Casting Director Renee Godbout on how infants get cast on television
By Renee Godbout
Sometimes when I am reading through a script, I come across one word that makes me pause and think, “This isn’t good.” That one word is “baby.” Since babies don’t talk, they fall into the category of extras. Casting an infant would be easy if all I have to do is find an agent with a baby… but it’s never that simple. Having a baby on set takes more time and money, so there is always a good reason for doing it. The baby is most likely an integral part of the plot, which means the baby can’t just be any baby. The director has to be able to choose who he or she wants, and the director often is going to want more than one. That’s where the problem comes in: Production is going to want twins.
I recently worked on a film that needed twins, to ensure there would always be one happy baby on set. I submitted photos of young babies who I believed could be related to the actress playing his or her mother. Luckily, I found the most adorable set of twins who lived close to the set! It was casting goldmine to find a set of twins that could be called less than hour before they were needed. The babies stayed snug at home until needed and production never worried about running out of time with them.
Babies are only allowed to be on set for a few hours, depending on their age. They can also get cranky, which is why it’s always best to have another baby ready to go if need be. It may sound harsh, but if the baby is in the midst of a good cry, production could be halted for long periods of time if they don’t have some sort of alternative. About a year ago I was working on Law & Order: Criminal Intent and one of our big sweeps episodes was the Anna Nicole Smith story. Kristy Swanson starred as the Anna Nicole-type character and I had to cast our version of Dannielynn. Since it was necessary that the baby be on set for so many scenes, the twin scenario wasn’t an option. Production needed to maximize the amount of time a baby would be on set. So instead of finding twins I had to cast four different babies that looked alike!
You may be thinking that most babies look alike, but this is not the case when you have a director looking carefully at each one. I put out postings on online sites like InstantCast, contacted pregnancy support groups, and agents that specialized in babies and expectant moms. I needed to find babies that could look like they were related to Kristy Swanson and match one another as well. At such a young age, boys and girls don’t look that different, so it wasn’t too surprising to find boys and girls that were similar. In the end, I actually sent babies for an interview. We call “meet-and-greets” between directors and actors “interviews,” even when the individual being interviewed is a 6-month-old baby. Out of the six or seven babies interviewed, four were chosen for the actual shoot dates. The babies were then scheduled on each shoot date to come in at different times so they could constantly have a baby on camera.
Naturally, parents have many questions when involving their baby with a production. One of the important questions is always about the type of scene the baby will be in. For my episode, the baby as sampling held by the mother or aunt. On the other hand, a co-worker of mine once needed a newborn baby to be smeared in jelly and found in a dumpster for Law & Order: SVU; that was a tad more difficult. A baby nurse is usually scheduled to be on set and work as a go-between for parents and set.
Are you a parent who has Hollywood dreams for your baby? Remember, it is very exciting to get your babies cast on television and in movies, but call times will always vary and it could be during your little ones’ favorite naptime. In New York, New Jersey, and many other states there are also permits that parents will need to obtain. Do your research and ask questions before you come to set. Production would rather have you ask now before the cameras begin to roll!
Renee Godbout - Freelance Casting Director. Renee Godbout recently worked on the first season of The CW's popular teen show Gossip Girl at Grant Wilfey Casting. Some past projects include 2 seasons of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, the pilot for Dirty Sexy Money, and the upcoming Jonathan Demme-directed Dancing with Shiva.
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