To use the same actors

[MinnieBaldock]

This really, there must be thousand of actors out of work and we see the same ones i-e David Tennant, Oliver Coleman, Helen Mirren, Suzanne Suranne etc. Yes they are all good but give someone else a chance. It's got to the point that If any of the above are in a series or anything, I just won't watch it.

New actors that should have been getting going in 2020 had their careers severely curtailed. Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones got in just under the wire. It'll take a while for a new wave of actors to get established. Some talented people will have left entirely, others will be thinking again given the potential impact of AI etc.

Ex actor here (TV, theatre & radio).
As you all probably know, it’s just to do with the way the industry is set up and how casting works. Most successful producers/ directors will only cast from a very small number of agencies, and so the pool of actors is immediately much smaller. I was with a well connected agent and ‘got through the door’ to meeting the casting directors all the time and got a nice amount of work. If you’re not with a well connected agent, you would be very lucky to be even considered. It’s simply still a sewn up industry. Which is why you see the same people working all the time (give or take some outliers).

There's an element of laziness here on the part of producers and directors - a safe pair of hands is easier than taking a risk on someone who has had less chance to prove themselves.

Don't they realise that, sometimes, it makes it less interesting and compelling to have these same old faces?

I suspect that Suranne Jones' agent has a deal with the Daily Fail.
Week after week anything she is in is their 'Pick of The Day', preceeded by the obligatory double page spread in the run up to the show.

Actors who’ve proven to deliver audiences will always get work because audiences equal money.

It all comes down to the bottom line - that’s show biz!

Yes, absolutely. There are also 2 other reasons that come to mind:

1. There are SO many actors out there, that it would take an age to ‘fairly’ consider all that fall within the casting requirement for each character.
2. in the arts- collaboration is key to producing work, so if you work well with someone and have a good chemistry, it’s like gold dust. And you’ll just want to keep making things together. Most great actors aren’t great in isolation- it’s because of the collaboration between director and the whole cast. That’s how you can see bad performances/ work from people you think are brilliant.

having said all that- yes, it’s annoying and there is a lot of ‘keeping it in the club’ too.

Yes, this is the bottom line. Less risk by the financiers…

I do agree with you.

James Norton seems to be everywhere at the moment. He was on that recent BBC series 'Conqueror', which was filmed in such grey murk that I didn't get past the first episode. He's now in the new Netflix show about the Guinness family, which shows a bit more promise.
He was absolutely outstanding in 'Happy Valley', which got him through the door though.

I guess a lot of the types of actors mentioned just say yes to pretty much everything, for fear of "what happens in the future?" Essentially taking every penny now, for worrying about the lean times in later years. None of them are naive enough to think what they've got now will last forever.

There's a fairly well-known actor who lives near me, I see him around quite often. I won't mention his name, but you'd know it, and his face, if you saw it. He used to be in EVERYTHING. Since about 2020 he's only done a couple of very small roles. Whenever I see him around, I find myself wondering how he's making a living.

People often forget that the entertainment industry is a business - it’s all about the dollar.

I am well fed-up with the Fiona Bruce show. The last Antiques Program was so low key, She showed little enthusiasm for anything. Even incapable of riding a bicycle.

I can agree with the others, especially Sheridan Smith (which admittedly changed from her original roles as mouthy Northern YA)

But David Tennant chasing the Doctor Who days? He's got a huge range of characters he's played and with the possibly exception of Crowley in Good Omens, they aren't anything like The Doctor

Do you mean Susan Sarandon?

Speaking as an actor, you are definitely NBU, please can casting directors give the rest of us a go!

Worralorra Yes I have seen similar.Kate Winslet is a superb actress ,also extremely beautiful as well! Her Sis said they all attended the same Theatre School if I remember correctly .So its probably a bit galling that Kate went on for fame and fortune out of all of them.The Sister in the article ( there are 3 I think)looked just like Kate, but somehow although perfectly average looking just not beautiful somehow.So I expect hard for her not to be a wee bit jealous I expect.Her father was a struggling Actor and her mum worked 2 jobs while Kate was a child

My DS is an actor. Not one you would have heard of, but he does get work. He’s been told it’s because he’s absolutely reliable, easy to work with, always knows his lines and “doesn’t bump into the furniture” and that’s why he has a better chance of getting cast than some other people. Maybe the David Tennants of this world are the same but ina different stratosphere?

They do it for loads of reasons.

Because they need to make the money back on production costs and they know people will watch the "star" in anything.

Because the director/producer has worked with the actor before and know they are not awkward, difficult or likely to throw a strop.

Because the actor is good at what they do and it's too much of a risk to take a chance on an unknown in a prime time drama.

I do some work as an extra - a member of the crew on one shoot told me they keep a "shit list" of extras who are difficult, rude, late etc. This is fed back to the agency and they do not get booked again. I would imagine casting directors do similar.

No I just saw that David Tennant was yet again in another show.

She was absolutely phenomenal in the Anne Ming drama. So good that I could only watch it in short bursts because it was so harrowing.

I can’t watch anything with David Tennant in.

Agree - I was thinking this lately and it tends to be -

Lesley Sharp, Lorraine Ashbourne, Anna Maxwell-Martin, Sheridan Smith, Eve Myles, Alison Steadman, Sarah Lancashire, Suranne Jones

Then males its

David Tennant, David Morrissey, Stephen Graham, Toby Jones

These actors are the ones that are picked for a lot of prime time roles - I mean they’re excellent - I’m not arguing with that - probably quite a few others I’ve missed out

I was quite enthralled by Dark Winds on Netflix. The cast and crew were 85% first nation. Only recognised one actor. Really refreshing change.

Good show too, a thriller but learned a lot about their culture.

I’ve watched about 50 things with Nicole Kidman in over the past five or six years. Always the same fragile, rich character. Go away Nic, love.

My former neighbours were successful actors, known names - lots of BBC work and theatre. They said if you are currently in a production you had more chance of being put forward for something else.

It's a business.