Aaron Marcus describes two bizarre body-part modeling gigs: a New York foot-modeling cattle call where he was asked to make his feet look "friendlier," and a hand-modeling commercial where shrimp were held with metal skewers and he couldn't eat the prop food. He explains why acting skills matter more than you'd think in these jobs.
This unbelievably bizarre modeling casting actually happened to me, and I'm going to share it with you. If you watch this till the end, I also have a great bonus video. This one mistake can kill your modeling career. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center. I've got to tell you about this, this massive call, cattle call for a modeling job. And, and just, just so you know, in the modeling industry they call auditions go-sees. For actors, we go on auditions. Models go on go-sees. I think they say that, they use that term because I don't think we're all that bright. And when you go to a go-see or get a phone call or a text about a go-see, that means you go to a photographer's studio or a casting facility and you're seen. So it's a go-see. So this was a cattle call up in New York, and I went up there and I knew it was a little bit unusual. I've done body parts modeling before, and actually, if I have a chance, I'll tell you about a hand modeling job that I did for a TV spot. That was actually— that was a lot of fun. Very interesting. A lot of fun. This one was a foot modeling job or feet modeling job. That one I've never, never gone on one of those castings before. Didn't book it. And I think I know the reason why. So I get there along with many, many other people. And you got to take your shoes and socks off, you fill out all the forms. And I am not kidding. The photographer is taking his camera and getting it pretty close to my feet. It just— the whole thing just kind of feels a little bit weird. And then he turns to me and he actually says this. He said very seriously, he said, do you think you could make your feet look Maybe just like a little friendlier. And I wanted to just crack up, but, you know, I wanted the job. And so I said, oh yeah, yeah, of course. Yeah, how's this? So I shifted my feet a little bit, and I had happier thoughts, friendlier thoughts in my head. I don't know if that Translated to my feet looking friendlier, warmer, kinder feet. But as it turned out, I did not book the job. I just wanted to share that one with you. So let me quickly tell you about a really fun hand modeling job. Once again, TV spot. I don't want to mention the name of the restaurant. I'm sure you've heard of it. It's a national brand. And one thing I want to mention, whenever— if you ever get cast in a TV spot to do anything with food, don't eat it, whatever you do. It was made very clear to me that I shouldn't, you know, put any of the food in my mouth. And, and then I learned why, because the— there are people there who just work on making the food look great, and they spray it with stuff. They do all kinds of things with it. You do not want to put that stuff in your mouth. Now, it's one thing if you're supposed to be taking a bite of the food. I'm sure they're not going to, you know, put crazy stuff in that. But when it's food that they are shooting and showing in the TV spot, that's a whole different story. So to give you an idea, I had to pick up a piece of shrimp and pull it up off of a plate. So I saw what the people were doing who were preparing the food. They were actually taking a metal skewer and sticking it inside the shrimp to help make sure that it stayed in place, it didn't bend, it didn't fall apart. And, and then so we would do one take. And then they would throw it away. Another plate comes in. But the thing that was also so interesting, the director only directs food products for TV commercials. That's a specialty. And, and I'm not, I'm not kidding, it was like a ballet. I would have to take my hand, hold the shrimp in a certain way, or other items in a certain way, and then I have— I would have to go in at a certain angle Twist things, bring things up at a certain spot. It was actually— it was like a math problem, and it was this dance that I had to perform every single— and we did a lot of takes— every single time. It was really— it was fascinating. And I've done other hand modeling jobs. Most— I think that was the only TV commercial. All the others have just been in commercial modeling ads. But anyhow, it was a very, very interesting experience that I wanted to share with you. Hey, if you have ever done any hand modeling or any body parts, whether it's teeth modeling, eye modeling, hair modeling, foot modeling, whatever it is, hey, do me a favor. Please share your experience. Um, on the channel so that way we can learn from you. I really enjoy doing commercial modeling just in general because I get a chance to use my acting skills and show a whole wide variety of different layers of expressions and emotions. I just don't have to memorize lines, and it can also be very lucrative. So if you've ever experienced it, please share it on the channel. If you haven't done this yet, don't forget, subscribe, click the notification bell so you always know when a new video has been uploaded and share the link so that way we can continue growing a channel with fellow actors who are helping each other. I did promise a great bonus video. Just look up here and you're going to learn about this one mistake can kill your modeling career. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya. See ya.
