The OC Girl

So the other day at my new internship, I'm given a script to read. It's a very funny script, great premise for a show, and we're in the process of casting it. So my supervisor gives me this script and tells me to come up with a list of people to cast in it. All of the main characters are supposed to be lithe and in their 20s (except one with pig-like features which I pretty much ignored). So I have about an hour and a half to read this script, track down some feasible actors to play the roles, turn it in and then go home.

Casting isn't as easy as it seems.

There's this whole universe to casting, and movies and TV exist in very separate worlds. I'm more invested in the movie world at the moment, though I'm familiar with a few of the up-and-coming TV stars, I couldn't tell you who's creating buzz at any given time. So this makes my job that much harder. So I really spent an hour combing IMdB thinking "What teen/young adult shows are now defunct, and whose actors aren't currently working?" Not the complexity of the requirements.

1. You need actors who have resumes; you don't just entrust your entire show to random new people.
2. They need to be available; i.e. out of work. Which due to the strike, may open up certain possibilities...
3. They need to match the characters (i.e. pretty people who look 20)

So it's harder than it sounds. But lo and behold...about 97% of the pretty OC people aren't working. So using people who have only done multiple guest spots and been in 5+ episodes, I pulled together a list of Pretty People Who Might Work. Not bad for an hour's research I think. I fill up a page with names for the 3 lead characters, just a 'look what I did in my hour, it's a crappy list but whatev' list.

So I turn my list into my boss. She looks it over and goes, "Oh. You must really like the OC." I looked at her askance because NO and said..."Actually, I've never seen an episode. They're just pretty and available. But for the main hero guy, that dude who played Bryce from Chuck would be perfect." So she smiles at me, says thanks AND THEN SAYS: "Awesome, I'll e-mail this to everyone."

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WHAT?!