Daphne Akatugba works as a casting director in Nollywood. She initially spent years working in the industry as a writer and also briefly as an actress.
But she realised in her pursuit of a career that she was best suited finding talents and helping filmmakers bring their production to life. So she started Pages Casting.
As a casting director, she's the first point of contact between the actor and the director. She sources for actors who will fit the part. But that's not all she does. In fact, she is one of the last crew members to leave the production.
In an interview with Pulse Nigeria, she tells us everything anyone needs to know about a casting director in Nollywood.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
How would you describe a casting director?
A casting director is a person who understands the vision that the director, scriptwriter and producer want to bring to life and thinks about the people who can bring this thing to life.
As a casting director, you’re finding the people who can give the production its creative life. You're either finding stars, because you also need to think about commercial success, or you're finding new talents.
How do you decide who to cast?
It's a combination of things. We're always watching productions for stars. We also have our repository with information on actors. We also request for tape submissions. Then we produce a deck and take it to the production table. The casting director doesn’t make all the decisions.
Sometimes somebody might have the talent but not have a good working relationship. I can bring an actor and show the team and they're like, “Nope. I worked with this person before. I lost money working with this person.” There's also commercial success. You're working with the producer and the director and you have to come to a unanimous decision. Sometimes they might defer to you. Sometimes you have to defer to them.
What do you put in the deck?
For each character, we have about two to five different people. I've had eight people for one role. The deck is basically our first representation of who we see in the script. It's information on the actors, roles they’ve played before. Also, their tapes sometimes.
How do you go about your work?
We're in constant communication with the director and producer, finetuning the deck. We're always changing the deck as we get feedback and tapes come in. At Pages Casting, we rarely do physical auditions for particular roles. It just saves costs for everybody and it’s less stressful for the actors.
If we like their tape, we send them a side to read and they send us back the tape. Then we move on to the next stage until we're comfortable. Then we get into contract agreements, after which reading and production starts.
What's your contribution to contract negotiations?
The producer usually would have a lawyer who drafts the contract. We're there to facilitate the process and find a compromise for what all parties involved want. The actor can say they want to be paid before shooting starts, or later. Some will say they must fly first class. Some ask for accommodation, a standby car and a driver.
What is the difference between an actor asking to be comfortable on set and just making demands?
We've seen some unreasonable requests. But sometimes even as casting directors, we just have to suck it up and think about the vision. Sadly, there are some actors that you might need for a particular project, who are going to make something more commercially successful. So it's typically how much the production team can take.
It gets to a point where the director is like, “I can't do this anymore. Please change this person.” What will happen is that the director will probably not work with that actor again. We, as casting directors, will have a caveat.
However, it’s very subjective. If I really like you, I might be able to take certain things. But I think the situation that gets under the skin of people is when they can’t communicate with the actor directly. I've seen a case where the actor just refuses to give his or her phone number to anybody. So you have to go through three layers to get to the actor.
It’s also never one thing. It's a combination of things. If for instance, the actor says they don't eat fish and want veggies, it's not that bad. It's not a terrible request. But when they bring you veggies and you say “This is heavy,” they change it and bring salads and you say, “I want a variety,” everybody might be like, “Let's just move. This person is just crazy.” I've had requests where the actor must be picked up in an SUV Prado.
How do you decide to cast a new face or a star?
It's always a group thing. As a casting director, I'm always excited for new faces. I don't think actors know that. Some actors think that casting directors just want to work with stars. But a lot of times, it comes from the director or the producer. Sometimes they're like, “I want this person.” If a producer has a big budget, they know that they want big names because they want people to go to the cinema or they want people to watch it on Netflix. It's still a business and commercial success is important.
If you're doing short films, you don’t need a known face because they're going to film festivals. So they just want really good actors.
When an actor auditions, what are you typically looking for?
Good acting is number one. Just because you're not a lead or supporting actor doesn't mean that you should be bad. The next thing is if the person fits the character and can deliver the character. Then the next thing is the way the person looks and speaks, and that’s not exactly within the actor's control.
Sometimes actors learn new skills for roles. How do you decide when you need an actor to learn a new skill and when you need a new face that already has the skill?
Typically it will be an established actor. As I said, it's a business. It boils down to commercial success. But also there are people that can do the thing but they can’t act. We've been trying to cast an Igala actor for months now. Don't get me wrong, there are people who can speak Igala. Can they act is another thing. We can’t manage you on set.
At the end of the day, what's important is who can portray and bring that production to life in the best way possible. There is crunch time. We can't spend all year looking for a person who has the skill and can act. Sometimes we just have the actor act and the person who can do the thing, if it's dancing, for example, be the stunt double.
When casting directors say they want a strong female lead, what are you looking for typically?
Sometimes there's a recycling of the same people, and you just need a fresh face.
We're looking for an actor who can rival an established actor. They have the talent. They have the presence. They have the X factor. There are some people that you see, they deliver and they just captivate you. You're looking for actresses who can lead. But now, people are leading ladies and their acting is not even great.
The sad reality is that not every actor is going to be a star. Sometimes it's not just about the talent. Some actresses are talented, but they won't be stars just by their own personalities. They come on set and they just suck the energy out of the set or they just make things very stressful. I keep saying that it's not just about you wanting to be famous. A lot of people are coming in because they want to be famous. You actually need to have a passion for it.
What should an actor never do during an audition?
Never speak in a fake accent. Also, you mustn't cry and scream. As a casting director, I want to see range.
When you find an actor what happens next?
We send them the scripts to come and do a read. There are times when you also do a chemistry read. For that, the actors will be given the scripts beforehand. Then we record them act the scene together and we watch for chemistry. And it's not always romance. It might even be a mother-daughter or brother-brother relationship.
Is typecasting a good thing or a bad thing?
It's a business question. The con is it puts the actors in a box, which makes it difficult for them to explore. I know some actors who intentionally reject roles because they’re tired of being put in a particular box. Sometimes the typecasting doesn't start out of the blue. An actor comes and has the look and feel of the character that you want and so everybody just puts the person there.
The pro is commercial success. The production team know that the person will make money playing a character and they cast them because of that.
How does one become a casting director?
There's no straightforward answer. I think the first thing if you're interested in it is to get involved in production. Just immerse yourself in it. Know what happens in a production. If you can, try and act, just so you can feel the pain of your actor.
How much should a casting director expect to earn?
It depends on the budget and willingness of the production, from the director and producer.
But I will say anything from ₦200,000 to ₦1 million.