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Stephen Colbert Flaunts His Charm in Early-Career Commercial
5 August 2016 11:00 AM, PDT
We may catch him every night of the week thanks to his hosting gig on “The Late Show,” but Stephen Colbert has long called the small screen home. Sure, he had “The Colbert Report” before moving to CBS, but rewind a few years, and you can catch him in the beginning of his acting career as a commercial actor! While he’s more likely today to spoof a commercial on “The Late Show” or starr in Super Bowl ads for pistachios, multi-hyphenate entertainer Colbert first appeared in local ads, like the one below for FirstTier bank in Nevada. Colbert has always possessed an unbeatable charm and wit, and it’s on full display even here. Do you see the makings of a star? Watch this blast from the past below. Want to star in commercials yourself? Check out our commercial audition listings! »
Where to Catch Hi-Def Performances From the Bard’s Globe
5 August 2016 10:00 AM, PDT
Are you dying to see Shakespeare performed out of the Globe Theatre but don’t have the funds to fly to London? Fans of the Bard in Houston and Dallas, rejoice: The Globe on Screen is launching high-definition screenings of performances at the Globe of “Richard II,” “Measure for Measure,” and “The Merchant of Venice,” now through September in movie theaters in both cities. In Houston, the River Oaks Theatre will be screening the productions; the Plano Angelika Film Center will be the theater to head to in Dallas. Read: “Why You Should Study Shakespearean Soliloquies” With “Game of Thrones” High Sparrow Jonathan Pryce as Shylock, Charles Edwards as Richard II, and Mariah Gale as Isabella, some of Shakespeare’s most riveting characters are heading straight to the Lone Star State by way of the big screen and city they originated in. Watch: “HBO Releases ‘Game of Thrones’ Blooper Reel” In Houston, »
Get Cast in a Neutrogena Commercial Plus 4 More Paid Gigs
5 August 2016 9:30 AM, PDT
This week in Backstage’s casting highlights, we have five commercial opportunities. Ranging from a Neutrogena commercial to a shoot that takes place on an actual trampoline, you need to check out these gigs! National Beverage Commerciala national commercial for a specialty beverage seeks a male actor for a leading role. The actor, who should be aged 40–50, will be needed for production on Aug. 29 in Boston, Massachusetts. Commercial SPOTParagon Creative is casting “fit, fun” actors for an upcoming commercial shoot “that takes place on a trampoline.” Yes, you really will be paid to spend time on a trampoline. Production will take place Aug. 8–10 in Newnan, Georgia. Product Brand Model/Actor For Hsn’S American Dreams Productshsn’s American Dreams Products seeks a leading lady to serve as a product brand model/actor. The company, which “represents new products and inventions that air on Hsn’s American Dreams TV show,” will hold production Aug. »
10 Series Short Enough to Binge in a Weekend
5 August 2016 9:00 AM, PDT
Got any plans this weekend? No? Time to catch up on some quick, easy-to-stream TV! With an increasingly vast landscape of small-screen content at our fingertips, it can feel overwhelming trying to find a quality series that’s right for you—time is precious, after all! Below we break down some streamable shows featuring great acting, writing, and directing that you can knock off your must-watch list in just a day. Check out the (super short!) descriptions below for 10 (super short!) TV series ready for your binging pleasure. “Scrotal Recall” aka “Lovesick”Recently picked up for a second season by Netflix and renamed “Lovesick” due to its off-putting (but, come on, delightful) title, this British sitcom about friendship, romance, and how the two overlap—oh, and chlamydia—is an easy-to-binge example of intimate writing from Tom Edge and gorgeous acting from Johnny Flynn, Daniel Ings, and Antonia Thomas. Ignore the title and check it out. »
Kids Now Casting: CW Series ‘The Originals’ and More
4 August 2016 11:36 AM, PDT
Hit CW series, “The Originals,” is currently casting a part for a child actor—and you might just be perfect! Marinella Hume Casting, with executive producer Julie Plec, seeks female background talent to serve as a stand-in. The actor should be aged 8–13 and have a height between 4-foot-1 and 4-foot-4. Production will take place this August in Conyers, Georgia. “The Originals,” now in production on its fourth season, depicts “a family of power-hungry, thousand-year-old vampires,” and stars Joseph Morgan and Daniel Gillies. For more information, you can see the full casting notice here. And be sure to check out all of Backstage’s casting notices, which can be sorted by age! Want more acting tips? Watch below. »
SAG Awards to Honor Lily Tomlin with Lifetime Achievement Award
4 August 2016 11:30 AM, PDT
Each year, the Screen Actors Guild recognizes one longtime (and legendary) talent “for outstanding achievement in fostering the finest ideals of the acting profession” with its Life Achievement Award. “Grace and Frankie” Emmy nominee Lily Tomlin was announced this morning, Aug. 4, as the guild’s 53rd recipient of the esteemed prize, following in the footsteps of other iconic funny ladies like Rita Moreno, Betty White, and last year’s honoree, Carol Burnett. “Lily Tomlin is an extraordinary actress, as equally adept at narrative drama as in comedy roles,” SAG-aftra president Gabrielle Carteris said in a statement. “But it is through her many original characters that Lily’s creative genius fully shines. She has an ability to create diverse and distinct characters that are at once familiar, eccentric, and oh so honest—in a way that illuminates life’s hidden corners.” Carteris went on to cite some of Tomlin’s career »
Now Casting: ‘Blindspot’ on NBC and More Jobs
4 August 2016 11:00 AM, PDT
Today in Backstage casting notices, you can get paid to attend a cocktail party—well, a pretend cocktail party, anyway. NBC’s breakout series starring Jaimie Alexander and Sullivan Stapleton, “Blindspot,” is currently seeking background talent for an upcoming episode. Additionally, we have three more on-screen opportunities. Check them out below! “Blindspot”If you’ve ever felt like wearing your finest duds to work in the morning, now is your chance. NBC’s “Blindspot” is casting background talent to depict guests at “a chic cocktail party.” Men are required to wear a black suit, while women must wear a black dress. Production will take place Aug. 16 and 22 in New York City. “Hexengeddon”Casting is underway for several lead and supporting roles in "Hexengeddon," a short film based on the comic book of the same name. The union and nonunion gig, following “an act of cruelty against a young witch [that] becomes a social media sensation, »
Jared Leto Speaks on Gay and Minority Actors
4 August 2016 11:00 AM, PDT
Jared Leto loves pushing boundaries on and off set when it comes to the roles he takes (as evidenced most recently by his time as the Joker in the upcoming “Suicide Squad,” where he sent co-star Margot Robbie a live rat). While this upcoming performance remains to be seen, the Oscar winner and Method actor wowed audiences and the Academy alike when he played a transgender woman named Rayon battling AIDS in “Dallas Buyers Club.” But he was turning in impressive and surprising work in “Requiem for a Dream,” “Mr. Nobody,” and “American Psycho” before then. However, if Leto were a gay actor, he’s not sure he would’ve had the same opportunities, he recently told GQ Style magazine. Read: “Are You a Method or Classical Actor?” “I definitely don’t think a gay leading man would have the same opportunities as a straight leading man. I don’t think that. »
Texas Now Casting: ‘Magic Trick’ Commercial
4 August 2016 10:00 AM, PDT
Casting is underway for “Magic Trick,” an upcoming commercial shoot. From Tilted Chair Creative, the project seeks three actors, a male and a female, as well as one mischievous male actor, aged 4–12, who can command the attention of a room. The nonunion gig is slated to shoot Aug. 15 in Austin, Texas. You can see the full casting notice here, and be sure to check out all of Backstage’s Texas auditions listings! »
John Turturro on ‘The Night Of’ and Emotional Nakedness
4 August 2016 9:00 AM, PDT
Are you watching “The Night Of” on HBO? You should be. With fascinating, brutal performances from Riz Ahmed, Michael K. Williams, and John Turturro, the mini-series about law and order in America today is quickly becoming the network’s post-“Game of Thrones” Sunday night hit. Turturro has been appearing on late-night shows to promote the show and discuss what may be the best work of his lengthy career. Read: “Michael K. Williams Returns to TV” On “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” the actor offers a glimpse of the kind of skills that have turned him into an on-screen master. After describing his experience seeing an Andy Kaufman act at 3 a.m., and the impression that comedian’s bizarre performance art made on him, Turturro whips out his impersonation of Robert De Niro. With a simple shift in weight and facial expression, he saunters forward, 100 percent transformed. Just watch: A few weeks ago, »
41st Samuel French Oob Fest to Celebrate Short Plays
3 August 2016 12:00 PM, PDT
For the 41st consecutive year, theater publishing company Samuel French will celebrate the art of the 10- to 30-minute play. Taking place Aug. 9–14 at Classic Stage Company’s East 13th Street Theater in New York City, the 41st annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival will feature staged readings of pieces under 30 minutes in length, from this year’s 30 semi-finalists. A panel of judges made up of professionals active in the theater community will select 10–12 finalists, six of which will be announced Aug. 14. Their plays will be published in print form in Samuel French’s “Off Off Broadway Festival Plays” series. Read: “How to Become a (Successful) Playwright” This year’s honorary festival playwright is two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Tina Howe (“Painting Churches”). For information on tickets to each round of play presentations, visit oobfestival.com. For a list of this year’s lucky 30 and their plays, see below. »
Now Casting: ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Tour and More
3 August 2016 11:30 AM, PDT
You are so not in Kansas anymore. That’s right, today in Backstage’s casting notices, “The Wizard of Oz” is casting several actors for a production which plans to tour through Asia in 2017. We also have three more fantastic gigs on both stage and screen. Check them out! “The Wizard Of Oz”Casting is currently underway for several roles in an upcoming touring production of “The Wizard of Oz,” including Dorothy, Glinda the Good, and a certain green-skinned witch with whom you may be familiar. The nonunion production is set to run from Feb. 3, 2017 through November, 2017 and will travel to China, Thailand, Japan, Singapore, and more. In other words, over the rainbow! “It’S Good To Be A Girl”Casting director Stephanie Porto seeks talent for an upcoming webisode for a women’s accessories brand. The project, entitled “It’s Good to Be a Girl,” will consist of “five different web episodes, »
11 Harry Potter Landmarks You Can Visit in Real Life
3 August 2016 10:00 AM, PDT
With the release of the West End play script “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” the latest addition to the Harry Potter world, passions for the magical franchise have been reinvigorated. But for those not totally satisfied with experiencing this realm exclusively on the page, we’ve rounded up 11 locations that you can visit to bring a spot of wizardry to your meager Muggle existence. And Potter fans! Don’t forget to check out “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the Eddie Redmayne–starring film, out in theaters in November. Platform 9 ¾ Located in London’s King’s Cross Station, fans can pose with the famous trolley going through a brick wall and imagine they’re about to start their wizarding education. The Hogwarts Express Take a ride through scenic Glenfinnan, Scotland, on the Jacobite steam train and you’ll feel just like you’re heading to Hogwarts! The Cave »
Why Sarah Paulson Needs an Emmy Already
2 August 2016 1:00 PM, PDT
The 2016 Emmy Awards season is officially underway! To celebrate, we’re highlighting a few of this year’s nominees whose recognition from the Television Academy feels long overdue. These hard-working acting veterans consistently deliver brilliant performances in everything they do—but this year, in these roles, their work practically demands that statuette of a winged woman holding aloft an atom. Read: “Why the Cast of ‘Black-ish’ Deserve Emmys” The thought that widely respected and revered actor Sarah Paulson does not have an Emmy Award to her name is inconceivable. And yet, due perhaps to a combination of bad luck and inexplicable reluctance from the Television Academy, here we are. Luckily, Paulson’s six nominations for her stellar work on the small screen include this season’s “American Horror Story: Hotel” and “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” the latter of which is sure to win her the »
‘Stranger Things’ Reimagined as an ’80s Sitcom
2 August 2016 12:00 PM, PDT
There are few shows with as much buzz right now as Netflix’s “Stranger Things.” The kid star–making series from the Duffer Brothers follows a group of boys—and features tremendous performances from Finn Wolfhard, Caleb McLaughlin, and Gaten Matarazzo—as they search for their missing friend, Will (Noah Schnapp), and encounter runaway science experiment Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown) in the process. Read: “How Kid Actors Can Get Cast on Netflix” The Winona Ryder–starring nostalgia piece harkens back to ’80s classics with references galore and is reminiscent of the moody Stephen King and Steven Spielberg sci-fi era with a touch of John Carpenter and Wes Craven, complete with government conspiracy theories and alien-like creatures. The internet was of course inspired, and churned out this one-minute intro reimagining “Stranger Things” as a sitcom. The cuts and music are so spot on, it’s almost believable. Watch below! Want to star on Netflix? »
Now Casting: AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead’ and More Gigs
2 August 2016 11:30 AM, PDT
In today’s Backstage casting notices, your time has come to walk amongst the living dead—but with slightly less risk of having your brain devoured. AMC’s hit drama, “The Walking Dead,” is casting background talent for its forthcoming seventh season. We also have three other awesome opportunities on both stage and screen. Check them out! Read: “Danai Gurira Wields Both Pen and Sword” “The Walking Dead”AMC’s zombie-centric drama is currently seeking background talent for an upcoming shoot. Actors should be “slim people with long hair,” and should be available for production at a still-unspecified date in August, in Atlanta, Georgia. “Yours Unfaithfully”Mint Theater Company is casting five actors for the upcoming play, “Yours Unfaithfully.” The romantic comedy takes place in England in the 1930s, though “actors may audition with their natural accent [as] the important thing is honesty and a connection to the material, not accent or ‘style. »
Jimmy Fallon to Host 2017 Golden Globes
2 August 2016 10:52 AM, PDT
A bit of late night is coming to the Golden Globes. Jimmy Fallon has been tapped to host the 74th annual ceremony, taking place Jan. 8, 2017. “This is the most spontaneous and uninhibited award show on television, and Jimmy’s playful, disarming comedic brilliance makes him the ideal host to enhance and elevate the sense of fun and irreverence that’s made the Golden Globes one of the premier events of the entire broadcast year,” said NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt in a statement. “Jimmy Fallon’s brand of comedy will continue the tradition of cutting-edge excitement viewers have come to expect from the host of the Golden Globes,” added Allen Shapiro, CEO of Dick Clark Productions. Read: “How to Give an Awards Acceptance Speech” Fallon will follow Ricky Gervais, who hosted the ceremony last year. The late night host responded on Twitter saying, “I’m so excited to be hosting The Golden Globes in January. »
Kids Now Casting: ‘Bugs: A Trilogy’ and More Jobs
2 August 2016 10:30 AM, PDT
If you’re a bit of a troublemaker—or know how to play one, anyway—this gig could be for you! Casting is underway for “Hatchling,” one third of a feature film, “Bugs: A Trilogy.” The project seeks a male lead, aged 8–12, to portray Elliot, who is “introverted, intelligent, resourceful; terrorizes his babysitter. [Elliot] appears to be a villain, but proves to the audience that his attacks on his babysitter are well deserved.” The film, which is inspired by the 1829 poem “The Spider and the Fly,” will rehearse Aug. 8 and 19, and will shoot for five days between Aug. 24–Sept. 2 in New York City. For more information on “Hatchling” and “Bugs: A Trilogy," check out the full casting notice here. And be sure to check out all of Backstage’s casting notices, which can be sorted by age! Need some acting tips? See what Backstage Expert Denise Simon has to say below. »
Now Casting: Neutrogena Commercial and 3 More Jobs
1 August 2016 12:30 PM, PDT
Today in Backstage’s casting notices, you can curse an imperfect complexion no more! Neutrogena seeks talent who actually have acne for an ongoing 12-week commercial shoot. We also have three more exciting gigs, which you can check out below! Neutrogena COMMERCIALNeutrogena is currently seeking talent aged 16–24 who actually have acne for an upcoming commercial. Actors must be in the tri-state area, “as there is a photo shoot portion that has a weekly follow up for 12 weeks through August.” The gig will take place in New York City, with exact dates to be determined. “Beware, The Beast I Worship”Voiceover talent is sought for the upcoming short film, “Beware, the Beast I worship,” from director Adam Chitayat. The flick, which seeks both a male and female lead, follows “a man on a subway train [who] encounters a voice heard only in his head, coming from a dog with twisted intentions.” The »
Ryan Murphy, Jessica Lange Announce New Project
1 August 2016 12:30 PM, PDT
Ryan Murphy must not be a big fan of sleep with the rate at which he pumps out series. The writer and executive producer of hits such as “Nip/Tuck,” “Glee,” and “American Horror Story” isn’t content with only one show, or two if you count the seasonal “American Crime Story” series, running on FX. The creator, who has been almost exclusively with the cable network since his departure from “Glee” (“Scream Queens” is on FX parent network Fox), is now bringing his celebrity following to his new series, “Feud.” After rolling a few times, production is finally slated to begin this fall for an anticipated 2017 premiere. Ulrich/Dawson/Kritzer, who’ve worked on many of Murphy’s productions, have assembled the cast that contains a plethora of stars. Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Judy Davis, Stanley Tucci, Alfred Molina, and Dominic Burgess have all signed on to the series. »
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