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Janet Pound
Janet is a good friend and a pleasure to know. She not only excelled as a Casting Director in Michigan, but she’s a writer too.
I’m so happy that Janet was able to spend time with me for a short interview. She shared inspiring stories about her journey and the supporting relations built along the way, as well as experiences with little to unknown actors getting their big break after taking on auditions resulting from her agency efforts.
In this publication there are excerpts and summarized updated points regarding our interview. General edits have been made for reader understanding. The fuller audio recorded interview is available online for our member community. Join to listen in. It’s The Positive Network Community and there is no cost to opt-in. Lita
How did you get started as a casting director?
It’s crazy because never in my wildest dream was [casting] anything that I ever even thought about and so it’s odd the way it began. I started out as a print model; then got sent on auditions for ‘on camera’ work. So ... I started taking acting classes. Eventually, I did a lot of work in the automative industry, [as a spokesperson in training films] and ended up doing auto shows for ten years. They didn’t do a lot of filming here—maybe once a year they’d do a movie [in Detroit, MI]. After that I became a talent agent.
And then, and this is what I just think is so remarkable—one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, ended up being the best thing that I ever did. I was working as an agent [and] loved my job. I worked at a SAG (screen actors’ guild) franchised agency. [Note: talent agents didn’t have to be a SAG member to be signed to the agency].
...Janet continued from that part of her story...
... I loved my job. I would see my old friends when I put them on auditions. [but circumstances led to Janet quitting work at the franchise agency; one of the hardest decisions she had to make at the time] ... [Then], I ended up getting picked up at another agency. I was only working part-time, making little money. I would cry on my lunch hour thinking what have I done? And then, the phone rang, and it was Warner Brothers. They were looking for someone to interview to do the casting for Gran Torino, a Clint Eastwood movie, centered around a factory worker—they were going to shoot here!
Transitioning from a talent agent to a casting director
The only reason I could transition from being a talent agent and go into being a casting agent director was because I had left the job at the SAG franchise agency, and I ended up working at one that wasn’t. All the others [agents working at SAG franchised agencies] couldn’t transition to casting because of the conflict—you can’t work for the producer and the actors.
Take me through that [process]
The difference between being a talent agent and being a casting director—the end result is the same because you want to find actors for the project. What a talent agent does: get you auditions, and they get a % a commission if [the talent] gets booked and if [not], they don’t get any money. On the other hand, a casting director, also looks for actors, [but] they are hired by the producer; so, they get paid [whether] anybody gets booked or not. If the actors didn’t get work, I would still get paid.
The call
In the first call to do casting I was asked about the ‘day out of days’ or DOOD. I had no idea what that meant. So, I called a casting director I knew in Pittsburg and I ‘faked it till I made it.’. She told me what everything meant. It was a little scary but exciting and a wonderful experience. I partnered with an agent of mine and we became Pound & Mooney Casting.
... more on the phone call to interview for casting Clint Eastwood’s movie ...
During the interview [for the casting director job] Janet found out the LA casting director knew her brother. She wasn’t sure if that got her the job but, as Janet shared, “it didn’t hurt.” Cutting her teeth by working for Clint Eastwood on a Warner Brothers movie, was a big deal, because ...
.. they knew what they were doing – they were buttoned up. I was so lucky because they were so wonderful to work with. [Some directors} want to see dozens upon dozens of actors for a role. Mr. Eastwood knew what he wanted and asked to have us only show him two actors per role.
When we did the casting, [Mr. Eastwood] said he wanted true Hmong actors [for those roles]. So, we went to a Hmong soccer festival and signed people up to audition. A 16-year-old student from Lansing, Michigan drove her sister to audition. We asked [the sister that drove] to audition too. And she got the part. Never acted [before] but Mr. Eastwood thought she didn’t need an acting coach. Being the conduit to getting someone their dream job and out of Detroit was the best part of my casting career.
Janet recently shot a sit-com pilot that she wrote and directed called “Motor City Casting”. It’s taken from her life as a casting director. The film has been entered into film contests with hopes of it getting picked up by Netflix or other streaming services.
Janet shares even more during our audio recorded interview. Join our community to listen in. It's the Positive Network Community and there is no cost to be an opt-in member.