If you are on Craig’s List, you might find postings from companies promoting access to television and film stand-in jobs. These postings might say “No experience required!” and provide a toll-free number for information or for an appointment.

Are these types of postings scams? More than likely they are. Stand-In Central would strongly advise against contacting them for stand-in work.

My Story

I decided to do a little research. At 7am one recent morning, I contacted a toll-free number using *67, advertised on Craig’s List New York to promote background and stand-in work. It was interesting that at 7am, I was able to get immediately in touch with a representative, presumably in a call center in India based on the accent. After being asked my zip code to pinpoint my region, I was pitched an online portfolio on a website and told “thousands” of casting directors would see it.

I was asked my name and provided a fake name before inevitably hanging up.

As an actor in NYC, I knew that “thousands” of casting directors wouldn’t be looking at this online portfolio for stand-in work — are there even “thousands” of casting directors in NYC? Plus, it is hard enough to get casting directors to view agent submissions for professional acting work.

There are established websites that provide actors the ability to submit for background and stand-in work — notably, Casting Networks in New York City. The site promoted on the call did not sound like one that stand-ins on sets I’d been on used to regularly book work.

Ethan Vanderbilt’s Story

Ethan Vanderbilt appears to back up my experience and perspective — not to mention appears to have had a more extensive take on it. Triangulating information, I came across his blog post detailing that the company I had apparently called, Casting 360, is, in his opinion, a scam.

Here’s the short of what he says in his blog post:

I did a search on Casting 360 to see how accurate their system was.

Within 25 miles of Diomede, Alaska 99762 there were 265 casting calls available according to Casting 360.

Diomede population 120.

Below is Diomede on the map. You can make the decision if it is a hot bed of casting action.


View Larger Map

Here is  a video detailing more of his opinion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zsp3C0ihbck

What You Should Do

Stand-In Central, while not a resource for stand-in jobs, has a wealth of information on how to find stand-in jobs and what to do when you land one. Standing in is a serious job in television and film, and while people do land the work without prior experience, stand-in work asks for a range of abilities from those who accept it. Truly, some stand-in jobs may require no prior experience, but other stand-in jobs may require exacting concentration and a lot of prior experience.

Should you encounter an online posting about stand-in work, do your research. Search for any phone numbers online. Search any names in the online posting. Never give your credit card information without independent assurance that the site is not a scam.

Have you been scammed by a company promoting access to stand-in jobs? If so, post below!