Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

'Femme Fatales' Creators Discuss Topic of Nudity

When Cinemax’s “Femme Fatales” first hit the breakdowns, many actors and their reps might have skimmed over it, seen the “nudity required” note, thought it was a "skinemax"-type show, and passed it by. Had they looked a little closer, they would have seen creators/executive producers Mark A. Altman (“Necessary Roughness”, “Castle”) and Steve Kriozere (“Necessary Roughness”, “NCIS”) attached, and realized this show was legit. 

“Femme Fatales” is being called a female-centric film noir “Twilight Zone” and has actors like Vivica A. Fox, Jeff Fahey, and Robert LaSardo signing on for episodes. Shows with quality writing and strong fan bases like “Game of Thrones”, “Spartacus”, “Californication”, “Shameless”, “The L Word”, and "Femme Fatales" have more and more actors considering doing nudity and erotic content. Back Stage sat down to discuss this topic at Comic-Con with Altman, Kriozere, and some of the “Fatales” themselves – Tiffany Brouwer, Melissa Paulo, and Madison Dylan. 

Back Stage: Can you explain to actors who are considering doing nudity what auditioning and working on your show is like?

Mark A. Altman: Anyone who’s a respectable show is going to have on their breakdown that there is nudity and what the nudity is. People who feel comfortable with it should audition. We never want to put anyone in a situation that makes him or her uncomfortable.

Steve Kriozere: Ask questions early, at the audition or even before because then there are no surprises. We are very upfront about everything.

Paul Scheer on Improv and Auditioning

In this video from Comic-Con, actor, writer, and comedian Paul Scheer, who created, co-writes, executive produces, and stars in the new Adult Swim comedy “NTSF:SD:SUV::” explains to Back Stage the importance of improv and gives some great audition advice.

 

Also! If you're a "Fringe" fan, check out Scheer in this hilarious video of the PETER audition tapes that were only shown at Comic-Con.

-- Jessica Gardner

Comic-Con 2011: Chris Hardwick Q&A

In the middle of moderating his numerous panels at Comic-Con, including "The Walking Dead" and "The Big Bang Theory", stand-up comic, actor, writer, musician, podcaster, host, voice-over artist, and creator of his self-proclaimed "nerd fort" Chris Hardwick ("Web Soup", "Attack of the Show") chatted with Back Stage.

Back Stage: How did you get into acting?

Hardwick: When I was in school, a friend of mine was working for a show called “Thirtysomething”. They needed a guy to play a delivery guy from Goodwill, because one of the characters in the show died - spoiler alert! They basically gave me the job and that’s what got me into SAG.

I had been Taft-Hartleyed on a commercial for Mandarin Orange Slice and then the “Thirtysomething” job is when I borrowed a thousand dollars from my grandfather and that got me into SAG. Then there was a long period of time where I did not work. I wasn’t really pursuing acting. It was comedy I was going after.

The ‘Workaholics’ Talk Acting

Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, and Anders Holm from Comedy Central’s “Workaholics” have a “serious" discussion with Back Stage at Comic-Con about acting and producing your own content.

Anderson, DeVine, and Holm, along with Kyle Newacheck, make up the comedy sketch group Mail Order Comedy. A Comedy Central executive saw the internet videos the group had posted, which led to “Workaholics” being ordered as a series. In May, they were picked up for a second season.

 

-- Jessica Gardner

Theo James from BBCA’s ‘Bedlam’

Back Stage sat down at Comic-Con for a one-on-one interview with Theo James, star of BBC America’s new supernatural series “Bedlam”, which premieres in the US October 8th on BBCA.

(Warning: video and Q&A contains language)

In “Bedlam,” James plays Jed, a disturbed man with a history of mental illness who sees ghosts and visions of the past. In this exclusive video, James gives a mini acting lesson on how to play fear and make it look natural.

 

Advice from Voice Actor Dee Bradley Baker

From the panel “Inside the Voice Actors Studio” at Comic-Con, some thoughts and advice from voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, whose extensive list of credits include “Phineas and Ferb” and “SpongeBob SquarePants”. 

On putting together a voice audition: When I get a piece of copy for an audition, what I want to do is get a lock on the kind of tone that I imagine the producers and creators of this want.

It’s a great help that I have spent so many hours of my life playing video games, watching cartoons and movies, and reading fantastical books. All of these things set up the icons that most things tend to gravitate towards.

So when you’re reading the copy you want to get a lock on the right kind of pace and the right kind of tone, so that when they hear it, “Yup, that’s it. We can just insert that right into our project and that’s gonna work.”

Ultimately my task is to diagnose and deliver that solution, that puzzle, in a fully formed way so they can say, “Yup, that’s it,” not “You know, that’s pretty good, but if we directed him a lot we could find exactly what we want.”  No. Your job as a voice actor putting together your audition - and most of mine I do on my own - I diagnose, direct it, envision it, and get a lock on it all by myself and deliver that fully formed final performance.

ABC's 'Pan Am' Promo Takes Flight at Comic-Con

A popular "survival job" for actors is being a promo model at conventions. While some of the less appealing work has actors basically being "booth girls", "carnival barkers", or "eye candy", some have actors dress in character, perform, improv, and interact with people all day.

One of the most talked about booths at Comic-Con this year is the booth for the upcoming ABC show "Pan Am". The promo models at this booth are actors dressed as retro flight attendants performing scripted dialogue as well as improvising in character as they take groups on a simulated flight complete with an "in-flight" promo of the new series.

Farrell and Yelchin on Re-Creating ‘Fright Night’ Characters

On Friday evening at Comic-Con, a press conference for the upcoming film “Fright Night” was held with writer Marti Noxon, director Craig Gillespie, actors Colin Farrell, Anton Yelchin, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Chris Sarandon.

Farrell, who plays Sarandon’s character from the original “Fright Night”, Jerry Dandrige, and Yelchin who plays Charley Brewster (originally played by William Ragsdale) discussed what it was like to create a character previously played by someone else.

 “I was, am, and will always be a huge fan of the original performance,” said Yelchin. “In terms of looking at characters, I tried to bring what was the most honest thing to this character.

Comic-Con 2011: Q&A with Doug Jones

Back Stage sat down in a (somewhat) quiet green room in (literally) the middle of Comic-Con with actor Doug Jones, who played such iconic roles as Abe Sapien in the “Hellboy” franchise, the Silver Surfer in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer”, and “Pan” and “Pale Man” in “Pan’s Labyrinth”. (Exclusive video at end of the interview.)

 Back Stage: What inspired you to become an actor?

Doug Jones: I was a gawky, awkward child. I’m 6’3½”, I weigh 140 pounds, and I’ve always looked like that. That led me to develop a sense of humor so I could know why people were laughing at me. If I was doing something funny, then I knew why they’re laughing. I could control it as opposed to being afraid of it. That made me a little bit of a performer.

The high school stage is where I started, like a lot of us do, and then the college stage at Ball State University. It was in college that I discovered the art of mime. There was a mim e troupe on campus called Mime Over Matter. That’s where this movement and language of the body woke up in me.

Comic-Con Live Blogging Starts Tomorrow

Can't make it down to San Diego this year? Never fear! Back Stage will be there! (Okay, I'll stop sounding like a 1950's superhero cartoon now. Sorry, I'm getting in the spirit.)

Back Stage will be blogging LIVE from San Diego Comic-Con starting tomorrow. For full info, refer to the official site, but check in with us all weekend long for acting insights, exciting interviews, videos, and buzz from the Con. 

-- Jessica Gardner