At Comic-Con, Advice to Actors

SAN DIEGO â€" “Don’t come up to me in bathrooms.”

That was the first piece of advice for aspiring actors from Roger Mussenden, the casting director whose credits include “X-Men: First Class”.

At the Comic-Con International fan convention, Mr. Mussenden spoke to an attentive audience about a subject that does not usually get much attention from the costumed crowd here: the gritty realities of movie and television casting.

Mr. Mussenden was joined by Randi Hiller, the vice president for casting at Walt Disney Studios; Sharon Bialy, whose credits include “Walking Dead”; and David Rapaport, of “Arrow” and other shows. The talk was moderated by Lora Kennedy, the executive vice president for casting at Warner Brothers.

The audience mostly identified themselves as working actors, and only one of whom appeared to be wearing felt boots and a mask; these were serious types, looking for a path to the screen. Mr. Mussenden and company did their best to show the way, while describing its many pitfalls.

If you want to be a superhero, “don’t play the powers,” Mr. Mussenden said, who added that he sees enough mutants and is looking for character, not electromagnetic fingertips or whatever. He illustrated his point by waving arms and hands in an impressive display of mock superness.

Ms. Bialy reminded actors not to get carried away with themselves. “It’s not about you,” she said of that moment on the screen. “It’s your time to honor the text and move the story along.”

The panel also agreed that executives, producers and directors have a bad habit of overlooking the best advice from their casting advisers. Chris Hemsworth, they noted, was the first guy seen for “Thor,” and an obvious choice. But it took a long time and a wide search before those in charge recognized that. Mr. Rapaport estimated the number of people who have a voice in the typical co-star casting decision at about 45. “Oh, my God!” gasped someone in the audience.

One questioner asked what advice the casting folks might have for directors.

“Take an acting class,” Ms. Hiller said.

At Comic-Con, Advice to Actors

SAN DIEGO â€" “Don’t come up to me in bathrooms.”

That was the first piece of advice for aspiring actors from Roger Mussenden, the casting director whose credits include “X-Men: First Class”.

At the Comic-Con International fan convention, Mr. Mussenden spoke to an attentive audience about a subject that does not usually get much attention from the costumed crowd here: the gritty realities of movie and television casting.

Mr. Mussenden was joined by Randi Hiller, the vice president for casting at Walt Disney Studios; Sharon Bialy, whose credits include “Walking Dead”; and David Rapaport, of “Arrow” and other shows. The talk was moderated by Lora Kennedy, the executive vice president for casting at Warner Brothers.

The audience mostly identified themselves as working actors, and only one of whom appeared to be wearing felt boots and a mask; these were serious types, looking for a path to the screen. Mr. Mussenden and company did their best to show the way, while describing its many pitfalls.

If you want to be a superhero, “don’t play the powers,” Mr. Mussenden said, who added that he sees enough mutants and is looking for character, not electromagnetic fingertips or whatever. He illustrated his point by waving arms and hands in an impressive display of mock superness.

Ms. Bialy reminded actors not to get carried away with themselves. “It’s not about you,” she said of that moment on the screen. “It’s your time to honor the text and move the story along.”

The panel also agreed that executives, producers and directors have a bad habit of overlooking the best advice from their casting advisers. Chris Hemsworth, they noted, was the first guy seen for “Thor,” and an obvious choice. But it took a long time and a wide search before those in charge recognized that. Mr. Rapaport estimated the number of people who have a voice in the typical co-star casting decision at about 45. “Oh, my God!” gasped someone in the audience.

One questioner asked what advice the casting folks might have for directors.

“Take an acting class,” Ms. Hiller said.

July 20: Where the Candidates Are Today

Planned events for the mayoral candidates, according to the campaigns and organizations they are affiliated with. Times are listed as scheduled but frequently change.

Joseph Burgess and Nicholas Wells contributed reporting.

Event information is listed as provided at the time of publication. Details for many of Ms. Quinn events are not released for publication.

Events by candidate

Albanese

Carrión

De Blasio

Lhota

Liu

McDonald

Quinn

Thompson

Group event

Bill de Blasio
Democrat

9:45 a.m.
Accepts the endorsement of State Sen. Bill Perkins, who represents Harlem, the Upper West Side and Washington Heights, in front of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building in Harlem.

12 p.m.
Attends the Justice for Trayvon rally, hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, at One Police Plaza.

8 p.m.
One of five mayoral candidates to accept Rev. Al Sharpton’s invitation
to sleep one night in public housing with a host family to better
understand conditions in the city-run homes and to share their thoughts
at a news conference the next morning, at the Abraham Lincoln Houses on
2142 Madison Avenue in East Harlem.

John C. Liu
Democrat

10 a.m.
Starts his day at a Sani Trayodasi event at the Staten Island Hindu Temple-Shree Ram Mandir on Victory Boulevard, on Staten Island.

11 a.m.
Attends the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 726’s annual family picnic and charity softball tournament, at Nansen Park on Staten Island.

12 p.m.
Attends the Justice for Trayvon rally, hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, at One Police Plaza.

12:50 p.m.
Attends the Family Day celebration at the Alfred E. Smith Houses in Lower Manhattan.

1:15 p.m.
Makes appearance at the Taiwan Tourism Festival, at Confucius Plaza in Chinatown.

1:30 p.m.
Attends his second New York City Housing Authority Family Day, at Roberta A. Taft Houses in Lower Manhattan.

2 p.m.
Attends his third New York City Housing Authority Family Day, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers in Upper Manhattan.

2:30 p.m.
Attends the Gildersleeve Avenue Block Party in the Clason Point section of the Bronx.

3:15 p.m.
Attends his fourth New York City Housing Authority Family Day at Eastchester Gardens in the Bronx.

3:50 p.m.
Attends his fifth New York City Housing Authority Family Day, at the Queensbridge North Houses in Astoria, Queens.

5 p.m.
Attends his sixth New York City Housing Authority Family Day, at the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn.

5:20 p.m.
Attends his seventh New York City Housing Authority Family Day, at the Boulevard Houses in East New York, Brooklyn.

5:45 p.m.
Attends his eighth New York City Housing Authority Family Day at the Kingsborough Houses in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

6 p.m.
Though he has left himself only 15 minutes to get here on time from the start of his last event in Brookyn, he is one of five mayoral candidates to accept the Rev. Al Sharpton’s invitation to sleep one night in public housing with a host family to better understand conditions in the city-run homes and to share their thoughts at a news conference the next morning, at the Abraham Lincoln Houses on 2142 Madison Avenue in East Harlem.

Joseph J. Lhota
Republican

11 a.m.
Greets voters at the Bay Ridge Greenmarket, in Brooklyn.

12 p.m.
Greets voters at the Smorgasburg Food Market, in the East River State Park, Brooklyn.

7 p.m.
Attends the Feast of Our Lady of Carmel, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Christine C. Quinn
Democrat

10:15 a.m.
Greets voters at the Abingdon Square Greenmarket in the West Village.

6 p.m.
One of five mayoral candidates to accept the Rev. Al Sharpton’s
invitation to sleep over one night at a public housing project with a
host family to better understand conditions in the city-run homes and to
share their thoughts at a news conference the next morning, at the
Abraham Lincoln Houses on 2142 Madison Avenue in East Harlem.

Some of Ms. Quinn’s events may not be shown because the campaign declines to release her advance schedule for publication.

William C. Thompson Jr.
Democrat

10 a.m.
Attends a volunteer appreciation breakfast, with Scott M. Stringer, a city comptroller candidate, at Dyckman Express Restaurant in Inwood.

12 p.m.
Attends the Justice for Trayvon rally, hosted by the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network, at One Police Plaza.

3 p.m.
Attends the New York City Housing Authority Family Day, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Towers in Harlem.

3:40 p.m.
Attends the New York City Housing Authority Family Day, at the Esplanade Gardens in Harlem.

6:30 p.m.
One of five mayoral candidates to accept Rev. Al Sharpton’s invitation to sleep one night in public housing with a host family to better understand conditions in the city-run homes and to share their thoughts at a news conference the next morning, at the Abraham Lincoln Houses on 2142 Madison Avenue in East Harlem.

Anthony D. Weiner
Democrat

6:30 p.m.
One of five mayoral candidates to accept Rev. Al Sharpton’s invitation
to sleep one night in public housing with a host family to better
understand conditions in the city-run homes and to share their thoughts
at a news conference the next morning, at the Abraham Lincoln Houses on
2142 Madison Avenue in East Harlem.

Sal F. Albanese
Democrat

3 p.m.
Greets voters at the Grand Street Walk in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

5 p.m.
Attends the 126th Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. Paulinus and Nola Street Festival, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

7:30 p.m.
Attends a Calabrian Society dinner, in Marine Park, Brooklyn.

Adolfo Carrión Jr.
Independent

10:30 a.m.
Visits Bronx businesses, starting at a Dunkin’ Donuts on Westchester Avenue in Foxhurst.

1 p.m.
Attends the Bronx L.G.B.T.Q. Pride and Health Fair, in Crotona Park.

3 p.m.
Attends a block party on Jennings Street in Fairmont-Claremont Village, the Bronx.

6:15 p.m.
Attends a “Rock the Dock” fund-raiser for Hurricane Sandy recovery, at the City Island Yacht Club, on City Island, the Bronx.

George T. McDonald
Republican

2 p.m.
Speaks at the 4th Annual “Situation” Harlem community event at Harlem River State Park, off 139th Street in Manhattan.

Readers with information about events involving the mayoral candidates are invited to send details and suggestions for coverage to cowan@nytimes.com. You can also follow us on Twitter @cowannyt.