The Do's and Don'ts of Casting

How to get into Martial Arts & Action Movies: The Do's & Don'ts of Casting

The recent release of Donnie Yen's 大師兄 Big Brother has been very well received by audiences and critics alike. I worked on the film both in front and behind the camera, playing a role and also handling the casting for the action sequence which pits Yen against a group of western martial artists in a locker room royal rumble. And of course I got a couple of the usual “Hey Man, why did you use those guys and not me?” messages from people, many of whom have never sent me a reel but just assume I am somehow aware of their incredible skill set and that the mention of their name will get them hired.

Actually no sooner we finished shooting the sequence when I got a very stroppy e-mail from some guy telling that “You don't know what you're doing hiring those guys! They're shit! If you're looking for a star for your future movies, look no further than me! I'm a Former Belator Champion, soon to be Champion again!” Yes, the way to make a great first impression, slag me off and tell me that I don't know what I am doing, slag off the people I have hired, and tell me I should hire you because you're telling me you used to be a Champion, and hopefully will be again. Now of course perhaps if said 'champion' had attached a showreel, a highlight reel that had blown me away and made me fall to my knees screaming oh the inhumanity! Why didn't I hire this guy, maybe I would be wanting to hire the guy in future. But he didn't, instead he just made himself come across as someone I wouldn't want to have on set with that attitude, no matter what skills he might have.

Now I've been lucky enough to work on the casting for such projects as Now I've been lucky enough to work on the casting for such projects as Fearless with Jet Li, with Jet Li, Rush Hour 3 with Jackie Chan, with Jackie Chan, Blood: The Last Vampire, , Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, , Chasing the Dragon, Ip Man 2, Man with the Iron Fists 1 & 2, Man of Tai Chi, and many more. And i’ve been able to work with some incredible talent both in front and behind the camera, but what does frustrate me is how badly some people represent themselves when it comes to casting.

How to get into Martial Arts & Action Movies The Do's & Don'ts of Casting

Note: The stories you are about to read are true, the names have been left out because I still have some glimmer of hope they sort themselves out...

Its always interesting to see how people approach the casting process and present themselves in both the right way and sadly too often, the wrong way....yes, Casting can be a frustrating experience and sometimes they are aptly called ‘cattle calls’ when you realize there can be so many people reading for/auditioning for a certain role, but you know what? People get hired this way. You can be the greatest actor or martial artist, or wanna-be stuntman with the highest skill level and all the talent in the world, but if you don’t present yourself in a professional ay, you're not doing yourself any favours.

Now a lot of people have probably seen the black and white footage of a young Bruce Lee casting for the proposed Now a lot of people have probably seen the black and white footage of a young Bruce Lee casting for the proposed Number One Son TV series, which would have been an updated take on the TV series, which would have been an updated take on the Charlie Chan detective series. We see Lee introducing himself, showcasing his martial arts skills and discussing some of his philosophy and ideas, and yes at times you can see his frustration with some of the questions he's being asked but he does do what is asked of him at the casting, and it does give a good look at what he's capable of. Now that show never got made, but the footage from that audition along with footage of him demonstrating at Ed Parker's detective series. We see Lee introducing himself, showcasing his martial arts skills and discussing some of his philosophy and ideas, and yes at times you can see his frustration with some of the questions he's being asked but he does do what is asked of him at the casting, and it does give a good look at what he's capable of. Now that show never got made, but the footage from that audition along with footage of him demonstrating at Ed Parker's Long Beach Tournament did bring him to the attention of the Producers of did bring him to the attention of the Producers of The Green Hornet which of course did lead him onto bigger and better things.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/zj8RrFYwIBI

The young Jean-Claude Van Damme got his first major role in Ng See-yuen's The young Jean-Claude Van Damme got his first major role in Ng See-yuen's No Retreat No Surrender by attending an open casting that was advertised in Dramalog, he attended, demonstrated his skills, and got the role. He came to the attention of uber-producer Menahem Golan who would produce his big breakout in by attending an open casting that was advertised in Dramalog, he attended, demonstrated his skills, and got the role. He came to the attention of uber-producer Menahem Golan who would produce his big breakout in Bloodsport, by giving an impromptu martial arts demonstration.

NEITHER of those two people said, “oh I'm better than all this, why do I need to audition? You should just give me a chance and hire me! Why don't you do your research?”

And yet, thats often the attitude that i get from people who have contacted me asking for help to break into the industry, yet they don’t seem willing to put the time and effort into pursuing the very thing they claim is their dream.You need to present the best package representing your talent and abilities that you possibly can, including a straight forward neatly presented resume, good clear photographs not fuzzy frame grabs etc (or posters for unmade movies where you're the star!) including a good headshot as well as perhaps action shots and a showreel that allows people to see what you can do on camera and what you can do.

Now when I first came to Hong Kong back in the days when dinosaurs ruled the Earth and VHS was King , it did take some major effort to assemble a showreel, but even then it was a necessity. Now with the prevalence of home video cameras, even camera phones and the ease and availability of computers that can support video editing, it’s so much easier. Every PC or MAC comes complete with basic video editing software, windows movie maker or I-movie etc work fine, don’t tell me how you can’t cut a reel because you don’t have access to Final Cut Pro, an Avid Video Editing system or a DOP and Red One HD camera oh and a team of professional stuntmen!

If you don’t have access to editing or camera equipment yourself, ask your friends, enquire at your local media centre, and shoot it on your mobile phone camera if necessary! But shoot something, have an idea of how you look on camera, you can always reshoot, fine tune etc, but something is better than nothing. Same thing for photos, yes a pro headshot is a plus but get some friends to take enough pictures and you’ll be able to find one or two that are good…what I don’t want to see is overly photo-shopped pictures where you don’t look like yourself!

Things Not To Do (I''ve had all of these)

NEVER make the comment, “but why should I cut a showreel? Can't the director or action director watch my movies, go to my website and do some research?”..or one of my all time favourites, “well you know how much effort it takes to make a showreel”...yes, the amount of effort that might get you a job!

Do not contact me telling me how much you really want the opportunity to cast for a particular project, and then after arranging a time and place, don't show up or even call me to let me know what is happening. Getting back to me a few days later to tell me that you didn't call me to let me know you weren't coming, as you didn't want to upset me, isn't really a good answer, yes sitting around the office waiting for you, is a great way for me to spend the day.

Do not send me an e-mail telling me how great you are, and how there have been so many requests for you to star in Hong Kong martial arts movies & TV shows (while not attaching a resume, pics, showreel, link to a showreel etc)..then when I reply that I'm a little confused as 1) there's no showreel etc attached to your e-mail, I couldn't find anything about you online, and that if you've been invited to do all these projects, what do you want my help with, contracts? And by the way, who invited you?'...and the answer comes back 'well my fans of course!'

Do not tell me how you won’t attend a casting, unless the director or star is there (especially if you have no credits to your name)

Do not e-mail me with a resume that introduces you as 'International Action Movie Star of the Year' and lists no credits but has the website for your international fanclub. The same way that telling people you are the recipient of a CAREER ICON award without having actually done anything, does make things look very fake!

Do not send me a resume that lists you as starring in a number of movies, several of which were never made, especially when one of the movies listed is a project that didn't get made and that I was attached to. When questioned about this, trying to cover your BS by claiming “well its not my fault that the movie never got made, but i would have been one of the leads”...and then continue to list other films on your resume and IMDB only that you’re not actually in, so that when i ask the Director of the movie in question, “How did So & So do as the character of Garage Fighter #1 (uncredited)?” and the Director tells me oh ‘he never showed up on the day”..and once again you tell me “its not your fault!”and that you were supposed to be in the movie, thus you list the credit!

Do not then a few months later send me an e-mail introducing yourself as an excellent martial artist and actor, and telling me that the team behind you are very powerful people and it could be very lucrative financially for me if I was to suitably help your career! (Laughing) Very powerful people? Well how much money are they willing to spend, because it had better be one hell of a financial incentive if you want me to put my reputation on the line for you. (Maybe if they are this powerful, they could spend some money to shoot a proper showreel for you!)

Do not then repeatedly e-mail me to tell me that in addition to your obvious talents, you can also bring a full RED camera and accessories to use on the shoot, accompanied by a showreel that is very obviously not shot on a Red, and features a number of ridiculously sped up moments of footage that you try to tell me is not sped up, but just you performing at normal speed. SO I guess the old lady walking her dog was also really going that fast in the background?

Do not send me showreels which feature stunts/martial arts action not being performed by you but you are trying to pass off as your own work. One British stuntman who actually has some legitimate credits to his name, sent me a showreel once that featured some clips of him on the one Hong Kong movie he worked on, but also a number of clips from the movie featuring scenes he hadn't appeared in, that were big spectacular action sequences with car stunts, explosions, high falls etc, and when I asked him why? “oh thats to show the scale of the movie...” No it wasn't, it was trying to imply he had been involved in those action sequences as a choreographer or performer when he hadn't.

One would be Western choreographer, spent some time hawking his would-be skills around Hollywood telling people how he had trained at the Jackie Chan Stunt School in Hong Kong in the early 90's ( what Jackie Chan stunt school in the 1990's), along with photos of himself visiting a few film sets in Hong Kong, while his showreel featured the entire fight sequences from the movie sets he had visited, it wasn't his work, but was according to him, representative of the kind of action he could choreograph!

Do not tell me that you don't have to audition or that auditioning is beneath you, especially when you don't have a track record...i guess all of these actors were slumming it by auditioning?

https://www.youtube.com/embed/k8Q7UB7NVus

DO NOT LIE! Do not claim to have starred in a number of movies that have never been made, yes you and your friends photoshopped some artwork, fantastic but that’s not a real credit, do not claim the BBC is making a documentary about you when it’s not, and then claim there is interest to turn it into a stage show! All you are doing is making yourself look dodgy, if you’re lying about this, then everything else you do starts to become questionable.

The same problem, if you have just worked on a movie, cutting the 'movie title' out and posting it on a photo of yourself on set and claiming its an official character poster from the movie, is laughably bad!

Do not BS on your resume about previous jobs, do not claim to have gotten hired for a major role in Do not BS on your resume about previous jobs, do not claim to have gotten hired for a major role in Game of Thrones, when all you did was audition?

When being hired for a job, don't make a big thing about how the money isn't important, its all about the work, then after agreeing on the fee, constantly talk about how little you are getting on the film, then when we need you for reshoots, try to play the money game again and then when production says no, tell me to tell production if they wont pay you this, you aren't coming back...then when Production talks to you, go “oh yes sure, thats fine, you know me, money isn't the important thing, its all about the work!”

When you tell us that the reshoot dates will clash with the schedule for another project you are working on for a few days, and we agree to fly you in and out and then back to accommodate your shoot, don't then claim that you cancelled the other shoot, and now we owe you more money!

Do not tell me that you were working in New Zealand doing stunts on Do not tell me that you were working in New Zealand doing stunts on Ghost in the Shell, when you weren't, do not then try to tell me that you went to NZ to train and rehearse to do stunts on the film, when you didn't, and then tell me about all the stunts you did on the Hong Kong shoot of the film. Yes walking down a pier with a full head helmet on is an incredible stunt.

Do not send me your materials for consideration and then announce on the internet that you are about to be signed for a major role in the project! When we were doing Do not send me your materials for consideration and then announce on the internet that you are about to be signed for a major role in the project! When we were doing True Legend for Yuen Woo-ping, one would be action actor sent me his reel for a minor role, the day after i confirm that i have recieved his reel, he is posting about how he is being considered for the lead role!! Needless to say he BS’ed his way out of the project!

Do not send me press clippings where you talk about how your career began when you were offered a role on a movie in Hong Kong, one that while you added yourself to the credit list on IMDB.com you never actually worked on any film in Hong Kong, because you didn’t show up!

If you have been hired as an extra, do not stomp around on set taking endless selfies , demanding to know how much everyone else is getting paid, how they got the role, while telling them that you have only taken this job because a high proifile role like this in a Donnie Yen movie will serve you well in Hollywood! You then procede to try and force yourself into every shot, try live streaming to your fans from the set, and then utterly professionally 4 days into an 8 day shoot, you can’t be arsed to turn up any more.

Do not call me up at 5 in the morning, telling me that if i get you an audition for Do not call me up at 5 in the morning, telling me that if i get you an audition for Rush Hour 3, you will sleep with me, having the reputation of “oh you are meeting this girl, you will have a happy afternoon!” is not a good thing. (The Casting Couch not only exists because of the sleazy behaviour of certain Producers & Directors, but also because sadly there are always a few men and women willing to try and get ahead that way!)

Do not contact me, using somebodys name as an introduction telling me how you want to break into Film & TV in Hong Kong and that any help would be appreciated, I send you the contacts for the various talent agencies etc in Hong Kong that you should send your materials to, and 5 minutes later you respond not to say Thank you, but to tell me “thats not good enough! You need to make personal introductions and recommendations to all of these people, so that they know who I am and I can begin my career at the right level!” No, you actually have to do some work yourself!

Do not send me a message about how breaking into Film & TV as a martial artist is your dream, and how nobody is willing to help you, I give you feedback on your reel and send you the contacts for some people who could help you and also agencies you could send your materials to. For the next 5 years you repeatedly the same messages, how you want to break into film, how nobody is helping you, how you are coming to Hong Kong in a few months, ask me to give you Jackie Chan's phone number as you have a project you want him to do with you! Then reach out to a few other people telling them the exact same thing, “how nobody is helping you!” and then they send your materials and information to me, and I have to explain to those people that you have actually been contacting me for several years and seem unwilling to actually do anything, you seem to think its going to be handed to you!

Do not send me an e-mail ranting and raving "Hi Mike, Fuck you! Do not send me an e-mail ranting and raving "Hi Mike, Fuck you! Kung Fu Gruppo! I hear there is casting for a movie? Why you not fucking call me? Why you not give me any fucking work? I hear there is casting for a movie? Why you not fucking call me? Why you not give me any fucking work? Kung Fu Gruppo!” Well I think your e-mail explains exactly why I haven't cast you, as does the fact that the movie you were screaming about, didn't actually exist and had nothing to do with me, also when you do work as an extra on a movie like” Well I think your e-mail explains exactly why I haven't cast you, as does the fact that the movie you were screaming about, didn't actually exist and had nothing to do with me, also when you do work as an extra on a movie like Man of Tai Chi, trying to tell people that you actually played the role another actor Troy Sandford played in the opening sequence because at the time he had a similar haircut to you is not something to aspire to...

Never send me an e-mail telling me how you are going to come to Hong Kong and kill me, because I haven't hired you for certain projects (yes thats a real message I got too!) It doesn't matter that several of the projects you feel I didn't hire you for were projects I had nothing to do with, that certain projects were shooting at the same time he was shooting other projects in other places, and that for some projects, he didn't fit the characters they wanted, there wasn't budget etc but no somehow it was all my fault! (Also threatening me doesn't really inspire me to want to work with you in future!)

Do not send me e-mails stating, “Allo Mike, I notice that you did the casting for Do not send me e-mails stating, “Allo Mike, I notice that you did the casting for Kung Fu Yoga, but I also notice you did not hire me! (well spotted) I wonder if the reason I do not get cast in Hong Kong and China is that too often people are intimidated by my skills! You have never hired me, am I supposed to kiss peoples ass to get hired? I am not being rude (yes you are!) I just want to know...now the sad thing about this e-mail is that its from someone who actually has some skills, but also has more than a chip on his shoulder, it seems to be a plate of chips! The first time this stunt fighter contacted me was to shout and scream about how he knew I was doing the casting for , but I also notice you did not hire me! (well spotted) I wonder if the reason I do not get cast in Hong Kong and China is that too often people are intimidated by my skills! You have never hired me, am I supposed to kiss peoples ass to get hired? I am not being rude (yes you are!) I just want to know...now the sad thing about this e-mail is that its from someone who actually has some skills, but also has more than a chip on his shoulder, it seems to be a plate of chips! The first time this stunt fighter contacted me was to shout and scream about how he knew I was doing the casting for SPL 2 starring Donnie Yen, and why wasn't I allowing him to audition? (if anyone knows about an starring Donnie Yen, and why wasn't I allowing him to audition? (if anyone knows about an SPL 2 starring Donnie Yen, please let me know when it was made and when it came out, for as far as I know it never happened and I was never working on it!) He then contacted me a few years later to rant and rave about how I wasn't letting him audition for Jackie Chan's starring Donnie Yen, please let me know when it was made and when it came out, for as far as I know it never happened and I was never working on it!) He then contacted me a few years later to rant and rave about how I wasn't letting him audition for Jackie Chan's Dragon Blade, another movie that I had nothing to do with! But thats not the answer this gentleman wants to hear! With regards to , another movie that I had nothing to do with! But thats not the answer this gentleman wants to hear! With regards to Kung Fu Yoga, the Producer who I have worked with at various times, asked me to help with some of the casting out of Beijing, they wanted stunt fighters who were in Beijing (now this gentleman divides his time between France & Hong Kong), but another reason this guy wouldn't have been hired, is they asked me to bring in people with a good working attitude! Also this gentleman seems to think I should be pursuing him for his latest reel and current whereabouts, as he is obviously the most important man in the universe.

NEVER the day an actor I have known for 25 years and was one of my closest friends, passes away, have the sheer disrespect to send me an e-mail offering to take over any roles of his that are now in need of a great actor and martial artist, and that you'll be happy to work for whatever fee had already been confirmed for the late actor. You really are a sad little low life, and then 2 years later send me another message telling me that you feel I am not giving you the opportunities you deserve! You are a low life, and if I ever see you in person, we will be having something of a conversation!

There is a reason why certain people succeed and certain people don't That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wrong way of approaching the casting process. We had just begun the casting process for Ronny Yu’s There is a reason why certain people succeed and certain people don't That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the wrong way of approaching the casting process. We had just begun the casting process for Ronny Yu’s Fearless with Jet Li, when I got a call from one young would be martial arts actor who had arrived in Hong Kong specifically with the intention of breaking into film. He called me up and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Well we’re looking for people to play champion fighters (originally we were looking at having 12 fighters face off during the finale) from different styles, probably in the age range 25-30 upwards.

Young Wanna-Be: Well I’m 18 ! (Beat) But I look like I’m 16!

Me: Might not be an issue, do you have a showreel and portfolio of pictures, resume etc? (Bear in mind that he’d come to Hong Kong with the intention of breaking into films as a martial arts actor/stuntman)

Young Wanna-Be: No!

Me: AH ok, well what’s your martial arts background?

Young Wanna-Be: I can do anything! I’m self taught!

Me: Hmm ok, why don’t you come in for a casting tomorrow? (I’m thinking that you never know, I might see what he can do and go to Ronny, action director Yuen Woo-ping & Jet Li and say ‘I know he might not be what we were originally looking for, but look what he can do’..casting concepts sometimes changes depending on the people you see. I also thought that it would be an opportunity to get him on tape, and that maybe if he wasn’t right for this project I’d be able to see what he could do and keep him in mind/recommend him for other projects and last but by no means least, I was giving him the opportunity to come in, try out, get some experience at casting and at least be able to tell people he auditioned. )

Young Wanna-Be: Hmm who's going to be at the casting? Will Jet Li or Yuen Woo-ping be there?

Me: No, it'll be me, the other casting director and we'll film what you can do, show it to them and if they like what they see we'll get you to come back in for another casting.

Young Wanna-Be: Who are you to judge what I can do? If they're not going to be there why should I bother to come in!_________

Needless to say the Young Wanna-be never came in to cast, never worked in a single Hong Kong project and soon returned to the UK where he was quick to talk about the lack of opportunities he was given by producers and directors who were unable to see the extent of his talent. A few months later a friend of mine in the UK was prepping a short film and looking for locally based action/martial arts performers on the UKscreen website and came across his details and contacted him asking if he’d be interested in auditioning for a project and could he send his reel etc. The reply he got was ‘who are you asking me to audition?’ and that he didn’t have a showreel because he didn’t have access to a professional stunt team of the level of Yuen Woo-ping’s or Sammo Hung’s that could showcase his skills.

If you haven't worked on any professonal projects for a couple of years and I call you up for a casting, don't let the first words out of your mouth be “well they'd better pay me big money!”, don't then after signing an NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) have someone e-mail me the next day telling me how they will be accompanying you on the shoot, and will be filming a documentary about your experience and that various members of the cast and crew need to be available for interview...ah you just signed an NDA, should I tell production you can't be trusted, no I will politely tell you, and then...you lie to us that you already have the required China vissa, and oh on the day you can fly, then you tell us that you don't actually have the visa you just told us you had! You eventually fly a week late, make a nuissance of yoursef to various women on the cast and crew offering “ha ha ha Private training sessions', you then redeem yourself somewhat by completing the scene and get invited to the Beijing wrap party, boom next morning you've posted photos from the party of certain crew letting their hair down, as well as photos from the set and your costume, and get stroppy when I tell you you need to take them down. We pay you for the shoot, and you then send us an email demanding that you are paid for all the days you missed because you know, you had lied to us about having a visa (in that 6 weeks when you could have got the visa we asked about!) as you had cleared your schedule......(face plant!)

then sometime later you see I am casting another movie and send me your materials again, and when I explain that I would be reluctant to work with you again after reminding you of what you've done, I don't get an apology I get “oh I thought you might have forgotten!” Note: Also constantly sending photos of yourself dressed as a soft core Roman gladiator to other actors etc, without even the courtesy of an introductory letter just because they are working on projects, isn't a good way to make a good impression either! The world has changed since I first got involved in casting, the internet, YouTube, facebook etc have opened up the world in a fantastic way, allowing access to so much information, research materials, contacts for people in the industry and more.

TO BE CONTINUED