lot at drama school not just absence you you learn fighting skills.
SPEAKER_00:Double double toil and trouble. It's important I talk with a lot of casting directors on here and I think a through line is that it's really important this sounds so silly but to be a human and have a life and develop other skills outside of acting. I mean I know you enjoy kickboxing I've heard and outside you know skills like that do come in handy because then when you're well you might get more in auditions that way if you have it listed but also when you're on a project and these things come up, you'll be a bit more prepared. And like you're saying, time is of the essence. There isn't always time to get a crash course in horseback No there isn't.
SPEAKER_01:But it yeah do have a life because it it is important and you never know. You know, you might be going out for a role of a chef and you you've been able to create you know you do your own pasta or or make cakes or something. It it's sometimes skills sometimes come into play that uh that you haven't thought of.
SPEAKER_00:I also have a dog so I take my dog yes I've heard a beautiful dog you take for a walk. We have that in common where I mean I want a dog but walking is what always recenters me, you know, just going on a long walk. It's great to have those routines and animals as well. They do say acting with animals or really young children is sort of the best way to ground yourself in a scene or be upstaged because they're not acting they're just there having you know whatever time they're having well speaking of skills, Suzanne, we did poll our listeners and the number one question that we got for you on this subject was about the horror movie Face or scream. So it this applies to Outlander as well. So the the famous scream if you're scared or whatever's happening have you noticed anything about that over the years? I think screaming on screen for some reason to actors at least our listeners is something they want to perfect.
SPEAKER_01:Screaming I think it's crying is more than more than I've had more crying than screaming. Or both yeah at the same time. And some people can do it at will and others can't and you and I'm gobsmacked you know when people can sort of cry. I I don't think I've done many scenes with screaming in them. I'm just trying to think that I Yeah I guess there's more guttural like screaming in blood of my blood yes we did have a uh a dying soldier in Blood of my blood I mean Band of brothers we had a lot of dying people actors seem to like to have the the best deaths possible it's yes oh I'm going to prosthetics yay you know okay that's funny.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah I guess you you do have scenes where actors are dying that you you have to audition in a self-tape form I mean it's I'm guessing it's okay to lie on that floor and just die. I mean don't feel like you have to present it in the perfect light, right?
SPEAKER_01:I think we could I mean I don't know I'm just trying to think have I had somebody I think it's a last guy yes I have had uh people in one scene and out. Yes I have I have had that um it's I think it's probably scary on a live Zoom because sometimes you're like wait are you okay?
SPEAKER_00:Are you is this real?
SPEAKER_01:Screaming I suppose uh I I've done it when when I've seen a spider myself in the something when you don't expect it.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. Well you know what everybody out there channel what scares you and just scream see what happens well speaking of you know these heightened emotions and scenes can you share a memory of a wild scene an actor had to do in an audition or it could be on set as well and how they made it work. So I'm thinking if someone's getting an audition where there's going to be a lot of CGI same applies to when you're on set and there's a green screen when's a time where you was sort of gobsmacked to use your beautiful word from earlier by the way an actor handled the situation.
SPEAKER_01:But people have done the strangest things. We love that I have had somebody who came in for comedy and ended up uh uh ended up crying in my arms because he'd just broken up with his girlfriend. Oh interesting and that was I can't do it. Quite a well known actor but I'm not gonna name his name. But that was a long time ago.
SPEAKER_00:But I mean that was that was unexpected you know yeah Benedict Cumberbatch how dare you no I'm just kidding but I don't know who it was. It wasn't what about in the sense of an actor gets a scene and let's say there's you know I'm just throwing random things out there but there's like a drag a dragon coming toward them or there is a time travel aspect to it or there's something fantastical in that scene have you seen actors sort of navigate things well on the tangible front things actors can do to kind of like subtly nod to the world without distracting you in an audition?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah I suppose it's sort of if you're uh take your time I mean if you've got uh something uh sometimes the natural thing is to speed something up because you think well but sometimes if you if you have been speeding to slow it down and then you know it it's it's like any script there's a beginning the middle and an end so it's you can't be the same throughout. Yeah the art uh so is is where where do you where do you break it what what what is the rhythm is there a rhythm can I then change something to make it um my own um it it's but then you can't do everything in a long pause it just won't it w it doesn't work but it really does depend on the on the scene if you are doing something um to me voice is is always important it's like sort of sometimes it's surprising that if you think something should have a deep voice and has a high voice and and so and vice versa. As long as it doesn't sound as though you're doing a cartoon for I know you're not got it's like sometimes it's sort of um it's interesting sometimes when when I first sort of was casting a lot of Brits doing American accents they they their voice would go like in a higher register. And it was weird it was like that's not your normal voice. It is weird register is a little bit um I think that's changed now because uh but it it used it used to be that um talking about screaming just coming back on it and what uh Patsy Rodenberg who's a wonderful voice coach they were doing Pygmalion at the National Theatre uh when I was there and um uh um this was the play not the musical and Frances Barber was playing uh Eliza Dude little little and she had to scream a lot oh you know and there was a lot of screaming going on um uh with her trying to learn how to to be a lady and uh Patsy gave the best advice about screaming she said do it as though you're singing choose a note that sounds very healthy very healthy because Frances was losing her voice so it was um that's how she helped her.
SPEAKER_00:That's great advice.
SPEAKER_01:It's a little interesting I just came it just came to me when you were talking about screaming I'm glad it did.
SPEAKER_00:I love that it's like ah well also you know you don't want to scare your neighbors too much. And so if you keep having to scream and scream and scream for an audition, I'm sure they know the and an actor lives there because you've probably done some other weird things they've heard through the walls, you know, us magical people. Speaking of the the pitches in voice, I think you're right and I've read a lot of research on the fact that now as a global society we share a lot of entertainment and so these things are sort of dissipating. But with vocal pitch or even other choices, what are your thoughts on more than one take? Because I know casting directors have different thoughts on this.
SPEAKER_01:I I think you know do two takes that's not a that's not a problem. But make sure that they're different not that you've sometimes you people keep it the same and it's and it could be that you want to change the beginning you want to change the end or you want to change the um the the the thought on on on something because it could be that you are thinking and I'm gonna be really bad here is is that sorry writers but if you are uh because sometimes in the middle of a uh scene that we get we get comments from writers saying shouting or angry or sad or crying and it it it doesn't could sometimes fit with uh with the emotion that you're going through because you can't sort of sometimes switch like that. Um so it it's how do you how do you change that? Also rhythms and other things that that have changed is because we are more global and there's more foreign actors um that we that everybody sees on shows and that is a good thing because you know living in London it is a global city. You you walk down the street and everybody's talking different in different ways and different accents and come from different places, which is fantastic. So you can learn a lot about how um how people say things or the rhythm of things um and and your year gets used to I I know that some people when when Outlet first came up uh used to put the subtitles on because they wanted to make sure that they understood the Scottish accents.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, I do we just did that the other night with we were finally finishing Dairy Girls. I don't know if you've seen it on Netflix such a great show. So much fun we strung it out for so long the last episode because we didn't want it to end. And that was one of those shows where we did have the subtitles on just because it does move so fast. And I think you're right that's a that's a great brilliant point the rhythm of things that we don't think enough about sort of that unexplicable energy or rhythm you have with your reader or just in the scene. And I love what you mentioned too about taking the pressure off of these annotations because maybe we don't have to scream in the scene everybody. Maybe you don't maybe when you're scared you you just freeze and you can't even do anything.
SPEAKER_01:Everybody you know reacts in different ways. So you know sometimes w when you're angry, people react in different ways. You know, they they go quiet, um they shout not everybody shouts. You can see it in somebody's eyes you know that that that uh the rising anger it's the same as you know when somebody's falling in love. Everybody does it in different ways or shows it in different ways. So it's uh we're we're not universal in that respect. But you can tell body language you can tell you know if somebody likes somebody so you know if you are doing if you are doing a screen test and you're going like that as opposed to like that well you know that the you can tell that um yeah you can you know and never fold your arms in an audition because that immediately says you know I I negative it's a psychology when you're watching something is is like um if you give things I'm uncomfortable or you know go away um the person viewing it is is going to pick on on those even though you're saying something else you're saying sort of you know I like you. No you don't are you sure?
SPEAKER_00:Are you like a genie coming out of a bottle or are you are you mad?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah because you know the nervousness people all do different things. It's it's sort of you know some people play with their fingers some people play with their hair you know in the it's all you know utilize what what makes you uh do certain things sometimes helps because it helps you sort of then feel something and it's not right or wrong it's not um because if you are angry and you um your mouth purses up you know sort of that's you don't have to shout or you can't speak you you can't form words because you're too alone too emotional. I mean that's that's that's a normal thing isn't it so you know try and think of all the things that you use your psychology you know the the that you as an observer because you know actors and uh casting directors are we're all observers aren't we?
SPEAKER_00:So it's yeah it's a funny thing. I always think how peculiar it is that when something's really dark, sometimes I'll smile when delivering the news if it's like super traumatic and on paper you might get that audition and and think I have to be super serious. This is a sad scene. But I love that you're saying like you can plug yourself into it and and that'll help take the pressure off of things because Cinderella, there's only one slipper that fits her. You're not gonna fit you know you can make your own shoe. I guess to have a cheesy metaphor here Suzanne. So I think that's super special. I wonder if you could expand on any advice for actors grounding themselves in an audition because you could be the greatest quote unquote actor in the world but nerves can overtake you and a lot of good actors aren't good auditioners.
SPEAKER_01:So I I know I know it's um I mean it's it's hard I mean take take your time just breathe. I mean that's that's the the thing because if you if you again if you get nervous it's all gonna go in your throat it's not going to and it when it tightens up um just take your time um don't do like 20 takes and show them to your brother mother best friend yeah lover whatever and go which one which one I know you know that's a lot it's uh oh look my hair looked a bit you know messy on that I know but you did a good performance do the send the good performance not that you thought your hair was out of place.
SPEAKER_00:Yes I think a lot of we touched on this earlier but a lot of actors feel like especially when they're meeting a casting professional for the first time that you have to look your best and sometimes that goes against the scene and the character. And so it's like we feel like we have to be so perfect in the self-tape, perfectly lit, perfect hair or whatever. But again like it takes the fun out of it, right? Of channeling the person that's maybe actually very sweaty and gritty and the one you're looking for.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I mean it again do brush your teeth though you know things that's yeah you don't want to have bad breath and you you probably wanted to have a mint or something like that. That's a good point.
SPEAKER_01:It is spinach on the top. Yes oh yeah almost it's comedy that you're auditioning for and that's life is sometimes a comedy yeah in a lot of strange ways.
SPEAKER_00:But we've talked about staying grounded for actors in fantastical worlds today. And I wonder what grounds you Suzanne in in your business, in your line of work? What are the things that really ground you? I mean I I'm sure it's your dog and walking the dog and all the having a sense of humor I think is important.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah you know it's because we are in a everything is meaningful but you you do have to laugh sometimes. You know life catches you with with surprises and sometimes you know there there are things that you really enjoy and there's other times you know where where it's not and because per personal life you know comes comes in and not everything is up and joyful but say save for the moments that are that are you know sort of um joyful I mean I have around me things that I like you know so I think we all have our little uh whether it's at a desk or I'm in my house at the moment so I don't can't really see. You're comfortable and I've got you know I've I've got a garden so I'm very happy I have a garden I can go out and look at the flowers uh but it is getting colder.
SPEAKER_00:I know here too yeah it is it was very chilly today which is nice because when I record these and I have all these lights on and everything I I like to be a little cold so I don't get too hot because sometimes it's the opposite you can't put the AC on with the mics.
SPEAKER_01:You do put everybody at their ease you do put me at my ease. I I find it quite easy talking to you.
SPEAKER_00:Oh thank you. I find it quite easy talking to you too you're you're so sweet and knowledgeable and I barely even scratched the surface of the questions I had for you here today and and you certainly just gave great advice. I love to laugh to quote Mary Poppins but we always end on a got in andor a given Suzanne so what would you say is the best piece of advice you've either gotten or given for actors in regards to something tangible and if if it would be what you've already said, this can be something that's more in a business standpoint. So so the best piece of advice you've gotten and then have to give or just one if it's too much because I've noticed sometimes they're the same.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah sometimes they are the same. I was very lucky in that I was mentored casting director called Rose Tobia Shaw who was American she came from the Bronx um and she was she was highly um intelligent very funny um her advice is always you know stayed with me on on so many different levels um but you know she enjoyed life do what you love I think is is that she she loved life she loved she loved food she um yeah I'm hungry now um and I mean she did she had more she would say exactly what she what what she thought I'm more English so I don't I don't really and she came from New York so yeah um but we we had so much laughter and it was so much fun and I I'm lucky that you know I I don't work alone I have a a team who are fantastic uh glenda kate and Laura and you know we we all support each other and I think that's that's that's important and and I work with nice people that's that's I love that and that's that's important to me to have that um it it it makes you know the day uh you can ask people questions you know yeah it you're there to help to solve you're not there to uh um be a pain or or whatever you know and and I'm I'm supportive of people and I I believe people should be supportive of one another and I think that's um that's what I try to do.
SPEAKER_00:So that's beautiful. Well you seem to walk that walk because even in your bio that I was reading you you mentioned her and give credit to your mentors and the bio is supposed to be all about you but you you seem to make it that's such a supportive space which I loved even just reading that. And I think to hark back to what you said earlier, a lot of the things we do are so silly. I mean sometimes you're in a harness and if you can't laugh or lead with kindness it's you know it's sort of like what's the point? We're all here to play make-believe to some extent and live in these fun worlds. And I highly recommend everyone go to your IMDB page and check out everything you've done. But of course get into the outlander universe, blood of my blood on stars. It's been such a joy talking to you, Suzanne. I am grateful that we have leaders like you in this industry that are again leading with kindness and joy for what they do at the very top you said I love what I do. And I think first of all it's it's so lucky to be able to say that and I think if we were all able to say that, you know the world would be a a brighter place. So thanks for being here.
SPEAKER_01:Not at all. I really enjoyed it thank you so much.
SPEAKER_00:Oh thank you
