Brothers Breaking into the Film Industry

Photos by George Hunter (except for set and show pics)

Peachtree Corners Kaplan brothers Michael (13) and David (11) have been acting for about six and four years respectively. It all began when their parents, Alan and Zhenia Kaplan thought some acting classes might help their shy kindergartener, Michael, feel more at ease socially.

Alan had enjoyed theater in high school and hoped his sons would also get bitten by the acting bug so he could share his passion for the performing arts with them.

Michael took to the stage and blossomed, growing noticeably more confident. “His teacher said, “Whatever you’re doing to help him speak up more in class seems to be working. I would ask that maybe you do a little bit less of it,” Alan recounted.

Having watched his big brother dive into the craft and come out of his shell, David followed suit, locking in acting as a Kaplan family affair.

Hard work

“This beard was brown before we started getting into acting,” Alan laughed, pointing to his graying facial hair. Juggling a full-time job as a realtor with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International, coaching his sons and filming/submitting their auditions, Alan understandably describes life as “pretty hectic.”

Auditions can be an arduous weekly grind. Memorizing lines, rehearsing and recording auditions is not an easy undertaking. Balancing and get quality products delivered on time is always the challenge,” Alan said.

Scripts are printed, the kids do a script analysis and auditions are recorded around everyone’s schedule. After having been at work and school all day, “it’s an exercise in fortitude,” he continued.

Working together

The Kaplans tackle script analysis and running lines as a team. “At first it was difficult but it’s sort of like muscle memory every time you do it,” Michael explained. His younger brother chimed in, “By now it’s pretty easy memorizing lines.”

The brothers study their lines together. “Sometimes I do it with my mom or say it in my head and see if I can remember all my lines,” David said.

Amazed by their ability to be off-book for auditions, regardless of the script size, Alan beamed. “Michael had a table read for a lead role with ten adults. He had the entire script memorized, including the other actors’ lines of a 90-page script.”

The boys’ IMDb pages

Resumés, headshots and websites from which casting directors will draw, like Actors Access, must be kept up to date. So, too, does Internet Movie Database (IMDb), an online site where actors list their work. Both Michael and David have been adding to their IMDb profiles.

A striking list of co-stars marked Michael’s initial experience. “When I was in Gifted, my first acting gig, I worked with Chris Evans, Octavia Spenser, Jenny Slate and Mckenna Grace,” Michael said. His resumé also includes eight episodes of the TV series Paradise Lost, (filmed in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana) acting alongside Nick Nolte, Barbara Hershey, Josh Hartnett and Bridget Regan.

“I just filmed The Waltons. They’re making a 50-year anniversary of it,” Michael said. Shot in Conyers, The Waltons Homecoming will likely be released around the holidays on the CW.

David has been in an episode of the TV show The Resident, two episodes of Creepshow, (a horror series similar to The Twilight Zone) an episode of MacGyver, the movie Embattled, the Lifetime movie A Sister’s Secret and the short film A Visitor.

Most recently, David completed filming several episodes of a popular TV show on a major streaming network. “I’m not allowed to say what it is until it comes out,” David said. We should be able to catch David in this undisclosed program by early next year or sooner.

The Kaplans are helping the boys build fledgling yet noteworthy resumés which include commercials and voiceover work for MARTA, Toys “R” Us, Logitech, Cartoon Network and The Home Depot, in addition to the aforementioned bodies of work.

On location

Child actors and their families must be flexible. Traveling for work brings everything else to a grinding halt. Michael filming Paradise Lost in Louisiana meant a three-month absence from work for Alan, who accompanied him, although he was able to work remotely.

Meanwhile, an overseas family trip to visit Zhenia’s parents became a trip for two only. Michael views this aspect of the business as “a small hiccup.”

David looks on the bright side too. “We were all going to go on vacation, but just me and my mom went,” he said. “We were both having fun. Michael and my dad were filming and me and my mom were on vacation.”

Michael likes working on location in different areas so he can experience “wildlife instead of fake life.” David said he prefers working in a studio: “If it’s an outside scene it’s usually either really hot or really cold. You may be filming a winter scene in the heat of the day.”

According to Alan, Georgia leads the film industry in terms of number of productions. “Georgia opened up much quicker than Los Angeles and other markets. The fact that actors move here to be near more work speaks to the market,” Alan said.

Previously, leading roles were generally cast out of LA. Secondary roles were drawn from regional markets; those were the auditions you’d see coming through Georgia. Recently, more lead roles are getting cast here.

Living in the Atlanta area is a wonderful advantage for actors. “We love Peachtree Corners for a litany of reasons — aside from the acting part of it — including its central location. If projects are filmed in metro Atlanta, we can easily get to them,” Alan said.

“On a national level, Atlanta TV and film actors have a leg up,” he added. “With COVID, the other markets went to taped auditions as well, but actors in Atlanta have years of experience with taped auditions and Zoom callbacks.”

Auditions and callbacks

Michael divulged the family’s position on auditions. “Our job is to keep auditioning. We give something and shouldn’t expect anything back.

“The director, casting director, some of the producers and executive producers ask us different questions, press “record meeting” and run the scene with us,” he said. “Then they give us some critiques and we do it again.”

David added, “Each take gets better as we get more direction. Every audition, we get better and better.”
Commercial auditions were once typically held at the casting director’s office. Fortunately for actors, those also are recorded from home now. “I can’t imagine having them audition that way. I remember driving them to auditions. I don’t have time now, I don’t know how I would fit that in,” Alan said.

The down side

Most auditions result in rejection. “Thousands of kids audition. A couple hundred come back for the callback, then there’s another callback,” David explained. “It’s a long process.”

Alan and Zhenia stated that the audition is where their kids’ job stops. “Every now and then, you’ll get a random phone call that you booked something. That’s the great surprise,” Alan said. “But we turn off the camera from the audition and we don’t look back. That works 90% of the time. I’m sure that’ll get more difficult as they get older and become more aware of those things.”

The parents shield the boys from the unease and letdown they themselves feel. “When they get into the final consideration for a role, my nerves get the best of me. There’s a lot of hope, worry and disappointment when it doesn’t work out,” Alan said.

As a family, they believe ‘you book the roles that are meant for you.’

Regarding his experience in Paradise Lost, Michael said, “It was very scary because they booked me off tape. My dad and I worried that I might not fit the role they were looking for, but it all worked out.”

Alan recalled, “We showed up on set in Louisiana, excited that he got this job, but they had never seen him in person with the kid who played his brother. That kid’s mother and I were a nervous wreck. What if they didn’t like them? After they shot the first scene, the writer turned around, smiled and introduced himself. Then we knew we were going to be OK.”

After all the unknowns, even once a role is landed, “you still have to wait and see what makes it off the cutting room floor,” Alan said.

Behind the scenes

The brothers shared some of the movie magic they’ve seen. “They use a lot of green screens, paper backgrounds for landscapes. Sometimes they use mini models,” David said. “They use harnesses and fishing wire if someone with special powers throws someone or if there’s an explosion and someone gets knocked back.”

“They can do different lighting if it’s supposed to be day or night,” Michael added. “They mainly do everything on set, so they build a house with most of the rooms not finished. They can make a whole backdrop of woods or beachside. It’s very cool.”

“Getting a scene filmed can require a few takes or 20. They have to take different shots from different angles. That takes a lot of time,” Michael said. David noted that it could take from an hour to a couple of days to get one scene done.

“Usually kids don’t get much makeup,” David added, “unless they have a pimple to cover. It depends on whether it’s a bloody scene or anything like that.” Michael had about 20 minutes of make-up for one scene in Paradise Lost to create bug bites on his neck.

School work

Young actors must keep up with their studies while they work. On-set teachers are provided to that end. During his most recent job, which demanded over two months of filming, David had an on-set teacher.

“It was pretty simple because all my schoolwork was online. They basically supervised us and helped us with any problems,” he said. “It was a bit challenging before COVID, but with COVID, since I was doing online school, it’s very easy, like doing it at home.”

Feet on the ground

Fame could easily cause a minor’s sense of self to swell. To stave that off, the key quality stressed by the Kaplans is respect. It carries through their faith, who they are as a family and manifests in how they treat others.

When Michael’s schoolmates started asking him for his autograph because he had become “famous,” his parents told both kids they should reply, “I’d be happy to give you my autograph if you give me yours.”

Alan and Zhenia decided that if the ego ever comes into play and overcomes who they are, then it’s time to move on. “The greatest benefit of any attention they may get from acting is the opportunity to use it for good and to reach out to others, not to feed our own egos,” Alan said.

They emphasize the skill of acting, not the celebrity. “The boys started out in theater before they ever had an agent or booked a commercial,” Alan said. “We gravitate towards drama and horror, something that really taps into the art of acting.”

David said his favorite part is meeting new people and having the experience,“but mostly the Craft Services, which is the food on set. They have someone cooking the food right there. And they have a snack bar with chips and candy — anything you can think of.”

Michael added, “I remember they were making lobster on set once. It was really good.”

A bright spot for the Kaplans has been watching how their sons genuinely care for one another. “The beauty of these two souls…when one brother finds out the other booked something, he’s almost more excited than if he had booked it himself,” Alan said. “There is no competitiveness between them. They are truly supportive of each other, which is nice to see.”

How to Break into Show Biz

The Kaplan family is pleased to share advice with others who are contemplating the same path. “It’s learn-as-you-go,” Alan said. “You reach out to people who have already been there for guidance and reach back to those starting out to try to pass it along.”

Acting lessons

“Get your child into some acting classes. See if it’s their thing,” Alan continued. “If that’s the case, stay with it. Submit them to agencies if you want them to pursue it further. It may take long to get picked up by a good agent.”

He also mentioned that parents should beware. “There are a lot of pitfalls out there. Go with a reputable agency if you’re seeking representation. Representation should never cost you anything upfront.”

Regardless of which acting school you choose – there are a variety to fit every preference – Alan suggested searching for a local school associated with credible casting directors. Specifically, one with lessons culminating in a showcase where actors perform before those casting directors.

After taking various acting classes, the Kaplan boys are thriving with help from their parents and a private coach who sometimes films auditions with them.

“We just try to become the character,” Michael said.

“Roll with it,” added David, who occasionally practices in the mirror. They work on the scripts, emotions, realism and on becoming more natural in their portrayals.

Headshots and audition set up

Aspiring actors need promotional pictures. Seasoned agencies can recommend skilled photographers. Depending on the number of looks captured, photos can start at a few hundred dollars. It’s not exactly a snap to keep headshots current as children grow up, but it is worth the investment as these are the first impressions made on casting directors.

A decent video camera with a memory card from Best Buy, a tripod, lighting and a backdrop ordered from Amazon are all that’s needed to film auditions from home. Alan said he has found that easier than trying to clear enough iPhone memory.

Advice on agents

After a few twists and turns in the road, Michael and David are currently both represented by
Joy Pervis at J Pervis Talent Agency near Peachtree Corners.

“I could not have hoped for better. They’ve been phenomenal,” Alan said. “They keep the boys extremely busy with auditions. They’re good people and great with kids. They’re nationally well-known and highly respected.”

While some agents will take advantage of aspiring actors by demanding they pay to play, they should only get compensated when an actor is booked for a job they found. Alan wants parents to avoid such pitfalls.

“Agents work hard to find auditions that are a good fit. Our job is to prepare the kids, have them do the best they can and send the recorded audition in quickly,” Alan explained.

“The agent sends it to the casting director,” David added.

When the boys book a job, the agents get a percentage of what they earn. This is agreed upon up front and is consistent across projects. “Their job is to negotiate the terms on your behalf when you book something and try to get the best deal for you,” Alan said.

Find a manager

More recently, the Kaplans brought on Child Actor Manager, Wendi Green of Atlas Artists in Los Angeles. “She gives us a lot of auditions in LA,” David said.

“We brought her on to advocate for them and get them some additional exposure in that market,” Alan said. “Our agent helped identify a few managers that were good prospects. We interviewed them, vice versa, and selected Wendi.”

The same type of contract is drawn up with a manager as with an agent. Actors will net less to pay both, but if a manager can open doors previously unavailable, it’s worth it.

“Their job is to use their contacts to get you additional work, to promote you behind the scenes both pre-consideration and post-consideration, particularly when it’s between you and a few other kids. Managers make calls to get you the best consideration possible for a project,” Alan elaborated.

Setting up lifelong lessons

Alan advises setting the tone and expectation with children upfront, and encouraging them to hang in. He also recommends consulting a trusted acquaintance with experience in the business when something seems too good to be true. “It’s probably not a real Disney audition after a $500 weekend class,” he said. Steer clear!

Sometimes it helps to be reminded why the family is going to such lengths. “When I’m ready to give up because I see how hard they’re working and something may not have hit for a while, that’s when they book something great,” Alan said. The boys have never expressed a desire to quit although Alan checks in with them on occasion to make sure.

Learning the value of persevering will serve them well throughout their lifetimes.

“Just be natural, be yourself. Never give up because if you give up, you’ll never book something,” David advised. “We film an audition and move on. If we get a callback, great. If we don’t get it, great.”

The Kaplans assure others that it’s a numbers game. If you keep doing it, eventually you’ll book something — that’s the reward.