Talent Spotting...

I’m creative – but I can’t draw. Ergo – I admire Artists. The same is true for Actors.

I do however love to ‘talent scout’.

A good example of what I’m talking about is the latest Matrix movie. While all hell was breaking loose, I was thinking how cool the gal with the grenade launcher was.

Here’s an example of someone I ‘spotted’ a number of years ago. (note: when I say spotted I am by no means taking credit in anyway for their success.)

Vin Diesel. I first saw Vin Diesel in a short film he made called ‘Multifacial’. This is a great little movie, written by, directed, and staring Vin Diesel as an out of work actor of indefinable race. It shows him going for a multitude of parts, each from a different ethnic background – hence the title.

This short film showed off the range and depth of the man. Known these days as an action hero (and why not), I feel the only film that has so far scratched his surface is ‘Boiler Room’.

I tried to get Vin for the voice of ‘Kael’ in the ‘Orchid’ videogame back in 2000. I was a little too late – his career was about to snowball and his agent knew it.

He had just finished ‘Pitch Black’ and was about to do ‘The Fast and the Furious’. Looking back on the figure I was quoted – it was ludicrously cheap – but the money wasn’t there. And then he became the hyper successful Vin that everybody now knows.

So I got Vin. Who else am I putting my money on over the next few years?

Every now and then someone I spot simply falls off of the radar. A good example would be ‘Lisa Rieffel’. Probably best known for staring in the early episodes of ‘The King of Queens’, I also caught her in the movie ‘Drowning Mona’. I think this girl can act. I’d love to see more of what she’s capable of. Hopefully she’ll resurface. Hopefully she’s doing all right.

Falling somewhere in between Vin and Lisa Rieffel is ‘Tamara Mello’. Tamara has had a pretty successful career that seems to have quietened down a little these last couple of years. You’d know her from the series ‘Popular’ (a great show) and possibly ‘She’s all That’. I had the pleasure of working with her on ‘Orchid’. The girl is an amazing talent. She was always one step ahead and knew exactly what needed to be done to get the character across. I didn’t so much as direct that day as observe. I feel Tamara’s day has yet to come. As she matures I feel she’ll become a powerful character actor, and one I’d love to work with again.

Another actor who I’ve worked with, and was really impressed by is ‘Laura Fraser’. Laura works a lot. Primarily on low budget UK movies – but you’d know her from ‘A Knights Tale’ where she played the blacksmith. She’s one of those actors that will give a part absolutely everything. Witness the not so great ‘Titus’. The movie was tough going, but it’s a brilliant example of just how far Laura Fraser will push herself, and the craft. I get the impression from working with her that she’s more interested in challenging work than fame and fortune. All power to her. She’s on of Britain’s finest actors.

New to the books is ‘Kat Dennings’. Best known for the series ‘Raising Dad’ (which I’ve only just seen), I feel this girl has a bright future. In some ways she reminds me of ‘Christina Ricci’ - unconventionally beautiful, and I can see her taking on some darker, quirkier parts in the future. To watch her as a 15 year old in Raising Dad is pretty amazing. It’s one thing to be 15 – it’s another to be able to act as a 15 year old. She has a great sense of timing and an amazing ability to hold a scene. I’ll predict Kat Dennings as a future queen of Indie cinema.

So Nic – I hear you cry – why all the fems?

I guess because I feel I write women better than I do men, and tend to have female characters take the lead in a story (‘Orchid’ – 3 main gals to 1 guy, ‘Consolidate to Devastate’ – 3 main gals, ‘Strange Hours’ – 2 main gals) so I guess I’m just looking out.

I do generally find young male actors are a little bland. This is of cause is a gross generalisation but here’s a case in point – ‘Tom Welling’ from Smallville. I got zero things against the guy, but while he looks great on a poster – I don’t see any depth to his dramatic presence. I guess as a writer I look at actors in a different way. I guess I look at who could bring more to a part than I could write.

I think this probably explains why I’ve never ‘cast a script’ with A-List stars in the parts. I’d love to be able to say, “You know who’d be great in this, Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts”. Thing is – we’ve seen Julia Roberts and Tom Cruise so many times that we don’t see the characters they play. We see them. Coming out of a Tom Cruise movie I’d guess the majority of the audience wouldn’t remember his characters name (unless it’s Jerry Maguire).

I’ve got absolutely nothing against A-List talent. If somebody read a script of mine and wanted to cast Tom Cruise and Julia Roberts – I’d be over the moon. It’s just when I’m writing I like to cast people whose personas aren’t so well known. Actors I can project my characters on to.

That’s why I talent spot. That’s why I watch the edge of the screen and see who stands out. More often than not the edge of the screen is far more interesting than centre frame.

Nic.

posted by Nic @ 7:49 PM 0 comments