What it Was Like Being Cast and Filming My First Commercial

When I think about some of the unexpected adventures my work has brought me, filming my very first commercial easily makes the top of the list. If you'd told me even a year ago that I'd be on set, sharing a "stage" with a famous actor, working with a director, learning phrases like "call time" and "craft services", I probably would have laughed. But I've learned time and time again, saying "yes" to new things has a way of opening doors you didn't even know were there.
I have gotten so many questions about my experience, so I thought I'd share what it was really like to be cast in and film my first commercial, from the casting process, to the filming, and even some of the unexpected after when the commercial was airing. I hope you'll come along on the ride!

What it Was Like Being Cast and Filming My First Commercial

How it All Started

It all happened in the simplest way: with an opportunity that popped into my inbox. I've built my career telling stories, creating content, and partnering with brands in a way that feels authentic to my life and audience. I received an e-mail in my inbox from a PR firm I had worked with in the past. I am generally a pretty easy going gal to work with and I guess they liked what they saw on the campaign I had worked on them with that they reached out again to ask if I had any interest in a commercial. I really had never entertained a commercial before, but what the heck. I'm always up for anything! 
I respond to a lot of opportunities. Of the 90% I get offered to apply for or that I apply for, maybe 10% of them come to fruition. The odds aren't good. And there are often months that go between an inquiry and a hiring.
In the content creation business, there's a lot of inquiries for interest. The firm that often represents an agency will then present the creators they have in mind and then the agency will select based on whatever criteria they have in mind {number of followers on social media, the past content they've created, or list your random thing they might have in mind and add that.}. Once that agency reviews who the PR firm gathered, then they reach out based on that to dig deeper into hiring.
For this commercial, that looked like a DM in my Instagram inbox from a casting agency that was now representing the brand {no longer the PR firm}. They mentioned they were doing open casting in two days, and wondered if I'd be interested. Again, being willing to try anything at least once, I said checked to make sure all this was legit {there's weird stuff on the internet you guys!} and then signed up for a casting time.

The Casting Call

It happened very quickly. At least the first casting call did. But casting for a commercial isn't all that different from pitching yourself for a brand partnership. Except you really don't get by on your media kit and your past work, you have to have the personality they are looking for. 
This was a commercial that was being cast for real users of the product {Scott's Lawn Care}. There wasn't a script or anything, so there wasn't any reading of lines, just a few questions that took less than two minutes by a casting director. I saw that there were two other blogger/influencers on the call and while I was in the waiting room {they were running behind from lunch}, I peeked at both of their profiles. They were FAR cuter, much younger, and had much bigger followings than I did. I thought if those are who they have in the room, I'm definitely not getting this because I'm not what they are looking for. But I smiled and I showed up and I had zero nerves. It was a quick zoom interview and I felt like I didn't have anything to lose.
{Side note: My younger brother had just died less than two weeks prior. I was in a spiraling mental state worse than I'd ever been in my whole life. Not only was this a bit of a blur, I was also in a place where I was questioning what really mattered in life anymore. A very solid existential crisis that didn't seem to hold anything too tightly. I had a very laissez faire attitude that seemed to serve me well.}
The weirdest part of the casting call was at the end they asked me to hold my hands up in front of the camera to show the front and the back of my hands. I don't do my nails often, I'm kind of au natural, but at that moment, I wish I had done my nails. In fact, I even told the casting director that if I'd known they were going to ask me to show my hands I would have done my nails! His response? Classic..."nah, we just want to make sure you have all 10." Weird.
The casting director put me back in a holding room, and I was told by the assistant that they'd be in touch in a few weeks if they wanted to move forward. They gave me a specific date that I'd hear by, but I kind of put it out of my mind because honestly, I had other personal things going on, like being knee deep in planning the memorial service slide show for my brother's service in another state. 

The Callback

On the date they told me, I heard from the casting director that they'd like to do another casting call, this time with the director of the commercial. I was also asked if I was available on a few dates the next month for filming in the Los Angeles area. I confirmed that I was. Heck, my mental health crisis where I canceled basically everything paid off! I had nothing on my calendar but my weekly therapy appointments. 
Again, things moved quickly and within a few days, I was on another casting call. This one took a little bit longer {but still less than 10 minutes!}, and they sent me a list of a few things they wanted to talk about ahead of time. I remember one of those was asking what Scotts Lawn products we used and how we used them. This was easy, because as a real customer {again, what they were looking for!}, I simply stepped out into my garage to see the supply we had on hand!
I believe the director was the one that was leading the call and asking the questions. I guess I was ignorant enough not to know what a big deal it was, so I wasn't nervous and it felt like talking to a PR person looking for a pitch in an email except it was over Zoom.
Within a few days I got the email that I had been selected and I was once again asked to confirm that I was available for the dates they were filming in LA. It was literal days after my brother's memorial service so I'd just be getting home from Arizona {I live in WA}, but I could make it happen. Or so I hoped!

Getting Ready for the Shoot

I get a lot of opportunities in my inbox. I usually don't make solid plans until I see things like airplane confirmation emails or hotel reservations. In fact, I was really a little apprehensive to even tell anyone I had been cast in a commercial because I didn't have any firm plans so I wasn't sure if it would even happen. 
I had flown to Arizona for my brother's memorial service on Thursday and while I was there, I got an email that said that I needed to submit 3-4 outfits to wardrobe for consideration in the commercial. I was a little surprised that they didn't have wardrobe for me, I kind of thought I'd show up on set and they'd have all the things, but they wanted me to wear normal clothes for the shoot. They needed the outfit photos by Sunday. My brother's service was on Saturday. We were flying home Sunday, and I wouldn't be home until late.
So, the day before my brother's memorial service, I headed out to TJ Maxx and some other western supply store hoping to find some options of things to wear for the commercial. We spent a few hours shopping for clothes for a commercial, which wasn't on my bingo card {also, not on my bingo card was my brother dying so...} and I came up empty. I sent the wardrobe woman an email letting her know my situation and I let her know that I thought I probably had a few options at home, but I'd have to wait until I got back to get them to her. She was very accommodating, but it still needed to be done literally as I walked in the door after the trip where we said goodbye to my brother. It was a hard weekend, but also, it was kind of nice to have the distraction.
I pulled my closet apart trying to find options, and picked out four outfits, one of which was a pair of pink overalls I'd had in my closet for years and that I'd purchased at ThredUp with a referral credit.
On Monday I received another email from another person working on the commercial that asked for my flight details. Things like what seat do you like, any airline you prefer, which flight do you want, that sort of thing. And honestly, that was the first time I started to feel like this was really happening.
By Tuesday, I had confirmation in my inbox of my airline ticket and hotel reservation, and on Wednesday morning I flew out of Seattle headed to LA, which was currently on fire. I'm not joking, like all of it was on fire. The worst fires in decades. When I looked at a map of where the fires were, the only small little spot they weren't burning, was where we'd be staying and filming, so that was good. But the air quality? Not so good. Nearly everyone I met on the film crew had been affected or knew someone that was. It was a very somber time in LA, but as they say in showbiz, the show must go on!

On Location

Outside of receiving my hotel and airline reservations, I hadn't received literally anything else. No schedule, no directions, no script. Nothing. I was just showing up on vibes. I did have a car picking me up at the airport taking me to my hotel, so I was greeted at LAX with a man holding a sign with my name, so that was kind of cool. 
I checked into my hotel and decided to wander around the area a bit to get my bearings. While I was out wandering, I received an email from the filming coordinator to a long list of people. It basically said, you should hear about your call time by 7pm tonight. And it also had a quick note from the director that said they didn't want to give away too much information because they wanted to keep things natural. Objective achieved. I knew nothing!

I LOVED exploring Pasadena. It's such a lovely place to spend a few days. I put together the perfect weekend itinerary!

This is a good time to tell you that I knew I was going to get paid, I just didn't know how much I was going to get paid. I also didn't know about things like a per diem or daily rate. These were all things I learned the next day on set. All I knew was that this was a National SAG commercial and I was a non-union member. I'm vaguely remembering something about reading that the payment would be "standard SAG pay", but I didn't have a clue what that meant!
I got the email with the call time of 11 am. Perfect! Not too early, not too late. They also made a note that they wanted cast to arrive with hair and makeup fully done. Again, another surprise. This was a commercial they were filming for a national outlet. I thought there would be hair and makeup and even wardrobe, but alas, there was not. This went back to the director wanting this to be natural and casting real people, not actors, so I rolled with it, because what difference does it make to me? I was all in!
I went to sleep and woke up early enough to get a workout in and get any nerves out. I walked to the local Starbucks for breakfast and headed back to my hotel to get ready. Here's the thing about makeup. I feel like I don't really know what I'm doing! I haven't really changed my routine since I was 14. I am not confident in my abilities at all, so having to do myself up for a commercial was a bit out of my comfort zone!
The crew was sending a car to pick me up and take me to the location for filming. I packed up a bag with the outfit wardrobe and I had agreed on, and put a few more items in the bag just in case. I also added in my hairbrush and my makeup bag for any touch ups.
Since the commercial was for lawn care, it was being filmed at a home a few miles away in a beautiful neighborhood in Pasadena. We arrived on set, the car dropped me off, and I obviously looked clueless, so the first person who encountered me, pointed me to a table by a trailer a few houses down.

Fun Fact!

Did you know that people in the LA area rent out their homes and their lawns for thousands of dollars a day for production crews? They can be used for parking craft services trailers, filming locations, or even popping up tents used for catering. I'd totally do it to make some extra money!
I was the first from my call time to arrive, the others quickly trickled in. I was given a stack of paperwork. It had information in it mostly about tax information. The other three actors that were on the same call time all started chatting while we did our paperwork. I learned that all of them were part of SAG {screen actors guild} and they'd all filmed commercials before. I was the only newbie. I had a lot to learn, and they were all so kind to share their knowledge with me! 
Once the paperwork was complete, we did a lot of sitting around. There were a few people that popped in from wardrobe to grab our items and take them to be steamed and get them camera ready. There were a few AD's that popped in to check the guys facial hair {one was asked to shave his beard off which he willingly did!}. The makeup artist on set popped by to introduce herself and I remember her saying to me "oh good, you did your makeup so light." I was like, I did my makeup normal, but I guess normal was good, so phew.
Honestly, there was a lot of sitting around. I wandered a few doors down to craft services to a food truck that was set up with coffee and snacks. Everything was free! And free food is the best food! About an hour later, we were told to go to catering so we'd beat the mad rush from the morning call time crew, so my new friends and I all wandered across the street. It was the most delicious meal ever! And I would have totally overstuffed myself if I wasn't afraid of popping a button!
After lunch I was told to get changed. Since we were literally sitting at a folding table on a mow strip next to a sidewalk, I wasn't quite sure where to do that. Kids, filming commercials isn't as glamorous as you might think! There was a small pop up tent and I tried my best to get changed while holding my clothes up off the dirt ground. After getting changed, the on set makeup artist called me back to her trailer and she touched up my makeup. She basically added concealer to a few spots and then told me she'd follow me to set to help with anything else I might need. This is the concealer she used, and I immediately went out to buy it and I LOVE it. 

Filming

After lunch things happened pretty quickly. After getting changed and going through a makeup touch up, I was whisked away by an AD who asked if I was ready. Keeping true to form, I happily followed saying I was ready for anything!
It was the first time I wandered close to set. And by set, I mean a huge house {where people currently reside} where multiple cameras, lights and light reflectors were set up. I could see that my filming area was a set of Adirondack chairs in the corner of the yard. As I walked up on the grass, the director introduced himself, told me congratulations for being selected {honestly, I didn't feel like I did anything special, so the appreciation felt unwarranted!} and pointed me in the direction of the sound guy who fitted me for a microphone that was barely visible and tucked under my clothes.
A few people I hadn't seen before swooped in to make me feel comfortable. They introduced themselves and told me they'd be looking out for any stray hairs {which after seeing the directors cut of the commercial I realized they failed on that! My bangs were growing out and they wanted their moment!} and any of the snap buttons that might pop on my overalls as was wont to happen. 
I noticed a magazine sitting on the table between the chairs I had been led to and sat down and started flipping through. The cover of the magazine was something generic they'd popped on but inside was just a normal run of the mill People magazine! The crew was running around seeming busy and setting things up, and I just sat there chatting with the fix everything girl about what I was reading in the magazine. Pretty sure we started talking about some reality TV show and some of the crew chimed in on their thoughts!
Before I knew it, Kristofer Hivju, the main character and seasoned actor for Scott's commercials, {you might have seen him in Game of Thrones} showed up next to me. He introduced himself as Scott and since I didn't watch Game of Thrones or know anything about who he was, I just rolled with it. Spoiler alert, he's Norwegian not Scottish and I honestly thought his name was Scott! 
The rest of this was a bit of a blur. There was no script, just genuine conversation between "Scott" and I about lawns. I left not sure what I said, but also that whole night and the next week or so, I replayed 100 other things I wish I had said instead as sound bites, but there is no do over.
The actual filming portion took about 30 minutes. When I was done, I wandered off to the folding table again, and had to fill out more paperwork. At this point, this was the SAG payment paperwork the other actors had told me about. They all had agents who reviewed their contracts, I didn't have that luxury, but thanks to them, I knew what to call out. There were a few things I'm not sure I would have been paid for had I not drawn attention to it.
I was still in LA for a few days, but I wasn't needed for filming. I just spent the time doing a little sightseeing.

Some Unexpected Things I got Paid For

It was at this point that I learned that there were some unexpected things I'd be getting paid for. Because I wore my own clothing, I was getting a wardrobe fee. I would also receive a daily stipend {that was quite generous} for food and incidentals. There was hazard pay that was built in because I took a risk by flying on an airplane, and I got paid for every hour I was on set, but also for my flight and travel time. I also got paid for my wardrobe fitting time, which would have been nice to know a few days prior when I was running all over a town I wasn't familiar with trying to find something to wear!
Speaking of getting paid, within a few weeks I received a check that included all of those things, I had signed the SAG form the day of filming. I honestly had no idea how much to expect to get paid, so it was a happy surprise to see that it was quite generous. Since then, I've also received at least four other checks. Every time they put the commercial on another platform or network, I get residuals. It's been a really nice unexpected surprise! 
Side note: It is worth mentioning that apparently it's a BIG deal to be in a SAG commercial. I was recently listening to a podcast {Armchair Expert} and Brad Pitt was a guest. He talked about working so hard to get his SAG card and how excited he was when he received it. I got a letter a few weeks after filming inviting me to join. It's not cheap, and I really don't see this happening on a regular basis, so I tossed it in the mail, but as they say, it's nice to be asked I guess! 

Seeing the Final Commercial

There was no email or big announcement when the commercial started airing. I only knew it had been released when one of the actresses I worked with that day posted it on her Instagram. It was a few weeks before I'd see it in the wild. 
Because we don't have cable, I only saw it a few times on TV, once on a streaming platform and another time, while we were at dinner in North Dakota over parents weekend. I caught a glimpse of it over the shoulder of my son's girlfriends parents who we were meeting for the first time. It was playing on a sports channel during a big game. It was the most random thing! 
One of the fun parts was getting random texts or messages from people who would reach out and ask if it was me they saw on TV! Apparently my voice is very distinct and most people would catch that before they caught seeing me on the screen. My therapist even texted me when he saw it!
Clips were used and there were at least four different versions of the commercial that aired that I've seen. It's a little cringe and also kind of cool. 

After the Commercial

Would I do it again? Absolutely. In a heartbeat. It was the most fun I've had in a long time and I got paid! It was such a welcome distraction from a really hard few months. I'm so glad that I was open to learning in to new experiences. So remember, you never know who is watching your social media or reading your blog posts! And sometimes the best opportunities come when you're willing to say "yes" to something that's a little bit out of your comfort zone.
I have looked into a few local agencies on the advice of one of the actors I met while filming. Unfortunately, this isn't LA. There seem to be a lot of scams out there. While I'm open to doing more commercials, it's been difficult to find casting calls, but I'm willing and open! 
I'm a non-union SAG actress with a national commercial! Casting directors or agents in the Seattle area, hit me up if you want to work together!
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