Should You Thank a Casting Director After Booking?
So you’re an actor and you audition for a role and book the job. Fantastic news! Congratulations! Should you thank Producers? Casting? All of the above? None of the above? For some reason in the entertainment industry, there is a tendency to adopt a “us” VS “them” mentality. The Casting Directors can be seen as “gate keepers”, the individuals keeping you from working on every project you audition for. The first thing I love to remind actors is that casting WANTS you to book the job. They WANT you to perform your best in the room. They’re actively rooting for you, they’re in YOUR corner. The second thing I like to remind actors is that we’re all just humans and we’re all just trying to share a piece of ourselves through art.
So, back to the question at hand….
Do you enjoy being thanked? Yes.
Do you enjoy feeling appreciated? Yes.
Do you enjoy being bombarded with asks by people you don’t know particularly well? No.
I think the age old “treat others how you’d like to be treated” and putting on your empathy cap comes into play for this one. Real gratitude is always felt and appreciated. People can tell when you’re doing things to get ahead VS when you really mean it.
Casting Directors are just like you and I. Heck...Producers, Directors, Gaffers, Hair/Makeup are just like you and I. While it isn’t necessary to say thank you following a booking, it’d likely be appreciated. A thank you email would be well received and a hand written card would be even better.