How do you feel about directors type casting?

Question

Is it good for the actors, play, the theater business as a whole?

Answer 1

well, if an actor can get out of his element, it is his and his agent's responsibility to allow his versatility to be known. But how else can a director cast somebody unless you know what they do well.?

Answer 2

I'm of two minds about it. As a director, typecasting is a hook into understanding the show for both the director and the audience. It would be difficult to get an audience to wrap their minds around "Othello" with an asian actor in the lead because the character is supposed to be a moor. Or an overweight Ariel in "The Tempest".

However, as an actor I like to take on challenges. I think an overweight Puck might be genius. Whoopi played Pseudolus in "Funny Thing" on Broadway, a part typically played by a heavyset man and was brilliant.

So it goes both ways. Typecasting is usually what occurs, and sometimes when playing against type magic happens.

Answer 3

I think that it can be annoying as an actress, but I also know it works out well usually. I know a girl who is usually type-cast as a witch or evil character. She excells in those roles, but the few times she hasn't been that type she's done well too.

Most people are used to type-casting (personally, I'm usually cast as a flirty and/or annoyingly weird character). I guess it would really depend on how you define "type-cast". If you mean casting people in characters very similar to their personalitites, then I would say it's not good. I don't know about everyone, but from my experience you do better in roles different from you. If you mean "type-casting" as in being cast in the same type of roles (like or unlike you), then I think that it's fine, maybe even good.