Nguyen
Duy Quang
In today's interview, we will introduce you to the world of modeling, where Nguyen Duy Quang, nicknamed Q, with Czech-Vietnamese roots, shares his experiences with us. He has been modeling himself for 8 years, in his acting career he also played a supporting role in several Czech TV series.
What were the key steps you took to become a commercial model/small-screen supporting actor?
The key step everyone should do, when deciding to try this job, is to register themselves with casting agencies, for them to have you in the database and be able to invite you for the castings.
What are the aspects of modeling or acting that people rarely realize?
The aspect of spending time going to castings and waiting in the casting agencies sometimes hours without any certainty of getting the role. What is also challenging is that you compete usually for one role with hundreds of other competitors so it´s not that easy to get a part.
For models, from my observation, is difficult to always stay in shape and have some discipline. In the commercial industry, it´s not that strict but you also need to present yourself in the best light to increase your chances for a role.
How often do models take casting calls? Has anything changed in the casting process after the current covid situation?
It depends, but in summary, the busiest times are around March-June and September-October. The winter is usually slow and many people from productions are having a vacation.
"Yes, during the covid situation, everything went online through self-tapes from home, so very time convenient for some, instead of waiting hours in a casting agency."
Actually, I also have equipment for self-tapes but personally, I prefer the old-fashioned casting process in the casting agencies.
Could you tell us how a typical working day or casting process looks for you?
For a normal shooting day, everything begins with a pickup, where a driver will come for you and get you on a set. After that, you will have a nice breakfast in catering to get the energy and then you start with the make-up and fitting department.
Then you shoot for several hours, depending on the scenes, have a nice lunch again in catering, and after that continue shooting. When finished a driver will get you home.
For the casting process - speaking mainly for commercials, you go to the first casting round, fill out the brief sheet with your information and then wait for your turn.
"Usually, it takes around 2-5 minutes where you introduce yourself and then improvise some scenes that will be in the commercial."
After that, you wait if you will be invited again for a callback – which is a short list of candidates, where usually the director and clients are present. You usually do the same scenes with some new additional stuff if needed and at the end of the day, you go home and wait if you succeeded or not.
How do you master the art of posing and acting? How would you encourage people who lack the confidence to be in front of a camera?
I guess for me with more experience you learn more stuff, you are more aware of the camera, how technically the scene is being shot and naturally the posing, positioning, and acting will come. But of course, there should be plenty of acting classes and workshops where you can learn these skills.
What advice would you give to aspiring models and actors?
Believe in yourselves, keep trying and learn from your more experienced colleagues and be confident, because the camera will quickly catch every mistake and hesitation during castings.