My Casting Story: Caleb Ruminer on Booking ‘The Irrational’
You may recognize Caleb Ruminer from his roles on shows like Finding Carter, Dirty John, and Castle. Most recently, he guest starred in the pilot of NBC’s The Irrational, a new drama about a behavioral science professor (Jesse L. Martin) who solves high-stakes cases. Ruminer took time out to virtually sit down with Casting Networks and share the casting story that landed him on The Irrational, complete with a COVID scare that happened right before filming began.
Before diving into the process of how the actor booked the show, we asked him to describe his role of Dylan Hayes. Ruminer outlined how the character is a former Marine who’s experiencing PTSD and recovering from alcohol abuse. The actor expressed that he’s an advocate for therapy and mental health, which helped him relate to the character. “He’s really blaming himself for something that he did, and that was easy to connect to,” Ruminer noted.
As for the casting process, the actor told us that the audition sides for the self-tape were quite emotional. “We did the first scene and we finished it and I’m bawling — tears and snot running down my face,” Ruminer recalled. He considered doing it again but was convinced by a friend, who’s also a self-tape professional, that it was the take.
The actor recalled how he finished the rest of the audition and then started experiencing some COVID-like symptoms shortly after. “I was so sick,” he noted. “Like chills, fever, body aches — everything that you can have.” The actor did rigorous testing and kept getting negative results, so he was clear to film by the time shooting started in Vancouver.
After the COVID scare — and doing due diligence to ensure he wasn’t positive for the virus — Ruminer got to have an incredibly positive experience with filming The Irrational pilot. “It’s one of the best sets I’ve ever been a part of,” Rumineer told us.
You can catch all these insights and more in this on-camera installment of My Casting Story.
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This video interview has been edited and condensed.
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