Brendan Gibbons' comedy casting masterclass

What are the best strategies for finding the talent to bring to a comedy casting?

Start with finding your voice as a director. The point is, having a voice. This relates to everything you do as a director. And, to my mind, the way characters exist in the universe you create is the ultimate fingerprint of your voice. So, find a voice. Or at least a whisper. Because, until it exists, your casting director is just gonna be calling up agents and asking them to send whoever fits the spec. And that’s a recipe for spots that are just… fine.

How crucial is a sympathetic casting director to the process?

If your casting director understands your vibe, you’re gonna see the kind of people who fit your vibe. I’ve worked with two amazing people for my whole career – Stacy Gallo in New York, and Shane Liem in Los Angeles. They understand who I am as a director as well as anyone I’ve worked with over the years. 

Find a casting director who feels like a partner and figure out whatever you can do to make their job easier. Because their job is to help you.

They also know what every actor I’ve cast has had to say about our experience on set, and I don’t care who you are, every day on set is a learning experience. Those actors have as much to teach you about this thing we’re doing as you have to teach them. So, find a casting director who feels like a partner and figure out whatever you can do to make their job easier. Because their job is to help you.

Above: Station director Brendan Gibbons says having a directorial voice is the most important element of casting.

How do you ‘test’ for comedy chops in a casting, and how long will you spend in a casting session for principal talent?

What’s funny on screen isn’t always the joke on the page. Just as often it’s the reaction to the joke – the eyes, the breath, the body language, the seemingly thrown-off line. Every spot needs a punctuating moment. I’m looking for people who can help us find those magic beats that are hiding out in the white spaces of the script. 

A good way to do that is to surprise the actor with a new take on what we’re doing. I want to see how they respond to something new. If they can surprise the room and make the people who might be paying more attention to their laptops take notice and laugh, we’re getting somewhere. 

Every spot needs a punctuating moment. I’m looking for people who can help us find those magic beats that are hiding out in the white spaces of the script. 

As for timing, if we’re having fun, we might spend 20 minutes riffing. This is why I don’t like to overload the callback with people. It’s unfair to the actors and unfair to the process. As for people who clearly are not in the running, they get two shots through the scene. I’ll focus intently on what they’re doing and give them the best direction I can. I will give the actor my full focus. Even if they stink, hopefully they at least get something out of the experience that will help them down the line. This is why callbacks are the most exhausting part of the production process for me.

Above: Gibbons has helmed hundreds of funny spots through his career. 

What do you look out for when casting for supporting roles?

Are you intriguing or funny when all you do is give a look? And does it feel authentic? I’m looking for the most unique, vibrant, eye-catching character possible. Next time you sit down on a plane, spend some time watching the amazing cast of characters walking down the aisle when boarding. People are incredible. Their choices are spectacularly odd. Their faces carry so much. Their vulnerabilities are right there for the world to see. Of course, if you put most of them in front of a camera, that would all vanish. 

Next time you sit down on a plane, spend some time watching the amazing cast of characters walking down the aisle when boarding. People are incredible.

That’s what happens to a lot of actors. Most actors who come in for a commercial casting are not going to be great. But some of them are stunningly wonderful – the ones who are able to reveal their vulnerabilities and still feel like authentic characters. 

I say 'characters' because that’s what they are. When they’re on screen, they’re not people. They are inhabiting characters in a universe that is different from the one we live in. Do I believe that this character would do or say these things in this universe? If the answer is yes, then that’s a great beginning. Now… are you making us laugh?

Above: When working with sports stars, such as quarterback Kyler Murray in this Rocket Mortgage spot, keeping their performance small "and hopefully a little weird" is the best approach, says Gibbons.

What are the comedy casting pitfalls you need to look out for?

The overplay. My most repeated direction is; “Smaller”. Then; “Okay, smaller”. Then; “Okay… a tenth of that". What I love is when an actor invites the audience to see what’s going on behind his or her eyes despite what the character is showing to the world. 

An actor who shows us she’s nervous isn’t very compelling. An actor who shows us that she’s confident, but we see that she’s nervous… that’s where the magic is.

An actor who shows us she’s nervous isn’t very compelling. An actor who shows us that she’s confident, but we see that she’s nervous… that’s where the magic is. The audience feels like they found the truth on their own. And they feel something. Or they laugh. Or both.

What are the kinds of things that jump out at you when casting for comedy?

First off, in the initial casting, I am not looking for the right performance, because that almost never happens. What I’m looking for is simply the feeling that I want to work with this person. If I feel my mouth curling into a bit of a smile, I know I’m interested in this actor. It’s involuntary. And, I suppose, it’s not really possible to intellectualise beyond that. If they make me smile, I’m intrigued. Those are the people I want to see in our callback. 

What can go wrong if the casting is off?

When it comes to comedy, there is nothing more important than the casting. Maybe the script has a logic problem – a great performance can help that. Maybe the script is too long – a great performance can help that. Maybe the cables to the crane just got shredded – a great performance can make you forget you even needed that crane shot. But, if the performance isn’t great, there’s no way to do anything better than 'good'. And, if it’s just good, your creative partners will look for a new partner the next time around.

So, if the casting feels thin, keep going. Get some ringers over to the studio as soon as possible. Or look at the other roles and repurpose someone great who came in to play the friend or the barista or the 'observer' as the lead. And, most of all, don’t settle and send someone you don’t believe in to the client as a back-up. You will regret it.

Above: Gibbons has worked on numerous Progressive campaigns featuring the character 'Flo'. 

Take us through the casting of Flo for the Progressive spots.

The Progressive campaign existed for three-and-a-half years before I got involved, and it had been mostly dependent on Flo and customers talking about insurance inside the ‘Superstore’. Bringing Flo and Jamie (and all the other great characters) out into the world turbocharged the ideas to include just about every genre you can imagine. 

If I have chemistry with an actor, I know that we can find something funny in anything we’re doing together.

One of the things we did when we were casting for Mara, Alan, Rodney and the others was to approach it more like we were casting a comedy show. So, rather than casting a specific commercial, we cast for funny, intriguing characters to build an ensemble for future spots. We gave them a scene to riff and asked them to do some characters of their own. It was similar to the process Saturday Night Live uses to cast the show. We saw a ton of stand-up comedians and players from The Groundlings, Upright Citizens Brigade, iO Theatre… 

In callback with these actors, we were free to just have fun and see if there was chemistry. If I have chemistry with an actor, I know that we can find something funny in anything we’re doing together. With this incredible cast – Stephanie Courtney, Jim Cashman, Natalie Palamides, Paul Mabon, Jeremy Rowley – we have a great short-hand. I feel like I can give one of them a look and they suddenly know where to explore. Then we start bouncing ideas around the scene.

Above: When working with famous actors, as Gibbons did when working with Mark Hamill for Jack in the Box, the aim is to get the most of our that celebrity.

How much is casting – rather than script – crucial to how a recurring character like Flo and their stories develop? 

Casting is everything. These are characters that were developed to exist inside the universe of the campaign. What the agency has done to create a world where this oddball group of employees can literally do anything without slipping outside the boundaries of the campaign is nothing short of amazing. What the creatives at Arnold (led by Sean McBride, Josh Kahn and Nate Donabed) have done over the past decade should be taught in every portfolio school in the world. The breadth of 'realities' that exists inside this universe of over 200 commercials is stunning. 

What’s the process when it comes to successfully casting a star such as Jon Hamm or Mark Hamill?

When you’ve got celebrity talent in a commercial, the director isn’t usually involved in the casting. More often than not, you get the news that a deal has been struck. The job then becomes getting the most out of that celebrity. And that all depends on who you’re working with. If it’s an athlete – especially one who isn’t a natural on camera – the rules are different. A non-actor overacting is not fun to watch. You’re best off keeping their performance small (and hopefully a little weird) and surrounding them with funny actors who can carry the comedic load. 

It’s your set. It needs to be run your way. If you do that with confidence, humour and kindness, the vibe will work. Unless, of course, you’re dealing with a jerkwad celebrity. Which, of course, I’ve, er… never had to do.

If, like Jon or Mark, the celebrity is an actor, the key is getting them to understand that this thing we’re doing isn’t an obligation. It’s an opportunity to make some amazing pop culture. That’s what the best ads are. They are a huge, valuable part of our popular culture. And people love them. Of course, our world is also full of bad ads, and they are poisonous. So, let’s all understand that we’re going for something special. Something funny. Something that the celebrity will get as much positive feedback about as they do for their latest film or show. 

The way to do that is to take control. A film set abhors a vacuum. And, in the face of a powerful celebrity, you have to avoid the temptation to defer to their authority. It’s your set. It needs to be run your way. If you do that with confidence, humour and kindness, the vibe will work. Unless, of course, you’re dealing with a jerkwad celebrity. Which, of course, I’ve, er… never had to do.