Tackling Casting of actors in a Smart way for LowBudget Indie Filmmakers ; Avoid these mistakes

Let’s talk about casting for actors. I am currently working on a film project which has been challenging for me. For the PROJECT, When I approached known actors who are in the film industry, they not only showed attitude but also questioned my capabilities as a director, instead of saying a polite no and walking out. I had approached one mediocre-out-of-shape actor who was a little known in the industry and he made sure that he insulted me properly, asking about my filmmaking knowledge, even if the guy was a dumbass in his own filmmaking knowledege. This was all happening despite the fact that I was extremely polite and nice. That entire incident haunted me for many days. Rejections can be brutal. I even thought maybe I should have been cruel and thrown tantrums, that’s the language actors understand. As artists, our minds are sensitive to criticisms and we have to thick skinned. So it’s quite possible established actors, celebs can be really rude, money minded and mean and are mostly narcissistic. One of the actor, he asked me questions like, who are the other actors, what is the banner, who is director, how much money, etc etc blah , blah. He didn’t even ask once, what is the story. You will find rare celebs who are grounded. If they see big bucks and fame they will come chasing you like a puppy, speaking in the sweetest tone possible. The moment they know it’s a low budget film by someone new, especially a woman , the person will change his colors like a chameleon. My second option was to take struggling actors who are trying to get in the industry and no one giving them a chance. These people are no different. This struggling category chases only big banners who they achieve nothing their entire lives . The strugglers I approached, said yes , gave their details and after few days they stopped responding and vanished without even informing. Here I was trying hard to train the mediocre actors. After giving my time and energy, they will vanish midway. As we are not signing any contracts with them, they can just vanish one day before the shoot. Or send a long whatsapp messsage about their sudden sickness and how much they wanted to work with me. It was even more frustrating. I realised they did not like the fact that someone is treating them well and here they feel is they should do the opposite or return the cruelty which the industry is giving them. I even thought I should have not met them, not explained the scene, I should have spoken less. Casting for actors has become the toughest thing for me. Especially if you are not in an area where film industry is prominent and if you are not well connected. I also approached normal people who are doing jobs or have an ordinary life, they will say yes and then vanish. Probably they just think unless I get a lot of money or fame, why should I give even 5 seconds of my life. Even more, they have a condescending attitude towards artists , filmmakers unless someone is an A-lister. People who are doing jobs have rejected their own artistic sides at some point of their life for money. So they make sure their decision is correct. After all these rejections, betrayal I found luck in final category: People who know me, my journey, passion, dedication and care for me,respect me and have a slight interest in the artistic side of life. Most of the actors I got, were from my family or really close to me and living nearby , my mom, uncle, brother, our driver. I found few more actors who knew my mom and trusted her. So on her recommendations, they joined me. One guy I found who had left acting and is trying for corporate job , he showed awesome acting talent which was unexpected for me. And even more he stuck to the work and did not vanish at all. Even if my schedules are not continuous. But we hit it well and things have been going good. Most importantly when you have found people who are doing jobs/ have other motivations and still joined you as an actor, I realised you must give them good food, a good time, respect them as artists, humans and talk about other things of life, not just movies, talk about their life . As a director, you need to know what is their motivation for coming to the set regularly and you must become a people’s person and not offend them. Its a very tough journey but you must keep going and find people who really care for you, have respect for you and you give them something valuable in return which should be more powerful than money(esply as you don’t have that much money). Right people will stick to you, wrong ones will lie and dissappear. I have decided to create legal contracts in my next projects so that they don’t vanish and once I get more funding I will prefer to do casting in a more organised manner, like by a casting director or going to places where actors are abundantly present so that replacement will be easier. Currently with my indie filming, I have decided not to speak, explain or pay to these randomly casted actors until they show up on the set. Their negativity can’t stop my passion for filmmaking. It took me years to understand these things , I thought of sharing my knowledge and wisdom to filmmakers who are starting new on low budgets or indie filmmakers. Good luck guys! Don’t stop.