What is a Casting Type?
A casting type is a combination of traits that help to define the types of roles you are most naturally suited to. Working within your casting bracket ensures that you are giving yourself the biggest chance of success with booking jobs and securing auditions, and keeps you focussed as you build a solid foundation for a long-lasting career in the acting industry.
Your Playing Age
This isn't necessarily the age you actually are - it is the age bracket you can realistically portray on camera. A good place to start is to add and subtract a couple of years from your actual age - so, if you're 20, your playing age might be 17-23. Remember, this isn't set in stone. From there you must assess yourself honestly - ensuring you take into account not just your physical appearance but the energy you bring, the way you carry yourself, etc. This will help you to hone in on the ages that you feel you could genuinely portray. This age bracket will change as you age, and it isn't uncommon to find yourself ageing in and out of roles as your career progresses.
2. Your Appearance
Your physical appearance; Are you physically imposing, or small and unassuming? Are you “conventionally attractive”, or do you have more unique features? Your physically appearance will have an impact on the roles you are most suited for. But remember - this is a casting type, not a typecast! Your appearance alone doesn't define the roles you will book, nor does it exclude you from roles that will help you to build a strong and enduring career. It shouldn't be the main deciding factor when it comes to how you choose to approach your performance - but it can give you a good place to start when it comes to understanding the roles you are likely to be seen for.
3. Your Personality
Who are you as a person? Acting is often seen as the ability to transform yourself into a completely different person - and there is certainly truth in that thought. However, leaning into your dominant personality traits will allow you to portray certain characters more easily and naturally. That's not to say you can't portray characters who have a different personality than yourself - but it does just help you to find common ground with the characters and the roles you are either auditioning for or cast in, and ensures a truthful performance even when the characters themselves are very different than you.
3. Your Voice
What is the natural quality of your voice? Is it deep, strong and assured? Soft, nasal or quiet? You must also consider your accent - what is your natural accent? What other accents can you accurately utilise? All of these vocal qualities are important in defining the roles and the characters you will naturally align with.
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