Wow, really bad and amateur acting.
Actors found from a drama class in high school.
I would imagine HS drama students could do better, these seem like people off the street. I recently watched the B. Arnold ep and it was hard to take it seriously.
shareagreed. every line of dialogue was delivered as a speech.
maybe someone should wake-up the director... you know... a few times a day?
The actor portraying George Washington makes the rest of them look like Olivier. The set director must be very busy repairing scenery any time he appears one screen.
shareI haven't seen it, but two things told me this already. 1) they were showing muted scenes of it in the background on FOX news tonight, and even from that, I could tell the acting was bad; and 2) I only recognize one actor, Dermot Mulroney, from the entire cast. And I'm in the TV business and recognize most actors...so.... what kind of bottom of the barrel casting were they doing?
Suzanne
A few extra's chance to have a line in something.
shareThey film here in Virginia. The pay for this non-union project doesn't really warrant for well-trained actors. Most of these actors are picked from a wide casting call in the area based on their looks (if they match the role).
Kevin Hershberger is a great director and does wonders on set, so waking him up isn't the issue.
The issue is with whoever is in charge for budgeting the actor's pay. Lead actors on this show may be lucky to get $250 a day. I've known leads to get as low at $100/day.
Even at $250 day, for a 12 hour (sometimes longer) shoot, usually in the humid heat of August, marching around in full wool uniforms with all the equipment isn't really worth it for better actors.
This past season they had extreme issues with finding people to work background. I'd assume that it's because the people in the area know how ruthless the work and how it's not really worth the pay.
shows like TURN: Washington Spies that shoots here in Virginia is just the same. Auditioned for a role and they agreed to pay Travel Expenses + $250 for the day. Arrived on set and they said 'no we cant do that' to the previously arranged conditions so I walked off set.
All that aside, this area is plagued with Producers who want to hire amateurs because they don't know what they're getting into. The bank on the newbies thinking that 'being on tv' is worth the pain. For more seasoned actors, we just see it as another job. All the projects that come around here are like that. I usually have to drive out of state to D.C., MD, or North Carolina to find proper paying work.