Casting Director Looks for ‘Real’ People

REALITY BITER: Havens coordinates casting for several TV reality shows.

“Be yourself.”

Oh, sure, your mom and dad used to tell you that all the time, but it really is the ticket to success . . . at least, if you’re trying to become a cast member on a reality show. So says Todd Havens ’92, casting coordinator for several reality programs.

While the impression may be that only the sexiest and most controversial people make it onto reality programs, that’s not what Havens is looking for as he travels the country holding casting calls. As obvious as it may seem, you have to be real, he says.

“TV has certain requirements, and when we present our suggestions to the producers they do sometimes go for a certain look,” he admits. “But we just want people who are honest, who have something real to offer.”

Havens and his two partners have cast everyday people to star in some of the latest reality programs, including Fear and FM Nation on MTV and USA’s Cannonball Run 2001. Always on the lookout for the perfect reality show cast member, Havens even signed up a personable waitress he met while traveling. But generally, casting calls bring out thousands of 18- to 23-year-olds lured by the MTV name and the chance at fame.

“I’ve gotten pretty good at telling the real people from the b.s.,” he says candidly. “But on those casting calls, I want to send everyone away with a good experience and something they can remember.”

Havens’ path to reality casting was a twisted one, from studying French and linguistics at Rochester to film school in California and working as a commercial actor for five years. But now he and his partners can pick and choose from the jobs they’re offered, and he’s excited about the increasing interest in reality shows.

He considers reality programming a mixed bag, calling shows like The Osbournes and FM Nation good examples of the genre’s originality but citing dating shows like The Bachelor and voyeuristic programming like The Anna Nicole Smith Show as examples of the reality trend gone too far.

“We have turned down jobs we don’t agree with,” Havens says. “But as long as reality programs are cheap to produce and people watch them, they’ll be successful.”