Dream maker

by David Flynn

An Athlone man, who has many talented facets, in the fields of film and photography, hopes to share his experience in the local area in the coming years.

Carl Proctor has not only lived the dream but created it for hundreds of screen and theatre performers during his time as a successful London based casting director for movies and television.

“I used to be an actor and did okay, but it wasn’t enough for me, I was happier directing and producing and I was always involved in things behind the scenes,” said Carl to the Westmeath Independent.

The Athlone resident featured in a three-episode arc of Coronation Street in 2000, where he played a detective, and also in the classic Heartbeat.

Carl is married to Athlone native and professional actor, Olivia Caffrey. The couple have two young sons, Henry and Albert.

He has also produced a feature film called ‘Mad Dogs’ starring Paul Barber from ‘The Full Monty’ and Indira Varma (from ‘Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning’), as well as a few short films. He was also casting director on the Emmy nominated tv miniseries, 'The Bible' and a big budget Hollywood feature, ‘The Wedding Date’ starring Debra Messing (from TV’s 'Will and Grace') and Amy Adams.

“My recent feature, casting wise, is titled, ‘Life on Mercury’ and is in post-production, and a nice little film, low-budget, and filmed in Dublin and Wicklow,” he said. “We cast actors through self-tapes and met some in Dublin. It was a very Irish script and very good.”

Carl has been also involved in London Theatre since his early days of acting. He has produced theatre plays including a musical, ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’ in the West End.

Carl studied at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, London) full-time and did studies in photography which changed his mind and opinions about headshots for actors.

“It’s interesting to see what makes a good acting headshot and I’ve seen it evolve over the years,” said Carl.

Carl discovered a couple of highly-rated performers such as Gerard Butler, who was critically acclaimed for the fantasy movie, ‘300’, and as lead actor in the 2005 movie, ‘Phantom of the Opera’. Carl was also the first casting director to spot Rupert Friend, who was later nominated for an Emmy award for US TV’s Homeland.

“I cast Gerard in his first film, ‘One More Kiss’,” said Carl. “I cast Rupert Friend in another film, ‘Mrs. Palfrey at The Claremont’. Actors usually want a lead role that helps to launch them.”

Carl said that it’s very rare for people to go straight to a major lead in a film, but it can happen.

“Directors want people to be good and pleasant to work with,” he said.

Carl was involved in the making of a teenage sitcom centred around a soccer team called 'Renford Rejects', which ran for four seasons on Nickelodeon UK and Channel 4. It was nominated for a Children’s BAFTA award.

“That was a big success and it was fantastic to work with young actors, aged 16 or 17 and see them develop their acting style into their 20s,” he said. “A lot of the actors there were really brilliant, and we got a pool of people for other parts out of the auditions. We have recently filmed a pilot for the relaunch of the series, 25 years later.”

Carl said there always has to be a collaboration between the film or tv director and the casting director.

“They would be looking at what I send, but I have to know what they’re looking for,” said Carl.

Carl has to search at times for the mystery of the magic of chemistry among actors.

“When I cast Gerry Butler, he would come into the call-backs for the girlfriend role in his film, because that was a big part as well,” he said. “So we would kind of see how they would work together.”

Carl said as a photographer he is trying to diversify, and has done some corporate gigs including recently working around Athlone’s Sheraton Hotel taking photos for a feature for the Irish Times Saturday magazine. He has also done photography at conferences in Glasson Lakehouse and the Radisson Blu Hotel.

“In photography, I like the cross between actors' headshots and portraiture and while they are different things, they don’t need to be,” said Carl. “I get a lot of ‘looking away’ shots, and I like to make them look like a still from a film. It takes longer with some people, but we always get there in the end. Some are nervous and think it’s worse than going to the dentist. It doesn’t need to be.”

As a photographer, Carl knows that lighting is very important. He is fond of natural lighting and likes doing a lot of work outdoors. He has built a studio in his Athlone garden, with windows and natural light.

“Where there are imperfections, photoshopping can correct things,” he said. “With actors' headshots, it’s best not to be over made up, but there is nothing wrong with someone looking like themselves on a good day.”

Carl still commutes to the UK from Athlone, roughly one week a month.

“I’d be happy to go less, and work more in Ireland and I’m starting to be more proactive about that,” he said.

Carl also does in Ireland the one-to-one career advice and performance coaching that he does in London.

“There are a lot of people in Ireland who aspire to be actors, and they want to look into it, some want to do it for fun, and some professional people want to do it for confidence,” said Carl. “It’s a big area.”

Carl said that some people, who may have had work success in life, want to move on and pursue their dream, which could be performing or something else they thought was out of their reach.

“It’s nice to help people like that, for example women who take time out of the workplace to have kids, or somebody who had to be a carer for a few years,” he said. “A bit of training could help them go further.”

Carl said that some amateur actors are as good as professionals but have chosen to do something else in their lives, with the security of other things.

He said that filming locations around the midlands are fantastic, and the remoteness is attractive to producers.

“If the film studio ever opens in Mullingar, I can see room for development and for talented people,” said Carl.

He said that for anybody who is interested in being an actor, they need to show some evidence of such, like one or two short filmed monologues, and good photographs. He said there is no point in just writing to casting directors, and that you need to send them visual evidence.

“Anyone can do it, I think, and character actors are more sought after than anything else,” said Carl. “Sometimes being tall and good-looking is limiting, so I think there is work for anybody, all sizes.”