"Star Trek" casting director Ron Surma looks for theatre-trained actors who can go big without turning into cartoons.
In the business of casting, it is not unusual for casting directors to have a new job or position each year. They move around more than flight attendants. So it's somewhat surprising to learn that Ron Surma has been in Junie Lowry-Johnson's office for the last eight and a half years. While there, he and Lowry-Johnson have cast several miniseries, MOWs, and features, including Liar Liar, Powder, Grosse Point Blank, and the current Senseless.
Most notably, however, Surma focused on the Star Trek series, including the current Voyager and Deep Space Nine, and he recently began casting on the newest Star Trek feature.
Back Stage West: Were you ever an actor yourself?
Ron Surma: Not really. I did some acting in college and at a few dinner theatres. I had no desire to do it beyond that. I didn't want to be on that treadmill. I didn't have the stamina to go out there and audition and audition and audition. I didn't even like the acting part anymore. You've got to love it to pursue it.
I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. I held down various jobs. I got into casting when a friend called to tell me that she knew of an opening for a casting assistant. I interviewed thinking, "Sure, why not?" I knew what it was and I figured all of those years in college (University of Denver and the Goodman School) would finally pay off. I got the job and I started to learn what casting was about.
I ended up in Junie's office after I had actually left casting. I had quit almost a year prior because I was just burned out. But I had met her husband, who was in production on a film on which I had been an associate. When Junie needed some help, he recommended me and I came in to meet with her even though I didn't really want the job. We agreed that I would help her out for a few weeks and we would decide from there. We both had an out. That was eight and a half years ago. I love it.
BSW: What do you love about it?
Ron Surma: I love reading with actors. Finding the right actor for the part is just fun and creative. Getting an actor his first job is probably the biggest pleasure, or getting someone a better part than they've ever had before. That's the fun of it.
BSW: On the Star Trek projects, is there a particular kind of actor you look for?
Ron Surma: Generally speaking, actors with theatre experience are a big plus for Star Trek. The show itself has a classical feel to it, and for an actor to get out of current time and to be 400 years in the future, it helps to have a theatrical background. In speech, it's having that crisp diction that you need onstage so that the entire audience can understand what you're saying. Many of the actors on most television today tend to sound a bit slurred; it's contemporary-sounding. Better speech takes your phrasing out of today. If you suddenly pronounce everything the way it's supposed to be pronounced, you fall into a different rhythm. There are fabulous actors who, because of regional accents, I can't use on Star Trek; you can pinpoint where they're from on Earth, and we're looking for an alien from a planet we've never seen before. So stage training can be very helpful for our needs.
BSW: How do you balance casting two separate shows?
Ron Surma: I just do. And it helps that I've been doing the shows for as long as I have, because I know what I want. It also helps that we don't have large guest casts.
BSW: Have you had any casting problems because of all of the makeup required for your show?
Ron Surma: Occasionally. We've had to recast when an actor was in makeup, having the first fitting, and had their whole face covered and they realized that they couldn't do it. The latex was too confining. It doesn't happen often, though. The important thing to remember about dealing with all that makeup is, when you audition for the show, if it's going to be a full makeup part, you have to go a bit bigger than normal. It's a very fine line. We want to know that you're going to be able to come through all of that makeup, but you can't go too far with it. You've got to be able to tweak it just a little bit. If you don't give a little extra once all of the makeup is on, you're not going to come through, but if you go too far, you're going to look like a cartoon.
Alice Krige, in the last movie, playing the Borg Queen in full makeup that took God knows how many hours, still did a job that was sensual and intelligent and very real. She made it come through the latex.
BSW: It seems that being on Star Trek requires having a great body. Is that true?
Ron Surma: That's true of the majority of the roles. The Star Fleet suits are pretty form-fitting for both sexes. Of course, if you're an alien under tons of latex, it's not really an issue.
BSW: Do you ever cast people who've never done television but have strong theatre training?
Ron Surma: Yes, but training isn't just schooling. It's more about performing and where the performances are. Every theatre school in the country gives training in Shakespeare, and sometimes it can be really bad. On a resumƒ, I look at what performances they've done and at what companies. Some little Shakespeare company in Iowa is not going to tell me anything, whereas if I see A.C.T., Oregon Shakespeare, the Old Globe, or something like that, then I know I want to meet that actor.
BSW: Do you see actors without agents?
Ron Surma: Sometimes. But that's rare. I can't keep all of the pictures on file, but if I'm looking for a role and during that week an interesting picture comes across my desk and it's a fit for the role, there's a good chance I'll see the actor. But if a picture comes in when I don't have anything, it's unfortunately going to get tossed with a couple of thousand others. But sending an unsolicited picture can sometimes get results.
BSW: Do you have any real dislikes or pet peeves about auditions?
Ron Surma: Not much annoys me. It really doesn't. When I'm reading an actor, I want to get to the reading. I don't chat a whole lot. When an actor comes in, I'll say hello. I might see something on the resumƒ that I'll ask about, but chances are I'll just ask them if there are any questions they have about the role. On Star Trek, 90 percent of the time I try to give out the whole script, because otherwise it's very hard to understand what's going on. So chances are they've read the whole thing.
If I've figured out exactly what I'm looking for, I'll give them a couple of hints about the quality of the character. This is a tough show; you're not going out to play a hooker or a cop. The roles aren't the kind of thing you can research. You can't go out on the street and observe Klingons. So I'm an important resource. And you have to watch the show. Every actor should be sampling every show on the air to get an idea of each show's style.
The one thing that does annoy me, and this is not so much the case on a pre-read, but on a producers' session when I know the actor and instead of reading them beforehand I take them right to producers, is when people come in and hand out flyers or talk about the show they're in. That's not what they're there for. When you're with producers, you're there for that show. Period. The best way to come in for any session is to come in, say hello, and do the work. There's no time for chitchat. The producers have a lot more to do than casting. One show is shooting right now, one show is in post-production, they're writing the next show while we're casting the current show. They don't have a lot of time.
BSW: What stresses you out?
Ron Surma: I get stressed if I get a script late and I don't have much time. Or if we go through a couple of producer's sessions and I don't have the role cast yet. On Star Trek, I usually have to have an episode cast at least three days before the show starts shooting because there's all that makeup and the wardrobe people have got to start building the costumes. So from the time I get the script, I have four working days to cast the show. If two have gone by and I haven't found what I need, I start to get worried. We need time before the shooting starts.
BSW: Do you ever work on the Bochco shows in Junie's office, like NYPD Blue?
Ron Surma: I don't have a chance to get over there very often. But we're all part of the same company and we share ideas back and forth all the time. I'll get calls from Junie or Scott or Libby and they'll ask me about who I saw recently, and I'll do the same. Or I may read an actor here, find that they have a New York accent which won't work for this show but could be perfect over there, and call them up to tell them to see someone. It's constantly back and forth.
BSW: Do you have any audition tips for the actor?
Ron Surma: First and foremost, actors have to know who they are. Whatever that is, bring only that choice into the audition. There's no such thing as two choices. Being who you are, through the material, is the only choice to make. Discover who you are in life, and bring that in. I've brought in wonderful actors who didn't connect to the material because they didn't know who they were. I can always tell in the first few lines if the actor is connected to himself. So preparation at home is not about finding choices--it's making that connection and figuring out how to convey who you are through the script.
BSW: You've been with these shows for a very long time. Do you see yourself moving on?
Ron Surma: I'll quit when I stop enjoying it. Enjoying what you do is the most important thing in life. BSW
You may contact Ron Surma and his assistant Bobbie Schwarcz at:
Ron Surma & Bobbie Schwarcz
c/o Junie Lowry-Johnson Casting
Paramount Studios
5555 Melrose Ave.
Von Sternberg, # 104
LA, CA 90038
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