Do’s and Don’ts for Getting Booked with Your Car
Interested in working with your vehicle? As a Central Casting Background Actor, you have the opportunity to get on set in a variety of ways, including by getting booked with your car. From updating your profile to responding to messages, these tips will help you get booked and on set.
Do add vehicles you own to your profile
Central Casting books a wide range of productions set in different time periods, so whether your car is brand new, classic, or seen better days, there’s a chance you can get booked with it. When looking for Background Actors with cars, our Casting Directors will search our casting platform for the details required, like year, make, model, color, and condition. By filling out this information in your profile for the cars you own and are interested in working with, you can help Casting Directors find you when these roles become available.
You can add your cars in the “vehicles you own” section of your online profile. Include as much accurate information as you can. We will continue to add vehicle options to our system; if you don’t see information that matches your car, include what you can and check back for updates.
After adding your car’s details, be sure to also upload photos of your vehicle. Photos you upload must be of your actual car and not dealership or advertisement photos. Pictures should be taken at an angle where the front and side of your car are clearly visible.
When adding vehicles or responding to messages, keep in mind that in order to be booked you will need to show proof that the vehicle you are working with is insured. Have a copy of your proof of insurance on hand so you’re ready to send if a Casting Director asks for it.
Do read car requirements carefully
Another tool our Casting Directors use when booking Background Actors with cars is to post to our Jobs page. These posts will include vehicle requirements; it’s extremely important to read this information carefully and only submit if your car meets the description. For example, you may notice job posts or availability inquires stating “no red, white, or black” vehicles. This is because these colors can stand out too much, don’t show up well on camera, or may match the color of the principal actor’s vehicle. If your car is one of the unusable colors mentioned in the job post, you should not submit, even if your vehicle matches the rest of the description.
You may also see job posts looking for “current” car models. Productions can vary, but generally current means anything from the past 5-7 years.
Don’t forget to add additional materials to responses
When booking cars, Casting Directors will likely send availability inquires or follow up messages with additional questions, like asking you to confirm year, make, model, color, and condition of your vehicle. Please answer all questions honestly; if you’re booked based off the information in your response, you will be expected to show up to set with the vehicle as described.
They may also ask for a recent photo of your vehicle to confirm if it fits the role requirements. Be sure to include any requested materials in your response, the Casting Director cannot consider you for the role without them.
Don’t accept a job before understanding what’s expected
When you’re booked by Central Casting, we book you with your car, not just your car. Your role may require you to drive your vehicle, be a Background Actor in a scene with your vehicle, or you may be in Holding while your vehicle is stationary on set. This information will likely be included in your availability inquiry. If you’re not clear on the role details, ask your Casting Director what will be expected of you, especially if you’re not comfortable driving in a scene. You should be confident in your driving ability if the role requires you to drive on camera.
Want to learn more ways to get booked as a Background Actor with Central Casting? Read our guides How to Take a Central Casting Profile Photo and How to Make a Stand-In Resume.
