Does physical looks matter when auditioning?

Question:Yes, it does matter very much, but not in the way you're probably thinking.

For stage acting, remember, they can do a heck of a lot with hair and wigs and makeup to make someone "look" the part from the distance of the audience. But still, the actor is not cast in a vacuum. If they're casting a pair of young lovers, they're not going to pair a tall girl and a short boy. The two actors have to suit each other. They're not going to cast a very young man in an older man's part (like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof), no matter how great a tenor he is. If you're casting the Von Trapp children, all seven of them have to look like they could reasonably have been fathered by the same man with the same woman. And (this came up only last week) if the part is Cinderella, no girl who's significantly overweight is going to get that part. It all depends on what the role calls for.

If you're just asking "Do you have to be pretty", the answer is no. If you stop and think about it, there are many actors who aren't very attractive, yet they've made a profession of acting. Ron Perlman comes to mind. He's not a good-looking man, but he was the star of a hit TV series (Beauty and the Beast) for three years, and has had featured roles in "The Name of the Rose" and other box-office hits.

Again, it all depends on what the role calls for.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Yes, it does matter very much, but not in the way you're probably thinking.

For stage acting, remember, they can do a heck of a lot with hair and wigs and makeup to make someone "look" the part from the distance of the audience. But still, the actor is not cast in a vacuum. If they're casting a pair of young lovers, they're not going to pair a tall girl and a short boy. The two actors have to suit each other. They're not going to cast a very young man in an older man's part (like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof), no matter how great a tenor he is. If you're casting the Von Trapp children, all seven of them have to look like they could reasonably have been fathered by the same man with the same woman. And (this came up only last week) if the part is Cinderella, no girl who's significantly overweight is going to get that part. It all depends on what the role calls for.

If you're just asking "Do you have to be pretty", the answer is no. If you stop and think about it, there are many actors who aren't very attractive, yet they've made a profession of acting. Ron Perlman comes to mind. He's not a good-looking man, but he was the star of a hit TV series (Beauty and the Beast) for three years, and has had featured roles in "The Name of the Rose" and other box-office hits.

Again, it all depends on what the role calls for.

Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesnt.
Some casting directors look for talent and people who can play the part well, other casting directors just look for someone who physically fit the part. For example, if they are looking for a 5'6" blonde, blue-eyed girl and your 5'2", brown eyes and brown hair, your probably not gonna get the part.
But dont worry, physical appearance doesnt always matter.

Sometimes.

To the extent that they are important to the character you are playing.

Yes it does. Obviously if your a short and skinny there not going to give you a role where the person needs to be bulkey. It also does because of looking your age. They rejected Hannah Montana a couple times because she looked to young. any more questions then email me

Physical looks matter, but only in terms of what the character calls for. If the character calls for someone small and mousy, then you don't want an attractive amazon. If the character is someone overweight, then a super-skinny person is totally the wrong choice.

As a director, someone could give me a very good audition, but if they don't match the physical type the character needs to be, then they will not get the part.

Everything matters when you audition, looks included. But it's not everything. One of my auditions consisted of other actors with very extreme punk or biker looks, which I don't have. I felt very out of place in the room. But my audition got me the role (for a network series) and they painted the tattoos on. That doesn't happen often though, particularly in television. Because of the time pressures, it's safer to cast a "look" than to hope an actor can sell it.