Success Story: How Stephen Pollak Uses Role Tracker to A/B Test His Casting Networks Wins

Stephen Pollak has an infectious personality. Taking inspiration as a child from a scene featuring Joan Rivers and Miss Piggy in The Muppets Take Manhattan, the LA-based actor is a fountain of charisma, a lightning rod of positivity and a big advocate of having control over your own destiny.

He uses Casting Networks regularly, and is taking full advantage of our Role Tracker feature, which lets Premium members know exactly where their submissions stand in the process while helping performers gain insights to help shape and refine their submission strategies.

Pollak took time to share submission strategies for Casting Networks while giving us nuggets of wisdom for how he’s been able to sustain a 20-year acting career.

How did you decide to become an actor?

I liked attention, I guess. I know that sounds crazy, but I remember going back to the kindergarten graduation recital. Some kids were the A, the B, the C, the D, and I was the Z. I remember hearing the “Awwww” from the kindergarten graduation audience when I said “Z is for…ZHAT’S ALL!”

It was definitely the beginning of me knowing how to get a laugh, which of course was further cultivated and reinforced with seeing Joan Rivers at the makeup counter with Miss Piggy in The Muppets Take Manhattan. I never stopped talking in class, and was oftentimes in trouble, because I was usually trying to amuse and entertain my classmates rather than paying attention.

How did you first discover Casting Networks?

Oh, gosh, when I first got to LA in 2006. I was living at my parents in the New York City suburbs a couple of years after college, and then moved to California. Of course, I was very lucky. I got a very strong commercial agent and manager very quickly. They were like, “Oh, [sign up with] Casting Networks.” So, I just set it up.

What successes have you found on Casting Networks?

This is a good one. It was over the holidays several years ago, maybe five years ago. I submitted myself for Honda. It was one of the worst auditions I think I’d ever had in my life. They were seeing 17 roles in four different spots. You had to be there at a certain time and they kept you waiting anyway. I walked out of there thinking, “That was awful.” I got the callback and I had it sent to my agent. He said, “If you get this, I’m not taking a commission, because I didn’t submit you.”

I got the job and it was cut into, I think, four spots. Scale-and-a-half because it was English and Spanish. It only aired for maybe a month. The conflict was one 13-week cycle, but that was pretty honorable of him [my agent].

Photo courtesy of Stephen Pollak.

What do you find about Casting Networks to be the most helpful?

It used to be a little dicier to try to change pictures. If you wanted to update, you’d have to go down to 200 South La Brea and bring the disk or the hard copy. I don’t remember exactly when it shifted, but just the ability to upload photos, willy nilly, so to speak, whenever you feel like it or delete some, add some [is great]. Now, of course, you could take a selfie. You can send that and submit that and it’s amazing. It eliminates a lot of the legwork. I love that.

My other favorite feature about Casting Networks is the ability to upload auditions anytime from anywhere. While I still really do miss many aspects of the in-person casting experience, the ease of being able to self-produce at home is incalculably beneficial.

I also love Role Tracker because you really are able to track which pictures might be working for certain roles. I love this new feature where when you submit, it’s gray. If it’s been selected, it’s yellow. Then if you’ve been under consideration, you’re green. You can see, “Oh, that picture isn’t really getting selected. Let me try this one,” and then it gets selected. That doesn’t mean you got the job or even got the audition, but somebody clicked it because it popped. I know that’s fairly new, but I think it’s a great feature.

Do you have any tips or advice for other members on how they can get the most out of Role Tracker?

Experiment. I would also say take one extra step and write down which picture you may have submitted for which role, and then go back at a later date. I’m not saying every day in real time or throughout the day in real time, but just keep tabs on what may or may not be working.

What’s the benefit of submitting yourself to projects when you also have a talent rep submitting you for projects as well?

For me, it makes me feel proactive. I like to feel I’m in control of my own destiny [without] leaving it to someone else to take care of it, when you may be competing within the agency for the slots. Your agent may not have as strong of a relationship with that casting director as you do.

Because I’ve been here so long, I have some casting directors that I can reach out to directly that will send me the appointment without even having my agent submit me. It just creates relationships. I mean, there’s many talent reps, agents and managers, there’s many casting directors and everybody can’t be best friends with everybody and not everybody can get called in for everything.

Whatever you can do as an actor to be proactive, which A: is going to make you feel like you’re doing something for yourself each and every day, sometimes multiple times throughout the day, depending on your category and what’s going on casting-wise. And B: it’s going to fill in the gaps where you might fall through the cracks.

Photo courtesy of Stephen Pollak.

What would you say helps somebody succeed on Casting Networks?

I lifted this from an acting teacher I had once upon a time: “Guys, it’s not brain surgery. It’s just acting. Nobody is gonna die.” So have fun and don’t take anything too seriously. Easier said than done, I know. But it works.

As long as it’s on the up-and-up, say yes. Submit to everything. You decide if you’re willing to do paying or non-paying work and what your goal is. [For example,] if your goal is to get tape to build up your theatrical reel, you can focus more on the non-paying, short films, webisodes, etc. If your focus is to get into the union, you might focus on becoming a stand-in on something where they might give you a voucher.

I would say you want to get on-set as much as possible, because nobody learns how to head a mark, in my opinion, in any other place than being on a set. You’ve got to think about what it is you want and you probably want to be on a set.

Once you have all the materials ready, the headshots or the selfies that look like headshots and you’ve filled out your resume, make sure you have Talent Scout® filled out. Whatever you’re looking for, make sure that’s reflected in Talent Scout because [talent agents and managers] are looking.

Realize that this takes time. I’ve been at this for 20 years. You move out here and you think, “Oh, I’m going to be this and this.” Careers have ebbs and flows. Maybe one day you’re the principal on some big campaign, and then six months later or the following year, you’re trying to get a day of background just to make your insurance or your pension credit. It’s okay.

You’re not more of a success because of one, or less of a success because of another. We’re here. We’re living the dream. Be grateful for every opportunity you have. Create as many opportunities as you can. Make sure the photos are updated. Track your submissions with a little log, diary kind of thing. See what’s working, see what isn’t and submit away.

And never, ever give up your day job/side hustle—even if and when you have a great year financially as an actor! I’ve been a lifeguard and swim instructor forever, and I don’t ever plan on stopping. It affords me a sense of self-reliance, enriches my life as it is a “service” profession and gives me something to do during off/down/slow times.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Give Role Tracker a try! Log in or sign up for Premium today!

You may also like:

• Work Begets Work — The Power of Creating Your Own Projects
• Acting Up: Noomi Rapace’s Interstellar Performance on Apple TV+’s ‘Constellation’
• How Christopher Ian Bennett Took a Marketing-Driven Approach to Start HectiQ Artists Talent Management

Chris Butera is a voice actor specializing in commercial, eLearning and corporate narration reads. When he’s not helping clients achieve their goals, he's playing guitar and bass.