"No One Wants to Be in a Cast"

I have decided that my production will follow two characters: Joseph Farley, a 16-year-old devout Christian who also happens to be gay, and Father Peter, an older, cheery gentleman who is the head counselor at the conversation therapy camp.

Although I've spent time fully exploring Joseph's character, Father Peter remains something of a mystery.  Yet, I kind of like this turn of events.  In the movie, we view life through Joseph's perspective; what Joseph doesn't know, the audience doesn't either.  Therefore, I don't plan on expanding on Father Peter's background, motives, or thoughts.  He's a sort of enigma, and that's what makes him so frightening to Joseph.

Yet, the fact remains that I need to find someone to cast as the priest.  Joseph Farley, who will be played by my good friend Joseph Coste, has been already cast.  Now, suffering from an acute lack of old men in my life, casting the priest is proving to be a little more difficult.  Naturally, my first option was to turn to my father.  He's very naturally cheery and optimistic, which is something that I want reflected in the priest's character.  To test out his skills, I decided to run through some lines with him.

Immediately, there were some issues.  I had told him that I wanted a bright and extroverted character, and he took this to mean 'eerily happy and uncomfortably smiley.'  Additionally, he was putting on a phony American accent, which was working in no-one's favor.  All that aside, I don't want to sound unappreciative; I admire his commitment.  Still, the fact remains that we need to work on his acting methods a little more before the final scenes are filmed.

After some more brainstorming, I considered casting my dad's friend John.  John is an older and more soft-spoken gentleman.  Although I'm very fond of John, I don't know if his gentle nature will work well with the idea I have of the priest in my mind.  Although, it would make the conversation scene a bit more sinister.  

Additionally, John also has some characteristics that would work better with the character than if he were played by my dad.  In contrast to my Latin father, John is Canadian.  Although I don't think that my dad's accent will hinder production by any means, he seems hell-bent on adopting American speech patterns, which makes him sound comedic.

Currently, I'm torn between these two men.  Both seem like viable options, as they both have their different pros and cons.  Still, I'm skeptical of both men's acting, but I'm at a loss for who else I can look into.  I plan to work on this problem over the weekend, and come to a solution by the next week.  Updates to come!