backstage-2014-01-23

C O U R T ESY S O N Y T E L E V ISION (3)ilot season looms large in the minds ofthose in the television industry. Evenactors just starting out have heard thehorror stories—the seemingly endlessrounds of auditions, the breathless pace,the so-close-yet-so-far finales. Evenafter the pilot has been picked up by a networkand ordered to series, recastings are frequent.Which is what makes Fox’s “Rake,” starringGreg Kinnear as dissolute lawyer KeeganDeane, such a rarity. We spoke to cast membersNecar Zadegan and Tara Summers, as well ascasting director Cami Patton, about the sometimes“magical” process of putting togetheran ensemble that also includes Miranda Otto,Omar Dorsey, and John Ortiz.CAMI PATTON: I was asked to do this rightbefore Thanksgiving last year, and so over thebreak I watched the entire first two seasons ofthe Australian [version]. And I was so hookedafter it was done—I missed them! I loved thosepeople so much that to think of recreating thatwas overwhelming. But it was an honor to do it.And Peter Duncan, who created the Australianversion, was the most wonderful man to workwith. He knows those characters so well andhas such a strong sense of who they are andwhat they need to do, but he was so open.The concern going into something like that,where it’s already successful, is you might nothave as much creative flexibility. But he wasreally openwith whatmade it workwith Greg[Kinnear].NECARZADEGAN:Way back inthe beginningof December,my folkscalled andsaid, “There’sthis awesomeproject called‘Rake,’ whydon’t yousee Cami?”Cami and Igo way back.When theytalk aboutbuildingrelationships,Necar Zadeganthis is a greatsuccess story.I was a young actress; I’d moved to L.A. aftercollege and I saw Cami speak about casting.Shortly thereafter, she tested me somethinglike 12 times for another pilot. I didn’t end upbooking that, but when you test for somethinglike 12 times, it’s almost like you shot a minimovie. So I got to know the producers and hervery well. And this time, Cami had seen thisrole [Scarlet] and thought of me for it and askedme to come in.PATTON: [Scarlet] was really the one that[Peter] had the most specific idea of because itwas based on someone in his personal life andhe was really, really worried about being ableto find someone exactly right. And Necar I’veknown for a long time; she’s amazing. I broughther in on my very first day. The way we did thisprocess, everyone came in for me and went ontape here because there were so many peopleinvolved, producer-wise, in so many differentplaces. Rather than trying to corral everyone,we did it all on tape, sent them the people whowere most right, and from there they woulddecide who to read with Greg.TARA SUMMERS: It came my way like everythinglast year for pilot season, because I’min no position to receive offers. I went in andwent on tape and did my bit and didn’t reallythink much of it because I had, like, six otherauditions in 48 hours. I had four in one day. Itwas like that Naomi Watts spoof, where she’schanging in the back of her car frantically.PATTON: I’ve been a fan of Tara’s for a whilenow.ZADEGAN: They were using sides from theAustralian series, exceptionally well-written,very layered. They always pick the hardestscenes for an audition, which is great. Thoseone-liners, the scenes that don’t have as manyarcs, are hard. It felt like I had a lot to workwith, and I was glad to. I really like auditioning.It’s an opportunity to do intricate work, andyou have a captive audience! I like the work,and auditioning is really the actual work, sothinking about it that way always gets me reallyexcited.PATTON: I hadn’t sent [any tapes] to the producersyet because I wanted to have a nicegroup of people for each character and get asense of what I was doing. But Peter Duncanand [producer] Michael Wimer came over tomake sure we were on the same page, andPeter said in that meeting, “The one I’m mostconcerned about is Scarlet.” And I said, “Let meshow you my favorite.” And I put Necar’s auditionon the computer and he flipped out. Andit was fantastic because Peter was so relieved,and it just helped the whole rest of the processthat that was not on his shoulders. Everyonewas head over heels for her. When we showed[the tape] to the network, they got it immediately.She just knocked it out of the park.SUMMERS: One thing that was super encouraging—especiallyfor New Yorkers, to know theyaren’t going to get lost in the stratosphere andpeople are paying attention—was I tended tothink people don’t watch tapes. Unless you’reactually in the room with these people, Ithought it was a waste. Whereas this did comefrom that.ZADEGAN: The only other time I went in wasthe chemistry read with Greg. I had never reallydone a chemistry read for anyone before, and Ihad this vision in my mind of what it was goingto be. The guys and Greg were all there, and Iwalked up and [Greg and I] said hello and stoodnext to each other, made a couple of jokes fora few seconds, and then I turned to face thecamera and all of sudden I hear someone say,“That’s it!” I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t doanything!PATTON: [Kinnear] had [previously] read withher off-camera, and before we got to networkwe got word that they were going to want tosee them side by side. She did it so perfectlywe didn’t need to do it again—we just neededto see how they looked together!ZADEGAN: I guess just the casual banterbetween each other was the satisfying thingthey were looking for. Later, they told me theyloved our chemistry read. I don’t know whatthey could tell from us just talking casuallyas our real selves! The characters Scarlet andKeegan are really good friends, almost likefamily, so whatever they were looking forI guess theysaw in thatshort momentbetween thetwo of us.SUMMERS: Igot a call [nearthe end of pilotseason] sayingI was on a shortlist and theywanted me todo a chemistryread withKinnear. AndI showed up inthe Valley andthey go, “Ohgod, no, you’rein the wrongplace!” And Istarted to crylike I’d nevercried, sobbingto my agent thatI’d never makeTara Summersit. By the timeI showed up toSony I looked like Rudolph, all my mascarawas gone. I looked rough. How I got the job, Idon’t know, but by the time I actually read Iwas like, Fuck it, it can’t get any worse.PATTON: Pilots are incredibly intense andeverything is heightened and it can be such adifficult thing to maneuver, particularly as acasting person trying to make so many differentpeople happy. And our whole process onthis pilot was magical.ZADEGAN: Sometimes acting is easy!backstage.com01.23.14 backstage 17