Casting for a TV show asked me to keep some dates open, because they said they wanted to cast me in their show.
Neat! I kept the days open, including rescheduling on other work that conflicted.
So they call us a few times to ensure I'm available ... and then they just fucking disappear. They drop off the face of the Earth, and don't make any effort to return our calls or get in touch.
A few days before the days I kept open arrive, I call the other job, which I had rescheduled, and tell them I'm available after all.
I start work on the other job. It's really fun and I'm enjoying the process.
My manager and I are talking about something unrelated, and I ask him what the status of the TV show is. Like, did they push production by a week or two? Did they change their mind? What's should I plan for the next few weeks? He hasn't heard from them in a week, and since it's two days into the week they asked me to keep open, we correctly presume the job isn't happening this week. He calls them, and they tell him, "oh we cast the role with someone else," and that's it.
These motherfuckers repeatedly asked me to keep this week open, because they said they wanted to work with me, and then when they decide to cast someone else, they don't even have the fucking courtesy and professionalism to get in touch with us and let us know that they don't want to work with me after all. What if I had passed on this job this week? What if I lost the paycheck and the ephemeral, theoretical boost to my career that
It's so fucking rude, so fucking inconsiderate, so fucking CONTEMPTUOUS of me and my team, I will *never* work for this show. I am nobody's Plan B, and I have too much self-respect to give these fucking people the time of day if they ever deign to reach out to us again.
You know, Casting, it takes literally one minute to get on the phone or send an email and let us know what you're doing. Roles go to other people all the time, and it isn't a big deal. What IS a big deal is giving me and my team the impression that we're going to work together, and then just fucking ghosting us when you changed your mind.
Actors are people, too, and we deserve the bare minimum of respect when YOU reach out to US about working on YOUR show.
I used to take this shit personally, but I don't any more. This isn't about me. This is about an industry that is so far up its own ass, the people who cast actors have stopped caring about us as human beings, and treat us like disposable, interchangeable widgets they can pick up and throw away whenever they feel like it. It's bullshit, and my heart goes out to all the actors who are starting out right now, and have to deal with this shit every day.
