ABC/Paula Lobo(LOS ANGELES) — Tiffany Haddish is dishing on her extremely clever way to get feedback from casting directors when she went on past auditions.
During a roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter that included Jane Fonda, Alex Borstein, Regina Hall, Natasha Lyonne, Maya Rudolph and Phoebe Waller-Bridge — and in a move incidentally identical to a Seinfeld plot — Haddish revealed that she’d sometimes leave a recording device behind in an audition room to capture the feedback of casting directors.
“You know what I’d do? I’d put my phone on voice memo and put it in my bag, I’d do the audition, walk out and leave my bag,” Haddish said, recalling her process. “Then I’d come back and be like, ‘Oh, I forgot my purse.'”
When Haddish eventually listened to the audio, she learned a lot about what casting directors really thought about her.
“‘She is not as urban as I thought she’d be.’ Or, ‘She is so ghetto,'” she recalled. “‘Her boobs aren’t big enough.’ ‘I really think we should just go with a white girl, this role should be changed to white’.“
Haddish admitted she left her phone in a lot of rooms, adding, “it was like my M.O.” However, even with the harsh feedback, Haddish says she didn’t let it bother her.
“I want to hear so that I can write jokes about it. That and also so that I use it to my advantage and grow,” Tiffany explained. “Like all this,’ Jeez, she can’t read. She said every word wrong.’ And I’m like, ‘They’re right.’ So, I start reading out loud more and practicing and it helps me in the long run.”
“So, sure, they hurt my feelings and sometimes I’m like, ‘Damn, what a b****,'” Haddish continued. “I’m never going back in there,’ but I did.”
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