Networks, series increasingly looking outside Hollywood actors' community to fill primetime roles
September 2, 2007
By Doug Elfman
Chicago Sun-Times
Actors from around the world don't even have to go to Hollywood to audition for American TV shows. Two new stars were hired on the Web.
Execs picked Britain's Michelle Ryan to be the new "Bionic Woman" after checking her out "on a tiny little screen," says producer David Eick.
"We watched her on an Internet feed," he says. "You really felt like you were, you know, discovering somebody."
Meanwhile, South African Adhir Kalyan won his role as a Pakistani in the CW's "Aliens in America" after L.A. execs watched his long-distance audition on the "postage-stamp-size image" of a computer, says producer David Guarascio.
"If he was a star on something [as small as YouTube], imagine what he would be like on something this big," says producer Moses Port.
There have been zippy stories in the press lately about TV's new "British invasion." A lot of English actors have signed up to star in new American shows. But as Kalyan can attest, the trend is more international than that.
Yes, Brits will star or co-star in "The Bionic Woman," "Pushing Daisies," "Life," "Moonlight" and "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
There are also Aussies ("Cashmere Mafia" and "Moonlight"), a Scotsman ("Journeyman"), a Dane ("New Amsterdam") and Kalyan. And that's not counting Latinos (some native, some not) in "Cane" and other new series.
This is a win-win situation for Hollywood. Since most of these actors aren't famous in America, they may work for less.
"I can only assume that we're cheap," British-born Hugh Laurie cracks, a few years after he adopted an American accent for "House."
Shows that look intercontinental earn big cash abroad. "House" is seen in Britain, where Laurie was already well-known. Racially diverse "Heroes" is an international moneymaker.
Some actors don't have to come from overseas. They can merely play to heritage. This summer, I ran into James Kyson Lee -- a serious New York actor who plays Ando on "Heroes" -- and almost the first word out of his mouth was, "Dude!" On the set, he uses a Japanese dialect coach.
Those who do audition in L.A. arrive prepared. Frances O'Connor, co-star in ABC's midseason "Cashmere Mafia," tucks away her Aussie tongue.
"If they see you with an Australian accent, and then you do an American accent, they think, 'Oh, she's doing an accent.' Whereas if you come in as an American, it just makes it easier for everybody," O'Connor says.
Talking American is a breeze for her, she says.
"I've been watching 'Sesame Street' since I was four," she says and laughs.
It's been a longer path for the lead of NBC's "Journeyman," Kevin McKidd. He spoke his native Scottish dialect in "Trainspotting," then a British accent in HBO's "Rome." Even the Queen's English took time to develop.
"I went to drama school in Edinburgh, and they said, 'You know, you're never going to work with a voice like that,' because there are very few dramas being made about the upper regions of the Highlands in Scotland. So ..."
McKidd is trying to sound like he's from San Francisco, the setting of "Journeyman." He's one-upping American actors on the series by focusing on a region, says American co-star Gretchen Egolf.
"He ends up," Egolf says, "being much more specific than all of us [American actors]. He's talking about a West Coast American accent."
One way these actors are getting spotted is by starring in HBO and BBC programs, says David Nutter, producer-director of "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
"With the advent of shows like 'Rome,' " he says, "people are able to say, 'Oh, look at this person. ... Let's try to get them on this show.'"
For the actors, working in America translates into more exposure and warmer climes. They also say TV here is developing better scripts and products than the movie business. Laurie was drawn to "House" by its first screenplay.
"It could have been a Latvian circus piece, or it could have been in a piece of American television. It didn't really matter in that regard. It was just a stunning piece of writing," Laurie says.
He has said many times that using the accent for up to 16 hours a day is the hardest part of his job.
McKidd says when he first began studying American vowels and consonants, it was tough not to imitate American stars.
"That's the thing, to make it sound like it isn't an impersonation, but that it's your own voice," McKidd says.
Many actors don't seem too homesick.
"The only thing I found difficult to deal with coming to the States is the size of the portions of food," Kalyan says. "Africa doesn't need Bono. Africa doesn't need Geldof. Africa needs a Denny's 'Grand Slam' breakfast."
But if you add them up, more Brits are immigrating than other nationalities. One is Natascha McElhone, perhaps best known here for playing George Clooney's love interest in "Solaris." She co-stars in Showtime's "Californication."
I asked her if she's the most exotic person on the set. She didn't take me seriously.
"What, because I'm English?" she said in a very British way. "It's a myth that anything in England is exotic. You've gotta go there more often."
By Doug Elfman
Chicago Sun-Times
Actors from around the world don't even have to go to Hollywood to audition for American TV shows. Two new stars were hired on the Web.
Execs picked Britain's Michelle Ryan to be the new "Bionic Woman" after checking her out "on a tiny little screen," says producer David Eick.
"We watched her on an Internet feed," he says. "You really felt like you were, you know, discovering somebody."
Meanwhile, South African Adhir Kalyan won his role as a Pakistani in the CW's "Aliens in America" after L.A. execs watched his long-distance audition on the "postage-stamp-size image" of a computer, says producer David Guarascio.
"If he was a star on something [as small as YouTube], imagine what he would be like on something this big," says producer Moses Port.
There have been zippy stories in the press lately about TV's new "British invasion." A lot of English actors have signed up to star in new American shows. But as Kalyan can attest, the trend is more international than that.
Yes, Brits will star or co-star in "The Bionic Woman," "Pushing Daisies," "Life," "Moonlight" and "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
There are also Aussies ("Cashmere Mafia" and "Moonlight"), a Scotsman ("Journeyman"), a Dane ("New Amsterdam") and Kalyan. And that's not counting Latinos (some native, some not) in "Cane" and other new series.
This is a win-win situation for Hollywood. Since most of these actors aren't famous in America, they may work for less.
"I can only assume that we're cheap," British-born Hugh Laurie cracks, a few years after he adopted an American accent for "House."
Shows that look intercontinental earn big cash abroad. "House" is seen in Britain, where Laurie was already well-known. Racially diverse "Heroes" is an international moneymaker.
Some actors don't have to come from overseas. They can merely play to heritage. This summer, I ran into James Kyson Lee -- a serious New York actor who plays Ando on "Heroes" -- and almost the first word out of his mouth was, "Dude!" On the set, he uses a Japanese dialect coach.
Those who do audition in L.A. arrive prepared. Frances O'Connor, co-star in ABC's midseason "Cashmere Mafia," tucks away her Aussie tongue.
"If they see you with an Australian accent, and then you do an American accent, they think, 'Oh, she's doing an accent.' Whereas if you come in as an American, it just makes it easier for everybody," O'Connor says.
Talking American is a breeze for her, she says.
"I've been watching 'Sesame Street' since I was four," she says and laughs.
It's been a longer path for the lead of NBC's "Journeyman," Kevin McKidd. He spoke his native Scottish dialect in "Trainspotting," then a British accent in HBO's "Rome." Even the Queen's English took time to develop.
"I went to drama school in Edinburgh, and they said, 'You know, you're never going to work with a voice like that,' because there are very few dramas being made about the upper regions of the Highlands in Scotland. So ..."
McKidd is trying to sound like he's from San Francisco, the setting of "Journeyman." He's one-upping American actors on the series by focusing on a region, says American co-star Gretchen Egolf.
"He ends up," Egolf says, "being much more specific than all of us [American actors]. He's talking about a West Coast American accent."
One way these actors are getting spotted is by starring in HBO and BBC programs, says David Nutter, producer-director of "The Sarah Connor Chronicles."
"With the advent of shows like 'Rome,' " he says, "people are able to say, 'Oh, look at this person. ... Let's try to get them on this show.'"
For the actors, working in America translates into more exposure and warmer climes. They also say TV here is developing better scripts and products than the movie business. Laurie was drawn to "House" by its first screenplay.
"It could have been a Latvian circus piece, or it could have been in a piece of American television. It didn't really matter in that regard. It was just a stunning piece of writing," Laurie says.
He has said many times that using the accent for up to 16 hours a day is the hardest part of his job.
McKidd says when he first began studying American vowels and consonants, it was tough not to imitate American stars.
"That's the thing, to make it sound like it isn't an impersonation, but that it's your own voice," McKidd says.
Many actors don't seem too homesick.
"The only thing I found difficult to deal with coming to the States is the size of the portions of food," Kalyan says. "Africa doesn't need Bono. Africa doesn't need Geldof. Africa needs a Denny's 'Grand Slam' breakfast."
But if you add them up, more Brits are immigrating than other nationalities. One is Natascha McElhone, perhaps best known here for playing George Clooney's love interest in "Solaris." She co-stars in Showtime's "Californication."
I asked her if she's the most exotic person on the set. She didn't take me seriously.
"What, because I'm English?" she said in a very British way. "It's a myth that anything in England is exotic. You've gotta go there more often."
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