Typecast. To be or not to be?

...That is the question. While most actors spend their lives terrified of the possibility of being typecast and self sabotage potential jobs stressing over the “issue”, I’m here to play devils advocate and plant some food for thought.

Today’s blog post is going to be heavily weighted on actors, so I apologise to those of you who are in other fields but I truly believe it’s worth a read anyway. For those of you who don’t know what I mean by being typecast, Google says: “Assign (an actor or actress) repeatedly to the same type of role, as a result of the appropriateness of their appearance or previous success in such roles.” In short, actors are led to believe it’s a terrible, terrible thing to happen.

What if I challenged that thought process?

While I agree playing a similar role is always going to leave you hungry for a challenge, part of me questions how bad can it really be? My thoughts go something like this:

What if we pass up on a million opportunities?

We all like to think and believe that we are capable of being anything or anyone that we wish be. That we are mouldable, interchangeable and adaptable. However sometimes, the industry just doesn’t see us that way. Even something as basic as the way that we look or the accent we have, can be a hell of a good reason for people to hire us, time and time again for similar jobs. What if for us to find our place in the industry, for us to earn enough to live off our art and to be embraced and accepted, it meant being typecast? What if, we pass up on a million opportunities, effectively shooting ourselves in the foot, pursuing a dream of endless variety, which the industry is never ever going to give us anyway? Maybe, it’s the difference between incredible success and struggling to even get noticed.

There are tons of successful actors and actresses who have fallen foul of the old typecast issue. It’s important to point out that they are successful. They work regularly. They make money. They live their lives creating art. They do the very thing they’ve spent years and years slogging their guts out to achieve. They’re not ashamed. They’re not disappointed. They’re grateful to be able to live out their dreams and fantasies for a living. So really, is it such a bad thing?

I’ve thought about it often and realised that the industry, no matter how hard I work or what seeds I plant, will place me wherever it wishes to place me. It’s the one thing you or I have very little control over. I can spend my days dreaming of the next Titanic, or simply take the good jobs as they come and let the work guide me to where my place actually lies, rather than the place I THINK I deserve.

It’s about the art of getting paid.

You really have to evaluate what is important to you and why you even do this in the first place. Sure, I feel creatively full every time I take a new role, with new challenges, taking me to new places of the human psyche. It’s why I do it. But if someone came to me tomorrow and said I could live my life as a well paid, successful actor, but the catch is that I’m typecast OR I can soldier on for the remainder of my days, but never really getting the break I’d hoped for – would I say no? Highly unlikely.

Ultimately it IS about the art. But it’s equally about the art of getting paid. You really only ever get a few big breaks in your life, but once you’ve broken out, you never lose the opportunity to trade it all in for something else. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if that big break comes knocking, run with it. Run as fast and as far as you can. Then, when you’re feeling a little less creatively full, you can choose to trade it in. Many stars have traded the bright lights of Hollywood for a more indie future, rarely do you get to switch the other way around.

Next time you have an opportunity present itself, try declining the job on another basis. Judge it for the script. Judge it for the character. Judge it for anything other than it typecasting you. If it ticks all your boxes, it’s good to wonder what damage it will really do. If the project speaks volumes to you, then you could be passing up on the next cult hit. And nobody wants to sit saying to themselves, “that role was mine.”