Casting Director Renee Godbout helps extras establish their acting careers

The easiest way to get more work as an extra and even principle work is to impress a casting director. If you establish a great professional reputation you will get called back and recommended to other casting directors. Here are the four easiest ways to impress us.

ALWAYS be on time.
That includes auditions, interviews, return phone calls, and shoot days. It is the first thing a casting director will remember about you. Being on time is being responsible, and no one wants to hire an actor that will waste a production's money by being irresponsible. On shoot days, whenever an extra is late, the production will call me to track him or her down. Think of how happy I am when I get woken up at 6:15am because an actor is late for a 6:00am call time. You'll be remembered by me in the future, but not in the way you'd like.

NEVER cancel.
Unless you are suddenly very sick or have an immediate family emergency, don't skip work. If you're starting to feel a little woozy during the day, then tell someone immediately or don't accept the work. It's much better than me finding out at 10:00pm that night and having to find a replacement on such short notice. Additionally, just because there are 149 other extras on that day, don't think we won't mind. If the production wanted 149 extras, they would have asked for that number.

Be prepared.
When working as an extra, always show up with your make-up, hair, and costume ready to go. Wardrobe will be checking your costume shortly after you get there, so make sure you're dressed and ready to go. Production doesn't have time to wait for you to get ready. Also, make sure you pay attention to wardrobe requirements and restrictions.

Be patient.
There are a lot of actors all over the country and world who are looking for work. Don't make tons of calls to casting directors unless you are instructed to. Being a "go getter" is one thing, but my own personal phone stalker is another.

These are just a few ways to really impress a casting director. We need actors and you need jobs. Having a great working relationship is a great way to get ahead in this business!

Renee Godbout - Freelance Casting Director. Renee Godbout recently worked on the first season of The CW's popular teen show Gossip Girl at Grant Wilfey Casting. Some past projects include 2 seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the pilot for Dirty Sexy Money, and the upcoming Jonathan Demme-directed Dancing with Shiva.