The Problem-Solving Mindset: What Casting Directors Actually Look For
Most actors walk into auditions thinking about themselves: “Am I good enough?” “Will they like my choices?” “Do I look right?” “Will I finally get this break?”
After almost forty years directing actors, I can tell you we’re not thinking about any of that. We’re thinking: “Will this actor make my job easier or harder?”
That’s the real question being asked in every audition. Not “Are they talented?” Not “Do I like them?” Not even “Are they right for the role?” Those are givens. If you’re in the audition room, the casting director has already determined you tick those boxes. What we’re actually assessing is: “Will this actor be a solution or another problem I have to manage?”
The Reality of the Shoot
Here’s what most actors don’t see: by the time we’re shooting, everything is about time management under pressure. The schedule is locked. The budget is fixed. I might have up to a hundred technicians standing around while I work with an actor who isn’t delivering. Every minute costs money, and I don’t have many minutes to spare.
Actors sometimes say to me, “I just need more time to find the character.” I understand that impulse, truly. But I don’t have more time. I have the time that exists in the shooting schedule, and I need to make the scene work within it.
The actors who work repeatedly understand this reality without resenting it. They prepare thoroughly enough that they arrive with something that already works. I might shape it, refine it, redirect it—but the foundation is there. They’ve solved the basic problem: how do I make this scene work?
The actors who don’t work consistently arrive hoping the director will help them discover what to do. They’re talented, certainly. But they’re adding to the director’s workload rather than reducing it.
What “Problem-Solving” Actually Means
This isn’t about being easy to work with or saying yes to everything. It’s about understanding what the scene requires and coming prepared to deliver it.
It means:
You’ve analysed the script thoroughly enough to understand your character’s function in the story.
You’ve made specific choices about how to play it.
You’ve prepared your performance to the point where it works.
You’re ready to adjust based on direction, but you’re not starting from zero.
Directors want your interpretation. We want you to surprise us, to show us possibilities we hadn’t imagined. But we need your interpretation to be a solution, not a rough draft we have to finish.
This might sound intimidating, but it’s actually liberating. Once you understand what directors actually need, you can prepare specifically for that instead of hoping you’ve guessed right. The anxiety of “Will they like me?” gets replaced with the confidence of “I know I’m prepared.” That’s a much better place to work from.
When I see a genuinely prepared actor—who understands the scene, who’s made strong choices, who can deliver something that works and then adjust it intelligently based on direction—I remember them. Casting directors remember them. We talk about these actors between productions. “Have you worked with so-and-so? They’re excellent. Really solid. Made my life easier.”
That conversation happens more often than actors realise, and it’s how careers actually get built.
The Mindset Shift Required
Most actors have been trained to think: “I need to be impressive. I need to show them how talented I am. I need to make them like me.”
This is understandable but backwards.
What actually gets you cast is thinking: “I need to demonstrate I understand what this scene requires and I’m capable of delivering it reliably.”
Not impressive. Reliable. Not likeable. Capable. Not talented (that’s assumed). Professional.
This requires changing your internal dialogue completely:
Not: “I hope they see my range.” But: “I’ve identified what this specific scene needs and prepared to deliver exactly that.”
Not: “Please give me a chance to prove myself.” But: “Here’s my interpretation. If you need something different, I can adjust.”
Not: “I’m anxious about whether I’m good enough.” But: “I know I’m prepared. Now let’s see if my interpretation matches their vision.”
This isn’t arrogance. Its preparation which creates confidence. It’s understanding your job isn’t hoping they’ll discover your talent—it’s demonstrating you can solve their immediate problem.
Why This Matters for Your Career
Casting directors talk to each other. Directors talk to each other. We compare notes on actors constantly.
“Who’s good for X type of role?” “Anyone new you’ve seen who’s impressive?” “Have you worked with this person? What are they like?”
The actors who get recommended in these conversations aren’t necessarily the most talented. They’re the ones who were professional, prepared, and easy to work with. The ones who solved problems rather than creating them.
The actors who don’t get recommended might be extremely talented, but if they made the shoot difficult—arrived unprepared, needed excessive direction, couldn’t take adjustments, were unreliable in any way—that’s what we remember.
Your reputation in this industry is built less on your talent (which is subjective) and more on your professionalism (which is objective). Can you deliver what’s needed, when it’s needed, without drama?
That’s the problem casting directors and directors need to solve every single day.
Where This Fits
Cultivating a problem-solving mindset is essential, but it’s just one piece of a much larger understanding. You also need to know what specific problems casting directors and directors face at different stages of the casting process, what materials demonstrate you can solve them, how to position yourself where they can find you, and what sequence to tackle these challenges in.
Understanding how casting actually works—why it feels like a closed shop but isn’t, where the real entry points exist, and how casting directors think—is the foundation. That’s Step 1 of the 21-Step systematic process I’ve developed for building a sustainable screen career.
The Alchemy of Screen Acting: Building a Sustainable Career in 21 Steps will be published on Substack soon. Each step builds on the previous one, taking you from where you are now (probably frustrated and unclear about how to break in) to where you want to be (working professionally and getting called back repeatedly).
But it all starts with this fundamental mindset shift: you are the answer to their problem, not another problem requiring their attention.
To explore my approach to screen acting, visit: thealchemyofscreenacting.com
Header image: Photo by Brands&People on Unsplash
About the Author
Andrew Higgs is a freelance writer/director with nearly forty years of experience in television drama. He is a BAFTA voting member and has coached hundreds of actors for screen work. The Alchemy of Screen Acting: Building a Sustainable Career in 21 Steps is his first book.
Thank you, Samantha — glad it resonated.
Really enjoyed reading this, thank you!