(for actors) Is follower count really a factor in casting?

The short answer: Sometimes…but certainly not always.

Every team has their own method of casting voices for their projects. Plenty of casting directors will simply review the auditions that come in and listen to see whose performance they feel best embodies each role they are casting. Some won’t even look at the name attached until after they’ve listened to the auditions (known as “blind casting”.)

But everyone has some degree of bias, whether conscious or unconscious, and it bears mentioning that yes, there are situations where a producer or client may end up favoring an actor who is a fan favorite or who recently starred in a popular show or game. In the case of indie teams which often rely on crowdfunding endeavors to pay for project development, there can be a perception – fair or not – that casting a known name will result in more eyes on the project.

Ultimately, how people choose to cast their projects is largely out of your control, and it’s usually not a factor you can influence greatly enough to be worth it to you. “I don’t think it is as important as we put stock in it. Some people will cast based on social media following, some people will cast based on acting. I think that’s just a fact of the industry,” says Matthew Zeon.

The genre or medium of the project can greatly affect whether cast popularity might matter to some.

For some projects in character-focused genres such as anime, gacha games or JRPGs, there’s a possibility that certain clients may have a bias for voice actors who are recognizable to the audience in some way. In gacha games for example, there are a relatively small subset of players who may be more likely to spend money on a character’s banner if a voice actor they’re a fan of is playing them. Even with popularity aside, some clients may prefer actors who are already “established” by way of having credits in existing properties.

Before you start getting in your head about this however, it’s important to note that not all projects, or even the majority of projects of this nature care about whether an actor is already known. There are plenty of games and anime that employ a mix of talent from industry veterans all the way to up-and-coming actors still getting their early credits…and besides, even the established actors had to start somewhere, right?

When it comes to other genres such as commercials, e-Learning or other narration, the actor is pretty much a “faceless voice”—it’s rare to know the voice behind a certain commercial, for example—so it’s very unlikely that clients would put much stock into how many Instagram followers someone has unless they are also looking for that person to run an influencer campaign (rare for VO.) “In my areas—primarily audiobooks followed by commercial and corporate narration—it’s almost entirely irrelevant,” says David Winter. There are plenty of full-time voice actors working every day whose names you would have never heard of, but they happen to make a great living!

It’s not always up to the casting director or studio.

Most “stunt casting” mandates come from the end client, not the casting director or studio in charge of recording the project. In fact, a casting director may advise against stunt casting for a number of reasons, only for the client to push back and say they want a certain “name” actor even if it means increased cost, difficulty in scheduling, etc. Ultimately the client calls the shots, as they are the ones footing the bill.

Even if you do get “popular” online, there’s no guarantee it will help your career the way you hope it will.

While it’s certainly possible that becoming a well-known online personality may result in some extra bookings (a natural consequence of increased visibility), it’s not without its drawbacks. Some voice actors who are also popular content creators have struggled with being taken seriously in the industry—even if they’ve worked hard, others sometimes assume that they’re only being cast for clout. Matthew Zeon warns that “sometimes lots of followers are a detriment too—you might not be seen as a ‘real’ voice actor by some casting directors.” This isn’t fair—just as dismissing someone for not being well-known isn’t fair—but it shows that decision-makers are not a monolith, and it’s best to just let your career trajectory happen naturally without worrying too much about superficial numbers.

Ultimately, working on being skilled at your craft is still a far better bet than trying to inflate your follower count.

Realistically speaking, most “stunt casting” based on Internet popularity happens with influencers or content creators with follower counts of perhaps 100,000 to one million or more! This is not a very realistic goal for the majority of regular working voice actors, and unless your goal is to specifically be an influencer or other type of Internet personality in addition to voice acting, getting an extra few thousand followers probably isn’t going to affect you in any meaningful way. That extra time and effort would almost always be better spent working on your craft—whether that’s taking acting classes, doing direct marketing, or even simply spending that time auditioning! “I’m sure that not having much of a social media presence is affecting my booking rate, but if I let it stop me from auditioning then nothing will change,” says Gustav Humo.

That being said, it’s still advisable to have some type of online presence, even if you’re not very active, as it’s still a tool to help market yourself and be found and contacted by prospective clients. “I think having some kind of online presence is more important than the amount of followers you have or engagement with said followers,” says Brittany Ann Phillips. Phillips notes that in the age of AI and scams, having some type of official account will help lend credibility to your brand and ideally show that you are a real person.

why creators should (try to) avoid casting based on popularity

As tempting as it may be to exclusively shoot for high-profile actors in hopes it will boost your own project’s visibility, here are a number of reasons why you may want to rethink that choice.

Of course, at the end of the day it’s your project and you can cast however you like! These points are just meant to provide an additional perspective.

An actor’s job is to act, not be a marketing consultant or influencer.

Influencers get paid and/or sponsored to post about products on social media to their large followings. Actors will often promote the work they’re in as a means of promoting themselves and staying relevant, but this does not mean that they want to be “on-call” for pushing out updates about your project. The fee you pay an actor specifically covers their job on the project, which is to provide the voice recordings. “Your voice should speak for itself, not the semantics of all that’s behind it,” says Callie Wills.

And while many actors will be happy to make a retweet or cast announcement, you’re not paying them as an influencer to also do your promotion for you. “If you have to rely on someone’s popularity to carry your project instead of actual skill in storytelling, then you failed somewhere,” says Simon D. Aelsi.

Of course, there are plenty of instances where promotion of a project/role can be mutually beneficial for both the creator and the actor, which ties into the point below.

Focusing only on getting “big names” locks out a lot of the up-and-coming or lesser known talent, who may also be a great fit for the role.

While in the end it’s your project and you can cast or not cast whomever you want, don’t automatically write someone off as a potential lead character just because you haven’t heard of them before. “I have been flat told by [casting directors] that I was the perfect fit for a role and the audition was spot on, but they had decided to go with someone who had a larger follower base,” says Will Benzel.

Popularity in voice acting is largely a crapshoot based on whether a certain project or character happens to blow up, and just because an actor isn’t well-known yet doesn’t mean they’re necessarily any less skilled or capable of bringing that role to life. Plenty of projects will have a mix of both well-established actors and relative newcomers, which can result in a more unique dynamic than “safe” cookie-cutter cast lists. And being able to announce a role in your project can actually be helpful for an up-and-coming actor to gain visibility!

If you approach someone only because their follower/subscriber count, it can make them feel used.

While it’s fine to ask someone you’re a fan of if they’d be interested in auditioning for or working with you, keep it focused on what they can bring to the project or why you have them in mind for the character. If your initial approach to asking them to be in your project is all about how they’d need to share and retweet, it can almost come off as a strange bribe or make them think they were chosen over more fitting candidates simply due to their status. “It would absolutely be a blow to my self-esteem if I was told that I was only hired because I’m “popular,” not because I was the best person for the role,” says Willow Engel.

Keep in mind that just because someone agrees to join your project doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll even promote the project or its funding endeavors at all, and you need to be prepared for and okay with that fact when you approach them.

Actors may have varying degrees of comfort in associating their name with the product.

Just to be clear, plenty of actors will be more than happy to be credited under their real names, list the project on their resume, and/or be included in a cast announcement post. “I like showing off the characters I play, so yes I will share things about whatever projects because *I’m* excited,” says Caitlin Roberts. “But I don’t think it should be a requirement.”

While in past decades voice actors were pretty much an anonymous afterthought, nowadays companies and dev teams are putting the actor’s name, or even face, to the character for promotional posts. Promoting your cast is a nice gesture, but if an actor says they’d prefer to be credited under a pseudonym or not at all, it’s important to respect that—-and ideally, it shouldn’t affect their eligibility for casting. There are a number of reasons an actor may wish to use a pseudonym or go uncredited: union status, content of the production, potential conflict with another brand, or various privacy concerns.

Using a pseudonym shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for casting, but some creators may understandably feel offended if it seems like the actor doesn’t want to be publicly associated with their project (even if it’s for completely unrelated reasons). If it is a deal-breaker for you, be transparent about this during the audition process so that there are no surprises on either side.

Just because someone has a high follower count doesn’t mean those followers will necessarily be your target audience, anyway.

A large portion of voice actors’ following tends to be comprised of…a bunch of other voice actors. After all, it’s common to follow back and support your industry peers and other like-minded people. But the chance that these other voice actors, who aren’t even involved with your project in the first place, are going to become backers is relatively slim. This is why spending a little bit of money for sponsored posts might result in a greater return. Michael Malconian notes that investing properly in marketing will “likely provide you with a lot more security than a voice actor whose few thousands of followers may or may not be in your target demographic to begin with.”

Except in the case of true celebrity casting, fans rarely buy products or consume media solely based on the voice cast. Factors such as story, characters and gameplay tend to matter far more to consumers than who happens to portray those characters. In fact, some games do not credit the English voice cast at all.

Offering someone a role or audition in exchange for promoting your project generally isn’t a great business practice.

tips for getting promotion the right way

Know that getting lesser-known cast members can actually be an ASSET to your project.

This sounds strange, but think of it this way. If you hire a popular actor simply because they’re a “big name”, chances are they’re working on a bunch of projects at any given moment, and while they will certainly appreciate the opportunity and give you their best work, your project is one on a list of many for them. However, if you give a newer actor a shot who doesn’t have as much work to talk about yet, they might be especially excited to be cast in your project and want to hype it up a lot of their own accord or even put it in their bio, website or banner. While these things still shouldn’t be expected or pushed for – and ultimately the role should simply be given to the most fitting actor regardless – keep in mind that those who have small followings may turn out to be some of your most enthusiastic supporters. Plus, you never know where these actors might end up five years or even a year from now!

Consider paying for actual marketing rather than relying on your own team to do it.

Sponsored tweets, Facebook posts, or YouTube ads can be effective in drawing attention to your project and reaching your target demographic. And rather than hiring content creators who aren’t also actors to be a part of your project in an acting capacity, consider simply sponsoring them to stream your game or make a video talking about it. Depending on your budget, you could even consider hiring a marketing or PR consultant to work with you on the best ways to get the word out. “It’s much more practical, professional, and probably polite to hire a influencer along with your voice actors, rather than pressure the latter to do the former’s job,” says Ted Stabile.

If you want to hire influencers who aren’t also actors, consider putting them in small cameo roles instead.

Situations can and do come up where a game dev or indie animator is a fan of a certain content creator’s work and dreams of getting them to do a voice in their project. While plenty of YouTubers, Tiktokers and streamers do also happen to be actors, if you’re hoping to get someone you follow on your project because you think it’d be cool as opposed to specifically wanting their performance as that character, try putting them in a cameo instead! These choices can make for fun Easter eggs, and audiences often love to hear a recognizable voice as a shopkeeper, blacksmith, or other random NPC they may encounter. Consider too that influencers often have busy schedules—assigning them a one-off role with a handful of lines may work better anyway than asking them to commit to recurring sessions.

Ask – but don’t push – your cast to post about your project.

It’s okay to – within reason – send your cast members certain milestone updates (example: the game is released, full funding goal was met, etc.) You can link to your post and say that any boosts would be appreciated, and people will share if they feel like doing so. But badgering or guilt tripping can put people in an awkward position. “I think that it’s great for a voice over actor to post about their roles on their social media, but that shouldn’t be a mandatory stipulation in order to book a part,” says Price Everett.

If you do decide to ask for help, keep it reasonable. Asking the actors to share a single role announcement post is perfectly acceptable, but demanding that they post constant updates, attend interviews/streams, or create behind-the-scenes content is a bit much, especially with no extra compensation. Gustav Humo says he doesn’t have any problem assisting with basic promotional efforts, but “if the marketing gets to the point that it’s impacting my personal life or ability to conduct business, I’d have to ask that the terms of my involvement be adjusted.”

Make it easy for your cast members to share their work.

If cast members have to look up a Let’s Play of the game, try to find their character and capture a screenshot, they may put it off or not even bother. Often – particularly with larger clients outside of the indie realm – voice actors aren’t informed at all when a project they’re in releases, leaving them to keep track of whether and when they are allowed to announce their roles.

Send an email update to your cast when the project goes live, and let them know they’re welcome to share their work (including additional relevant information can help—for example: “The game will be released this coming Tuesday on Steam and Playstation 5, after which you are welcome to share your involvement. If you need a refresher on which character(s) you played, please let us know!” You could also consider offering a Steam key or download code, which may increase the chances that actors will want to stream or post about the game (but be aware that this won’t always happen.)

Another optional – but fun – way to increase the chance that cast members will share their roles is to offer either cast announcement graphics, or provide key art of the characters for the actors to either post as-is or make into their own announcement graphic. “I like to offer actors a little “graphics pack” with key art, cast announcement graphics, logo graphics, etc. if they wish use them, but I try my best to make it clear that I am offering these graphics, not requesting they be used,” says Taylor Fernandez.

If promotion is a required item in your contract, be transparent during the audition process, and ensure the overall compensation is fair.

Some clients make cast promotion a non-negotiable part of their project for one reason or another. If this is required, we do recommend the following:

1. Outline clearly in the audition phase what is expected. If – for example – you require actors to be filmed behind the scenes during the recordings, but you don’t disclose that during the casting, you may suddenly find yourself in a situation where some of the cast members you’ve chosen are not comfortable with this requirement. But if stated up front, people can choose not to audition if they don’t agree to the terms. (Be aware, of course, that you may be locking out otherwise great and fitting talent if you aren’t flexible with these requirements!)

2. Make sure the contract reflects specifics. Language such as “talent agrees to promote the project on social media” is vague and open to too much interpretation on either end—what happens if an actor signs off on this clause and is suddenly asked to make weekly posts or stories because “they agreed to it in the contract”? Keep the terms plainly laid out; for example: “Talent agrees to share a minimum of one (1) role announcement posts on Twitter and/or Instagram, using text and assets mutually approved by Client and Talent.”

3. Ensure compensation is fair for what is being asked. If you are requiring cast members to do extensive promotion beyond sharing one or two posts or announcements about the project (for instance, panels, interviews, or routinely scheduled postings), consider paying extra for this content. Influencers are commonly paid for posts at a rate proportional to their follower count. While this may not be ideal or even practical for voice actors, the standard is that if you expect people to make sponsored posts or create content beyond a basic share of the project release or role announcement, this should come with some offer of compensation—either a secondary payment, or built into the initial rate for the project. Now, sometimes things like cast panels or streams are offered on an entirely voluntary basis for actors who wish to participate, in which case payment would not be expected.

Don’t take it personally if people don’t end up sharing.

It can be easy to feel frustrated, or even resentful, if you see your cast members promoting other projects but not yours. But remember that your project isn’t the only one they are a part of. Additionally, many people post on a certain schedule or prefer to post about their most popular roles because those posts – even if they’re just silly meme posts – tend to get the most engagement. Or maybe they forgot, or it slipped by the wayside while they were promoting something else, or they prefer not to use social media very much at all—the point is, you don’t know what’s actually going through someone’s mind. Focus more on your own efforts and less on what other people are doing or not doing.

And finally…make a project that’s so good people will WANT to share it of their own accord.

If you look at the social media of any popular actor, chances are the roles they talk about most are either the ones that most of their fanbase knows them for, or the roles that are most personally special or exciting to them. If they happen to be in a video game that they’re already invested in playing, they may post about this naturally irrespective of any potential client request for promotion.

Remember that genuine enthusiasm is much more engaging than manufactured promotional posts that read like a sales pitch. If you truly have an amazing product, you shouldn’t need to beg and plead people to talk about it—-they’ll want to do it themselves.