The acting industry can be a difficult environment to actually make it into unless you already have one foot in the door. As more celebrities are made outside of Hollywood, it seems directors are more eager to attach any recognizable face to their projects.
Recently it was announced that Kansas City Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce would be starring in a new series by Ryan Murphy titled “Grotesquerie.” Despite having zero acting experience before this, the NFL star seems to be the main attraction for the series.
Stunt casts like this have become more popular as of recent which has sparked a debate on whether stunt casting actually works or is just a cheap ploy to garner more viewers.
While stunt casting has been made more apparent in Hollywood now, for industries like Broadway, stunt casting is nothing new. It isn’t uncommon to see shows promote someone as a lead in their show to try and get more people to come see it.
One of the most egregious stunt casting for a Broadway show was Cameron Dallas in “Mean Girls” a few years back. Despite only being an internet personality and not having been in any previous Broadway shows, he was cast as Aaron Samuels, the show’s leading man. It was apparent that Dallas was not cast for his skills but rather for his name.
According to some audience members who had seen the show in Dallas’ four-week run, they said he struggled to hit his notes and how his acting felt robotic throughout. It’s one thing for an actor to make a mistake once or twice on stage, but it’s another thing for one to continually make the same mistakes with the excuse that their name is more important to the show than the talent they lack.
It is not promised that their name alone will drag in more viewers, however, it is heavily implied that their main audience will follow them to whatever project they are associated with.
Many Broadway shows have followed suit by attaching big names to their shows in hopes it will drag in a larger crowd. Shows like “Chicago” are often built off of stunt casting. Pamela Anderson, Brandy and Ashlee Simpson are among the many names that have starred as Roxie Hart in the past. However, I find “Chicago” to be one of the few shows that has mastered stunt casting, with only a few hiccups in the stars they bring onto the stage.
While there are some instances of stunt casting working in a project’s favor if done properly, it still is bad for the acting industry itself. Not only does it take away opportunities from people who worked to gain the skills to play these roles, it also sends a message that the only way to make a name in acting is to already have a name in the first place.
Many actors work for years to make their way into the acting industry but it seems it has become easier for influential names to cut the line.
Stunt casting has taken up much of the acting industry leaving many to question if talent will mean anything if big names keep hogging up the space. If spaces made for actors are being crowded with football stars and social media influencers, will there be any spaces left for actors in the future?
