VIP Member Bill Stoneking finds nationwide success with InstantCast
By Isabelle Dungan
I was thrilled to hear that VIP InstantCast member Bill Stoneking got cast in the new Jim Carrey feature film I Love You Philip Morris. Then, when he told me he ALSO got cast in the upcoming Johnny Depp feature film Public Enemies, I was ecstatic! All this acting success from castings he found on InstantCast! Hearing super success stories like this remind me how of the valuable service InstantCast provides to all you talented members! It’s stories like these that should inspire all you InstantCasters to apply away for castings posted everyday!
Bill found a posting on InstantCast about the upcoming feature film I Love You Phillip Morris, starring Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, and Leslie Mann. He sent out his information to the casting company on May 16th and got a callback May 22nd, asking him play the role of a featured lawyer. Bill jumped and the opportunity and booked a flight to New Orleans for Friday the 23rd, to film on the 24th.
As a comedian, he immediately had the extras on set rolling around with laughter. In fact, Jim Carrey was wondering just who he was! Bill says, “It was a blast. One of our extras dressed up as an inmate at Orleans Parish Prison was taken into custody by a real prison guard who thought he was an escaped inmate!”
Bill recalls, “Aside from all of the comedy and laughter I brought to the set, there was a brief moment of comedic tragedy that I didn't have my hand in. One of the extras dressed as an inmate had some personal property he did not want to keep inside the holding area. In his orange jumpsuit, he left the set area and went to the parking lot outside the prison to put his belongings in his car. A guard from the prison saw this actor outside, but thought he was an escaped inmate. Ironically, we also had extras dressed up as prison guards. The 'real' guard told the extra to get down. The extra thought the guard was just another one of the extras playing around. The guards said ‘get down,’ and the inmate told him to 'stop playing', this went on few a few moments until the guard drew his real gun! It took a few minutes to get this ironed out, but from this comes a lesson for all InstantCasters who play extras or who may be cast as inmates shooting at real prisons: Do Not Walk Around Outside A Prison Dressed As An Inmate! In hindsight, it was pretty hilarious.”
Bill is currently back in his hometown of Chicago shooting the series Roost, in which he plays "Vito," the consigliere to "Boss Pauly." Next, he will be featured as a member of a crime family in mafia movie Fancypants.
He also applied for a part in Public Enemies through InstantCast, and was contacted by the film to do an all-night shoot on June 20th. He is waiting to hear back to hear back from the Public Enemies directors to see if he made the director's cut!
He also scored an audition for the comedy The Longest Running Diner in Texas. He’ll be reading for the part of "The Dirty Old Man" and he feels confident that he’s landed the role. If he gets it, he'll begin a weeks worth of filming on September 27th in Dallas. Also, he’s waiting to hear back about a voice over radio-commercial gig that he found on InstantCast!
Within a few weeks, he will have shot in three movies, one series, locked a voice over deal, and have an audition for a fourth movie! Bill says, “I'd say this was a productive month.” Indeed! Bill is a true working actor. He tells me, “One week I'm in New Orleans with Jim Carrey as a lawyer, the next week I'm back in Chicago as a consigliere, and soon to be a 'Dirty Old Man!'”
Congratulations Bill Stoneking: You have found success!
Isabelle Dungan is the Editor of InstantCast. Isabelle, an aspiring actress herself, works with the team at InstantCast to provide support and content for aspiring actors and models, and hosts monthly InstantCast LIVE! events with casting directors and other industry professionals. She can be reached at editor@instantcast.com.
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