Who here has taken acting class from a casting director?
A lot of casting directors are teaching acting courses now, mostly online. However, casting directors, for the most part, have never gone to acting school or had acting careers.
Obviously, it's great to get to know casting directors and have them get to know you. Obviously, casting directors have a great deal of experience and wisdom to impart. They have a lot to teach us, but is acting technique one of those things? Is someone qualified to teach the craft just because they casted several major films?
Coaching scenes in real time is a specific skill, and knowing the result you want isn't the same as being able to guide someone through the process of getting that result. Sometimes even people who are great actors aren't great teachers.
I get the feeling that there are many casting directors out there who mistakenly think they are acting teachers because no one has had the nerve to tell them they aren't. It's very hard to be brutally honest with someone who can literally make sure you never work again.
If you have taken an acting class from a casting director, I would love to get your thoughts.