Questions to Ask a Casting Director
For actors in an audition, on a self-tape brief, or in a general meeting. 29 questions covering what the sides do not tell you, how the room wants the scene played, accent and tone, tape specifications, shoot dates and role size, what happens at the next stage, and how to be easy to bring back.
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The questions
Each question, and why to ask it
Is there anything about this character that isn't in the sides?
Why ask it
Casting directors often hold a line from the brief that never made it into the pages: an age range that has shifted, a relationship, a piece of history. Asking once, in an open way, tends to get it handed over.
Where does this scene sit in the story?
Why ask it
Two identical pages play completely differently depending on whether the character already knows the news. If the reply is that they cannot say, treat that as the answer and pick a choice rather than hedging.
Who am I talking to in the scene, and where should I put them?
Why ask it
Practical and quick: it settles eye line, whether you are reading with someone, and whether the other character is present at all. Guessing this is one of the most common reasons a decent read looks unfocused on camera.
Would you like this close to the page, or should I play with it?
Why ask it
Some projects will not accept a paraphrase, particularly when the writer is protective or the dialogue is stylised. Asking beforehand is far better than being pulled up for it in the middle of a take.
How much accent do you want here?
Why ask it
Rooms differ on whether they want a full accent or a light suggestion at this stage, and a heavy one can bury an otherwise good read. Asking also signals that you can do it either way.
Do you want it off book, or is holding the sides all right?
Why ask it
Holding pages is usually welcome and often preferred at a first audition, but nobody tells you unless you ask. The answer removes the one thing most likely to occupy your attention while you are reading.
Would you like me to slate first, or go straight in?
Why ask it
A small logistical question that prevents an awkward false start and shows you have been in a room before. It also gives you five seconds to settle.
Would you like another take, and is there anything you'd like different?
Why ask it
This puts the adjustment in their hands instead of asking them to praise the first attempt. If they decline a second take, that is about the schedule far more often than about you.
What's the tone of the piece: is this played straight, or is there comedy in it?
Why ask it
Tone is the note actors most often miss on material that reads flat on the page. Getting it wrong makes a technically clean read feel like it belongs in another project.
How does the director like to work with actors on the day?
Why ask it
Rarely asked and usually answered, because casting directors have watched the director work. You learn whether to expect close direction or to arrive with fully formed choices.
What are the shoot dates, and how many days is this role?
Why ask it
You need this before holding time or turning other work down, and casting knows it early. Vague dates late in a process are worth noting: it often means finance or a lead is not yet locked.
Is the part recurring, or is it this episode only?
Why ask it
Changes what you are agreeing to and, on television, what the option terms may commit you to for a following series. Ask now rather than after an offer arrives with a deadline attached.
Is there intimacy, nudity or stunt work involved that I should know about?
Why ask it
Better raised plainly and early than discovered on a call sheet. A professional production will answer directly and mention whether an intimacy coordinator is engaged; hesitation or vagueness here is itself information.
For the tape, what framing, slate and file naming do you want, and when do you need it?
Why ask it
Tapes are ruled out on technical grounds every day: wrong aspect ratio, no slate, a file the office cannot identify. One question protects the work you are about to do.
Should I read the whole scene on tape, or just my lines?
Why ask it
Practice varies between offices and briefs, and the wrong choice can double the length of your tape or leave it unreadable. Also ask whether they want the reader audible or kept low.
Who's in the room at the next stage, and what will they be looking for?
Why ask it
Knowing whether it is the director, the producers or a network audience tells you how much to change and how much to keep identical. A callback is usually about consistency rather than novelty.
What's your timeline, and should I check in or wait to hear?
Why ask it
You are asking for permission to follow up, which turns silence from a verdict into a schedule. Most offices will tell you a week and mean it.
Should my agent be speaking to you about availability?
Why ask it
Moves the business conversation to where it belongs and shows you know the difference between the two. If you are unrepresented, it is a natural moment to ask how they prefer to be contacted.
What kinds of roles are you seeing me for at the moment?
Why ask it
A general meeting question, not an audition one. The answer tells you how you are being read by people who cast for a living, which is often a few years or a whole register away from how you see yourself.
What would make it easier for you to bring me in again?
Why ask it
Invites something concrete: a shorter reel, better self-tape sound, a different set of photographs, more comedy material. Casting directors will say it if you ask, and rarely if you do not.
Where does this character start, and where do they end up?
Why ask it
The sides usually show one moment with no context. Knowing the destination changes how much you resolve in the audition scene, and stops you from playing an ending the character has not reached.
What are you hoping to see in this role that you haven't seen yet today?
Why ask it
The most useful question in the room, because it asks about the gap rather than the ideal. Casting directors often answer honestly, and the answer amounts to free direction.
Is the role written as it has to be cast, or are you open on age and background?
Why ask it
Breakdowns are often narrower than the actual search. Asking can keep you in a room you would otherwise talk yourself out of, and it beats guessing at what they want.
Would it help if I read for anything else in this?
Why ask it
Offering rather than asking keeps the pressure low. Casting directors frequently have a second part in mind and no graceful way to raise it, and this hands them the opening.
Is there anything on my resume you'd like me to talk about?
Why ask it
Opens a door without pushing. If they take it, you learn what caught their attention. If not, you have lost nothing and kept the room conversational rather than a pitch.
Is this union or non-union?
Why ask it
It decides whether you can take the job, and what hours, minimums and protections apply. A production unclear about its own status is worth doubting on other points too.
What's the rate for this role?
Why ask it
Reasonable at a callback or when an offer is forming, and easy to mistime at a first read. If the figure is deferred repeatedly, notice that before you clear a week of your calendar.
Where does this shoot, and is travel or accommodation covered?
Why ask it
A distant location can turn a decent fee into a loss once travel and lodging come out of it. Ask now rather than while weighing an offer under time pressure.
Who's producing, and have they made something in this format before?
Why ask it
New companies are not a problem in themselves; unpaid, unclear or unfinished projects are. A straight answer about past work is easy for a legitimate production to give.
Using these in the room and on tape
Practical guidance for the conversation itself
When to ask what
- 1Before you read, ask only what changes how you play it: eye line, whether to hold the sides, accent, and anything missing from the sides. Two questions, then read.
- 2Immediately after the read, ask for an adjustment or a second take. This is the moment they are most willing to direct you.
- 3Once the reading is finished, ask about dates, role size and next stages, when they have already made the decisions they came in to make.
- 4Leave anything about money, billing or contracts to your agent, or to an email afterwards if you do not have one.
Self-tapes and briefs
- Send technical questions to the office in one short email rather than four, and send them the same day the brief arrives.
- If nobody answers before the deadline, follow the brief exactly and note what you assumed in the email you send with the tape.
- Ask about deadline in the recipient's time zone. Same-day briefs are common and midnight somewhere else is not midnight where you are.
- Ask whether they want one take or two. Sending three unrequested takes puts the choice on someone with two hundred tapes to watch.
What not to ask
Who else is up for it
Nobody can answer this and being asked makes the room feel like a competition rather than a workplace. The same goes for asking how many people they are seeing.
Why you did not get a previous job
The reason is usually something outside your control, and asking puts the casting director in an awkward position with a director or producer. Ask what would help next time instead.
Anything you could have read in the brief
Character breakdowns and shoot dates are often in the material already, and asking anyway suggests you have not read it. Check the brief once more before you send that email.
A long list of character backstory questions
Casting directors did not write the script and rarely have answers about a character's childhood or secrets. Those are choices for you to make, and making one confidently reads better than asking permission.
General meetings are a different conversation
There is no role in the room, so the useful questions are about how you are being seen and how their office works: what they are casting next, whether they prefer tapes or in-person reads, how they like to receive updates from actors they have met. Bring one piece of news about your own work, keep it to a sentence, and let the rest be their answers.