Commercial Audition Tales With Casting Director Kirkland Moody
Welcome to the most recent Casting Networks series: Commercial Audition Tales. We’ve previously provided a window into the actor’s experience via anecdotes provided in our Weirdest Audition articles. Now it’s time to flip the perspective to the other side of the table so casting directors can share some of their best stories from the commercial audition room. We’re kicking it off with Kirkland Moody of Clockwork Casting, who along with his casting director partner Bobby Bolton, has a number of big commercial credits to his name, such as a Mountain Dew Super Bowl spot with John Cena, the Progressive Insurance “Motaur” campaign, and the latest installment of the Jimmy John’s campaign with director Craig Gillespie. The casting director virtually sat down with Casting Networks to share some tales he’s acquired along the way so you can get a behind-the-scenes look into the world of commercial casting.
It’s great to virtually meet you, Kirkland. What’s one of your best tales from the audition room that you can share with us?
The first one that comes to mind is from when I used to work with Beth Holmes Casting many years ago. The project we were casting featured women in swimwear, and the callbacks were happening at a facility where auditions for multiple jobs were taking place. So there were a bunch of actors coming and going. And we saw one we knew as he was walking by our room for a different audition. It was Joel McHale, back before he was known for shows like The Soup and Community. We had an extra bikini on hand in case someone forgot theirs for the callback, and my boss Beth just handed it to Joel as he walked by. With no other explanation, she asked him to put it on and come back. And Joel was up for it. Without skipping a beat, he did just that and read the sides and everything in the bikini. [Laughs] Joel made it so funny, and it was just the greatest delight. Nothing came of it, but he was willing to just go “sure” and play around. Very soon after that, he ended up on E! as a host.
That’s quite a story!
It’s a funny example of something I’ve found to be true. That is, there are some people who are just up for rolling with things, and I swear that’s what marks a good actor. Because often you get on set and the script has been totally changed, and then they’re having you do it in a variety of different ways. So improv is really important, as well as just having the willingness to play and not get stuck in your one way of doing something. I’ll use an example from back when I was an actor. I did an audition for a director who had me do 11 different takes, which some people might assume is a bad sign. But I understood that it wasn’t because I was screwing up. It was a matter of him trying to figure out if I could keep doing different things with the material. And that’s an important distinction to make. Don’t assume that receiving direction means you’re doing something wrong. It usually means the opposite, that they like you and want to see if you can play around.
I think our actor readers will appreciate that your first anecdote came with some helpful advice. Do you have another story you can give us that provides a window into the life of a commercial casting director?
Well, this next one doesn’t contain a lesson, but it’s definitely a tale. Back when I was a session director, I was helping cast a job that required real snowboarders. We needed to actually see them snowboard for the callback so the producer, director, casting director, production assistant, and myself were planning to fly from Los Angeles to a ski resort in Big Bear on a private plane. We left around 6 in the morning, and as we were flying, the pilots let us know that there were high winds in Big Bear that day so it could be a bumpy landing when we got there. The wind really started picking up as we got closer, and everybody on board was getting a little nervous but trying to joke around about it. Then we started hitting some serious air bumps, and the entire plane started getting bounced around. It was so bad that our heads were knocking up against the ceiling. They finally decided to turn around and head back because it wasn’t worth the risk of trying to land in that weather. I don’t know how or why, but someone had brought a cooler of alcohol on board with us. So after going through all that, we cracked it open and started drinking Bud Lights at like 7 in the morning. The pilot was so shook up, himself, that he gave his controls over to the co-pilot and came back to have a drink with us. [Laughs] We ended up casting the snowboarders off their footage, which worked out just fine.
I don’t blame you — my blood pressure spiked just listening to that story! Wow. That’s a hard act to follow, but do you have one more tale to share before we wrap?
The last one I’ll tell is about my first boss in Los Angeles, Danny Goldman. He sadly passed away a few years ago, but anyone who knew that man really knew him. I mean, he always stayed true to himself and was the most loving and caring human being. Danny was just wonderful, but he also wasn’t afraid to give someone a piece of his mind. There was this one time when I was working on a job with him, and after days of auditioning comedic actors, the clients came in for the callback sessions. But they weren’t satisfied after seeing the actors and said they didn’t think the right talent was there. Danny stormed into the studio and told them off in no uncertain terms. “You f*cking got it on the first f*cking day,” he told them. “Go back and watch the f*cking tapes. Do your job because I’m not doing any more casting.” And he was 100 percent right. The clients realized they had what they needed after reviewing the tapes. So I remember witnessing that at a young age and just being completely stunned that a casting director talked that way to the clients. I mean they’re the ones paying the bills. But that’s how Danny did things — he’d given them good talent and didn’t care if the clients came back or not.
Before the interview came to a close, Moody gave a word of encouragement for actors. “My mantra is: when you look good, I look good,” he noted. “So I want every audition to be great!” Those who want further insights into the casting director’s work can check out the Clockwork Casting Facebook page.
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This interview has been edited and condensed.
