Casting, characters, and chemistry

Hey honeys and hustlers,

I need to acknowledge that we lost an icon this week: Dolly Parton. One of the best compliments and podcast reviews I've ever gotten was when Frank Racioppi mentioned my name and Dolly Parton's in the same sentence.

I wanted to honor this incredible Southern woman by dedicating this article to the rumor that she is who inspired Hannah Montana. There have been some recent casting announcements for major movie enterprises; some controversial, some long anticipated. Jaime Lawson as Storm. Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy. David Jonsson as the new Black Panther. Casting a character isn’t just for big productions. You are the main character of your life, but how do you translate all of “you” online?

Being “yourself” is great advice until you realize there are many versions of you. Through creating original media online and hearing feedback from people who have seen, read, or heard my work, I started to notice an interesting throughline in the comments. When you create content, you cast yourself as a character. Not casting in the slimy, “be more marketable” way. Casting in the delicious, rich, cinematic way. The way a director knows the same script lands differently depending on who delivers the line. Keke Palmer has casually admitted that she’s playing “a version” of herself when we see her on press tours or her podcast. The truest version of herself she keeps for herself and her loved ones. I think we can all do a version of this when we’re creating online.

Creators love to talk about “authenticity” like it’s a singular way of expressing who you really are online. But in reality, different people, places, and things bring out different versions of us. Most of us already do this instinctively. There’s the nerdy version of me that does deep dives on niche topics that no one asked for. There’s the soft-life version of me that can turn a small mistake into a story with a lesson (usually to slow down and give myself grace) and a little sparkle to show there’s light at the end of the tunnel. There’s the feisty version of me who doesn’t just have an opinion – she has a thesis and doesn’t care who doesn’t agree or like it. And there’s the artsy version of me who harps on the craft of creativity and will make things just for the love of the game, even if nobody paid, watched, clapped, or subscribed.

Those aren’t “fake” ways of showing up online. They’re facets of me in totality on any given day. If you catch me on the street or at an event, I can guarantee that you will meet at least one version of me that you’ve experienced online. They’re angles for approaching different topics and mediums in my work. They’re the difference between a flat, lifeless shell of a personality-driven piece and a body of work that actually represents me.

And yes—some of those facets are the ones you’ve probably been trained or told to keep private or offline. Maybe you’ve been the dependable one for so long that being playful feels irresponsible. Maybe you’ve built a brand on calm, so being annoyed feels like you’re breaking a contract with your audience. Maybe you worry that if you show a certain side—even once—you’ll be expected to perform it forever, like a character or trope that got too popular and now the writers won’t let them die.

But you don’t have to become your character. You just have to introduce them. Different parts of you will resonate with different parts of your audience. The person who came for your deep dives might stay for your softness. The person who found you through a hot take might end up trusting you with something tender. And the people who think they don’t have time for your longform? They might fall in love with your one-minute, slightly chaotic outbursts on social media.

When you refuse to cast yourself, or more plainly, acknowledge that your energy is different depending on the mood or the topic you want to address, you’re doing yourself and your audience a disservice. The goal isn’t to be neutral. The goal is to be human—on purpose. So if you’re thinking about your next piece of content, don’t just ask, “What should I say?” Ask, “What version of you would make this message land?” The version of you that’s speaking may be speaking to the version of you that needs to hear it. That’s not selling out. That’s storytelling in its best form.