When I read biographies of some female celebrities, esp. actresses and supermodels, they and sometimes their parents say that they were “discovered”, either in a mall, airplane, restaurant, subway, bus, etc. when they were under 18. I think they just make it up for PR effect. I mean if someone walks up to an underage girl and her parents and says, "Your daughter is really beautiful. She should be a model.’, wouldn’t the parents think the person is a pervert and just tell him/her to go to hell?
Maybe…and maybe not. It’s obviously entirely possible. If I were a casting agent, I’d always be on the lookout for talent, even when shopping or dining. And especially in Hollywood or other comparable movie town. Broadway in NYC for plays.
It’s like people who get a lot of sex. It’s because they ask a lot. Even then 98% say “No, go away,” that can still add up to a lot of successful invitations.
You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.
O.K., but how can you tell that someone is a talented actor if you just see them sitting in a restaurant and eating pasta?
You don’t, but Lana Turner, the classic star of this meme, didn’t need talent. Which was good because she didn’t have much.
Why do you think that’s the quality the scout was looking for? 'Twas about looks.
Hollywood back in the days of the “Studio” ran starlets through the meat grinder in the thousands, maybe one in a thousand ended up with more than a few lines, and maybe 1 in a thousand of that tiny number would actually end up a star. Most starlets seemed to do walk ons and serve as entertainment goodie bags for visiting VIPs. If you were trolling for a husband or sugar daddy, I suppose it could work out. One poor soul had a hellish time, and I would like to think she was unique, but it seems that she was probably not unique.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I don’t think acting is a unique talent. I think I am entirely capable of providing a perfectly decent acting performance. Acting is more about luck, looks, and being in the right place at the right time.
Most of us could eventually become very good at acting with some coaching and some exposure.
Some actors are exceptional. Most are just mediocre and any of us could do it with a bit of exposure.
So, it’s no surprise that you could discover someone with a photogenic appearance and coach him or her to be an actor: big deal. Marilyn Munroe wasn’t a particularly great actress, but she was sure easy on the eyes.
Many starlets have been given the chance to audition, or to ‘audition’ based on their looks. Some made it through the process. Lana Turner is the well known example.
Monroe.
Sorry. I repeatedly make this same mistake.
No. Acting does require talent and you’re fooling yourself if you think you can provide a decent performance at a professional level; it’s like claiming that you’re perfectly capable of hitting a major league fastball.
I once saw O’Hare demonstrate the difference between film acting and stage acting; the fact that there was a vast difference between the simple act of noticing someone entering a room whether your on TV or on a stage.
There isn’t an actor you’ve ever seen that didn’t put tons of work into learning his or her craft, and in any audition between you and a guild member, you’d lose.
Now, some men and women can get by on their looks in Hollywood; they are sometimes at the bottom level of ability. But for every attractive person you see on screen, there are hundreds who are equally or more attractive who never went anywhere. The reason is that they couldn’t act as well as those who did have careers.
Yeah, looks will get you an audition, and if you are at least moderately well behave, you’ll get a job…or six. Talent is a bonus and will get you closer to a career.
Wasn’t there some recent TV series based on this? Some agency cold-contacting girls they saw out and about and offering to have them come in test to be a model? I only caught snippets of it but a lot of it seemed to involve talking to the parents.
Of course, it was reality TV and I don’t think lasted more than a season or two so take from it what you will.
Not so, anymore than it is for writing, playing music or dancing. I signed up for an acting class after my divorce. I found a few type characters I could do well at but not very many. Most in the class were experienced but not very good. Good acting is not easy at all for most of us.
Surely not Michael O’Hare from Babylon 5, right? If so, then you picked the worst possible example that just anyone can’t act.
Pedro Armendáriz was born in Mexico but spent much of his youth in Texas; his mother was American. After an engineering degree at Cal Poly, he had many jobs in Mexico City, including “tour guide.” A Mexican director heard him recite Hamlet’s soliloquy in the cafe of the Anthropology Museum. (The one that preceded the modern building.)
He went on to a long career in film on both sides of The Border. Quite handsome, he was a star during the Golden Age of Mexican film–even though he could not sing! For some of his US roles, he had to put on a Mexican accent, since his English was too good…
That happened several times to someone I know- she got approached in the street multiple times from the age of about 15 and asked if she’d considered modelling. She’s tall, slim, had very light blonde hair, and pretty striking looks.
She gave it a brief go, did a few small shows, but wasn’t really interested in the end.
I presume the people who approached her had some form of evidence that they were from legitimate modelling agencies- I know her parents, and they’re both extremely sensible people. She didn’t accept the first time, I think she was age 17 or so when she gave it a try. But yeah, there are scouts who do that sort of thing, in some places at least.
Pedro was best known for his role in From Russia with Love as the Turkish station chief. He also appeared in the iconic western 3 Godfathers along with John Wayne and Harry Carey Jr.
I don’t see why it’s implausible for little kids to just be “found” while someone from casting is just out and about. You don’t always need little kids to be good actors. They need to look cute and look as if they could possibly belong with their on-screen parents.
I could totally see casting directors - especially tv commercial casting directors - scouring the mall for some cute looking kids. They probably end up getting paid less because they’re not coming in with an agent or a “showbiz mom” and don’t need to do much other than smile while eating fruit snacks.
If the kids end up taking a liking to being in commercials and get agents and acting lessons and become one of the hot new stars on the Disney channel, well, they were still discovered at the mall.
That Jonathan Lipnicky kid from Jerry Maguire…he was an awful actor but cute as a button and did a lot for that movie. He coulda been discovered in a restaurant and hired just for his cuteness.
Terry Galanoy told a story about a TV producer, around 1970, who claimed he could make anyone - absolutely anyone - a star. To prove his point to his companion, he stopped a disheveled bum (= modern day homeless) and said, “Sir, how would you like to be on television?” The bum grinned and walked away, saying, “I dunno. Call Philip Morris… they’re my rep.”
Probably no less true today; I’d bet a very large percentage of people in the LA area think they will work in the Industry some lucky day.
Heard someone on the radio the other day, I think it was Chris Hardwick, saying of acting that, “it’s the one profession that people claim to have without ever having actually been paid to do it.”