Meet richard jordan | casting director, actor, entertiner, creative stratigist

We had the good fortune of connecting with richard jordan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi richard, what role has risk played in your life or career?
People who play it safe all the time don’t have any fun, they may have more money, but they’re not having fun with it. Of course you can have both. If you’re not taking risks you can’t innovate, you’re just following the guide and not changing with the times. Let’s be honest here, the dedication to a life of show business is a major risk with guarenteed failure even for the best of the best. Growing up I was deeply unhappy and that started to change when I began to say “fuck it’; i’m going to do this my way.Yeah, I’m going to miss out on my senoir year and live in France and yeah I’m going to move to Mexico to work at Club Med instead of staying in the state for a 6 month probation after a minor mairjuna arrest and tkae it on my record for 10 years. I’m going to move to New York with less than a $1,000 including first month’s rent…etc. people knew me to be fearless to put it all out there, give it all i got. Each risk I took i relaized it may not work but I didn’t care. I was invested in myself, believe in myself, so i’m gonna make it work somehow. That’s how you grow. Many of us here in the United States learn very bad habbits of limiting belifes that we have to unlearn as adults if we are going to soar. I would like to add that I have a mental system for calulating the risk to reward factor and what’s the worse that could happen and the likliness of that happening.For example I don’t worry one bit about my air plane crashing but you bet your ass i’m wearing my seatbelt on the way over to the airport and if the cab driver is driving reckless I’ll tell him to pull over and i’ll take another cab.

I started my casting business without prior casting agency experince, not an intern, an asistant, associate…I skipped all those steps and did it a very different way-that’s VERY risky. some might say insane but my mantra was BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE and that kept me moving in the right direction, learning as i go.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a casting director I focus on up-and-coming actors. I’m not really trying to be a Hollywood casting director. Growing my business in New York, it’s an independant film town, now with plenty of TV. The elephant in the room is me; i’m also an actor. That makes me very different in the way I still go on audtions with many different casting offices, see breakdowns, read scripts, I adjust as an actor with the times and that informs my business and the level of empthy I can bring into a session. My time at Mofilm, a worldwide creative branded content agency, taught me how to see from the client’s POV which I thin k serves my commercial clients very well. I’m a great bridge between the wants and needs of creative talent and the people who are paying for it. In my opinion a good casting director serves as a type of producer on the project and on more than one ocasion i have recieved additional pay and credit for producing duities. A casting director is someone who knows everybody and that skill is not limited to just actors. Relationships are the most important things and if you’re trying to climb the ladder it’s not so much who you know but who-knows-you….

Peiple often ask me if I spend all day judging people but really it’s more like fitting the right pieces of the puzzle together. As far as talent is concerned anyone can recogize talent in front of them, I try to see what they aren’t showing me, take them to another level or understanding. Notihng thrills me more than seeing actors discoving their potenial. I push them too. From time to time I give workshops, masterclasses etc and I’m very strightforward but I’m not a dick about it, jusually there’s humor involved and it all comes from a place of love.

I became a casting director from being an actor. i made friends with up-and-coming directors who didn’t have budgets for proper casting directors and they tapped me for my network and the rest is history.

sorry i’m skipping around, I want to address all the questions and you;ve asked like 6 in 1 here, lol.

Challange is accecptence from the greater casting communitry which i’m still unsure of. I’m not a part of any orginizations as acasting director and as an actor i go by my full name. My IMDB shows a little crossover but m uch of the work i do in not on imdb like commercials and music videos….

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First thing we do when I pick them up from the airport is we go to a dispencary and let them tell the workers how they wanna feel. Even if you don’t smoke, take a small edible or whatever, it’ll help the rest of the trip be fun. I go to the MedMen near me but theres plenty of really nice ones like Sweet Flower that will set you straight.

I’m a realative newbie to LA so I see the city through fresh eyes. I enjoy the fine things in life but more often than not I choose down-to earth places like Cozy Inn dive bar in Culver city,Jumbo’s Clown Room PG-13 strip club in Thai town with dinner first nearby. The Improv to catch some laughs and maybe run into people you might know from TV. A bit classier Coles French dip and speakeasy has been around since the early 1900’s, Grand Central Market, Chateau Marmont, Magic Castle if you can find a magacian to invite you. And of course end the night with Mexican street tacos, the best in the country hands down.

Of course the real fun is all the private events, screenings and house parties you go to when you know the right people.
You gotta be cool though to be invited back or even allowed to stay, you can’t react to celeberties, don’t want to pitch anything or trash talk anyone. Even if others are doing it, refrain, trask talking is not a right, it’s a privlage you earn in your respective social circles. Behave yourself around drugs and alcohol too, less is best.

Of course the views of the city like from Griffith Observatory are a must.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Thomas Byrd, former head of production for KODE USA really believed in me as a rising casting director and gave me career changing jobs which helped take my casting business to another level. He’s just a really creative, warm, good person and he had my back and took me along with him as he grew. The people at Mofilm like Sarah and Rebecca also gave me opprotunities that opened alot of doors including meeting Thomas.

Website: www.richardjordancasting.com

Instagram: @richardjordancreative