By Olivia Blake

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) performance acting students Bo Gleave-Tan and Brady Bertrand said they noticed a lack of a space for actors and filmmakers to connect within TMU. So, in their second year, they launched TMU Actors.

Created a little over a year ago, the Instagram account connects creatives in Toronto to opportunities near them.

“It’s a place where film students can message us and then they’ll request their casting call to be posted on the account,” said Bertrand. “Actors who follow the account can see it and they can audition and submit their applications.”

“There was really nothing like it before,” he added, as the two had a hard time finding acting opportunities in their first year.

The pair have posted dozens of casting calls on the account which has now reached over 700 followers since their first post in September 2024.

“Instead of being something that’s been placed upon the community, it feels like something that has organically grown to be a part of it,” Gleave-Tan said about the growth of the account.

Both Gleave-Tan and Bertrand have found acting opportunities through the Instagram account.

Bertrand was cast in The Clearing which filmed in March. “It felt like I had a glimpse into what my life could be like as an actor,” he said.

Gleave-Tan got to act in a horror film titled The Pines.

Not only did the account create opportunities for actors but it also helped filmmakers looking to cast in their upcoming projects.

Second-year TMU image arts student Hailey Hickens-McLeod posted casting calls for multiple films on the TMU Actors Instagram account. “It’s a lot better than just relying on your friends to be actors,” she said.

Hickens-McLeod said many of those that auditioned for her projects came to her through the account.

She said it really benefited her as a student filmmaker. “I’m surprised that it’s not a regular mandated thing within the school seeing as how well it works out.”

As TMU Actors grew, the account gained recognition from actors beyond the TMU community.

Gleave-Tan said that sometimes while she’s on film sets people will say to her “I’m so glad that TMU Actors account was created” prompting her to “pipe up and be like ‘oh that was me and my friend Brady.’”

While the account started by posting casting calls for TMU student films, it has since expanded to student productions at other Toronto schools—including opportunities for music videos.

Nanli Zhuang, a master’s student in education at Lakehead University, had a hard time finding casting calls prior to hearing about TMU Actors. They said many websites that post casting calls required a paid subscription to access full information about the casting with the contact information of directors and playwrights not accessible.

While working on a student film set in April, they had mentioned these struggles to a camera operator who pointed them in the direction of TMU Actors.

Zhuang applied for a few different casting calls on the account and was cast in McLeod’s film, Josie <3.

Toronto-based actor Zara Ahmed-Myerscough came across the account through a mutual friend that had reposted a TMU Actors casting call.

She had a hard time finding casting calls in Toronto that would give her quality footage for her demo reel.

Through TMU Actors, she was cast in a short film, Blush, which she said gave her some great material for her demo reel that she still uses.

“I really like that pretty much everything I’ve seen on [TMU Actors] has been local to Toronto,” said Ahmed-Myerscough.

She explained that she frequents various Facebook groups who post casting calls but many “are looking for people who can self-drive to Hamilton or Barrie or places that are just out of the way for me.”

Gleave-Tan and Bertrand said they are glad the account is able to reach so many people. “It truly feels like we’re doing a good thing for the school community and even the film community that is around the downtown area,” said Bertrand.

As upper-year students, the pair have thought about the future of TMU Actors after they graduate.

“I would love to pass it on…What I would really enjoy is if TMU Actors became something that was here to stay at TMU,” said Bertrand. “It really feels like it has found its place in the community.”