July 28, 2025

Jonathan Runyon

1 hour 9 minutes

Actor - and commercial session director - Jonathan Runyon (Modern Family, Mad Men) joins us on the Box Angeles podcast episode 352. Jonathan stops by the bungalow and discusses the economics of being a session director, auditon & callback advice, common things he notices actors doing (and not doing), what the true goal is for commercial actors, and more!

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BEATS--

00:00 - Jonathan slates his name.
00:11 - Introduction.
02:29 - Acting and working at 200 South La Brea.
03:11 - Slower commercially right now, but not for non union.
05:18 - Session director perspective on self tapes.
09:08 - Being a waiter dating back to studying at the Stella Adler Conservatory in NYC.
12:00 - The economics and schedule of session directing.
17:20 - How do you make acting work with session directing.
20:08 - Working with different offices.
22:35 - Getting a callback or audition for a session you're suppose to run.
26:36 - Giving personalized feedback / instructions in auditions.
31:47 - Actors that booking bringing themselves to the auditions.
33:59 - Naturally not being "grounded".
35:28 - Choosing the order auditions are submitted to highlight certain ones.
39:48 - Ideal time to audition in the session.
41:34 - Any patterns in auditions?
43:45 - Real time filtering happening in callbacks.
46:24 - How actors should enter a callback.
50:01 - Knowing who the director is at callbacks and a Philip Seymour Hoffman story.
52:56 - Self sabotaging actors.
57:25 - Are callbacks more stressful.
58:43 - Casting directors livestream of the room.
1:00:53 - Are callbacks the new goal for actors.
1:03:50 - There is a board with the list of auditions at 200 South La Brea (!!)
1:04:59 - Who took a chance on Jonathan.
1:06:37 - Surprised by who books things.