ALBANY POST ROAD
Project Title
Albany Post Road- The Pilot
Production Type
1 Hour Serialized Drama
Genre
Institutional critique, family and crime drama, hyperrealist
Union Status
Non-Union
Compensation
Copy, production credit, meals, and photos/ demo reel- non-paid
Production Company
No Gimmicks Productions
Directed by
Meeko Kolledi
Project Description
An atmospheric, grounded, character-driven independent drama set against the raw, working-class industrial backdrop of the Hudson Valley. Heavily inspired by the visual language and tone of prestige television series like True Detective, The Wire, and Ozark. The narrative explores themes of survival, shared histories,
and quiet, high-stakes confrontation.
Rehearsal & Production Dates
Summer- Fall 2026
Production Location
Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Dutchess, and Orange Counties.
The Story
A recently released blue-collar ex-con tries to rebuild his life in a Hudson Valley
town where construction, politics, narcotics, and family power struggles
are all part of the same economy.
Audition instructions
Audition Type
Camera phone submission (Phase 1)
In-Person Callbacks (Phase 2)
Audition Instructions
We are keeping our physical footprint streamlined.
Initial auditions will be conducted strictly via digital self-tape pre-screenings.
Please submit the form at the bottom of the page along with;
Pictures and/or Videos
Acting Resume
Work Resume
Social Media and links
Your Contact Information
Casting will email you sides to read for your audition based on the suitable role criteria.
Create a cameraphone video of you reading with a partner off camera and email us your submission!
We encourage everyone to submit! We have a large cast! Actors must be comfortable shooting
in a naturalistic documentary setting.
By the submission deadline of July 1st, 2026, there will be a round of in-person callbacks.
Selected actors will be contacted to appear for an in-person audition in the Hudson Valley before August 1st, 2026.
Actors should be prepared to read all character lines and read alongside other potential cast members to gauge chemistry.
Preferred location of Applicants
Local to NYC / Tri-State Area / Hudson Valley preferred.
Transportation to Westchester/ Putnam County is a must.
Tentative Shooting Date
August-October 2026
Age Range: 18–70
Ethnicities: All Ethnicities
Role Description
Seeking distinct, authentic, real-looking local faces to populate the background of
neighborhood streets, waterfront piers, and industrial spaces.
Real local flavor is highly desired.
Compensation Details
This is a non-paid, low-budget independent collaboration. Actors will receive high-end
cinematic footage shot on professional cinema glass (Sigma Art & Sport lines),
tailored perfectly for acting reels, official IMDb credit, and full
catering/meals provided on set.
The Main Players
VINCENZO "VINNY" DILELLO
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Male, 28-40, Italian-American
Description: Muscular, restrained, observant, and methodical. A blue-collar welder newly paroled
under an experimental progressive reform program. Vinny wants nothing
more than peace and quiet, but his deep family ties and his protective nature force
him to become the unwilling catalyst and shadow mayor
in a slow-burning war over his town's future.
OFFICER RAYMOND SANTOS
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Male, 35-50, Dominican-American
Description: Stocky with a commanding, grounded presence. A career Tannerville PD officer and a recovering
cocaine addict who relies on his N.A. meetings to stay centered. Santos possesses deep insight into what truly
deserves police work; he is a man whose humanity outshines his badge. which forces him to rely on
off-the-books community policing and informants to protect his streets.
ALFRED HOPKINS
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Male, 50-65, African-American
Description: Wiry, dense, and built tough from a lifetime of blue-collar labor. A survivor of a 1970s police shooting,
Alfred is a fierce objector to mass development that affects community interests. Driven by an overwhelming
desire for fairness, he constructs a parallel justice system to protect Black-owned
businesses and employment within the community.
MARK LOMBARDI
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Male, 30-40, Italian-American
Description: Chubby, smug, with a spoiled "born on third base" mentality. Vinny’s cousin and the heir to a multi-million-dollar
contracting empire. He is manipulative, highly ambitious, and exploiting the town's waterfront renewal project.
He must juggle his guilt over marrying Vinny's ex-girlfriend with his relentless drive for power.
VANESSA HOPKINS
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Female, 24-34, African-American
Description: Slender and beautiful, styled with natural hair and earth tones. A dental hygienist, single mother, and
Alfred's niece. She is the unshakable moral grounding of the series, fighting for the community's progress.
As Vinny’s primary love interest, she is forced to re-evaluate her
boundaries about what is truly best for the community.
DANIELLE LOMBARDI
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Female, 24-34, Italian-American
Description: Exudes a polished, affluent "Jersey Shore" vibe. Emotionally charged and deeply conflicted.
She is Vinny's ex-girlfriend who married his cousin, Mark, while Vinny was incarcerated.
She aggressively helps run her husband's business but lives in
constant anxiety regarding Vinny's return to the neighborhood.
LUCA DADDARIO
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Male, 30-45, Italian-American
Description: Husky, heavyset, and built like a tank. The true blue-collar heart of the working class and Vinny's
fiercely loyal best friend. As the owner of Golden Arms Welding, he struggles under crushing
financial stress to provide for his wife and son. His desperation pushes him to broker
a deal that will change his business forever.
MAYOR CLAUDE SIMMONS
Role: Series Lead
Demographic: Male, 50-65, Caucasian (Irish-American)
Description: A moderate politician desperately trying to salvage his legacy by pushing a massive
riverfront redevelopment. He fights to be the "heart" of the town while juggling state initiatives,
organized crime, and angry local voters.
SUPPORTING ROLES
RANDY VAN BUREN
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 50-65, Caucasian
Description: A Vietnam War veteran and a proud member of the "old guard".
He operates a chaotic metal shop and organizes a confederation of landowners to aggressively combat
the town's development.
RASPY HART
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 30-40, African-American
Description: Built like a linebacker. Paroled alongside Vinny, he returns to Tannerville trying to stay out of trouble.
He becomes Alfred's apprentice and the reluctant neighborhood watch regulator, repelling a
new wave of narcotics in the town.
FADE SEVILLA
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 25-35, Hispanic
Description: A smug, ambitious South-Side gangster/ informant.
His ambition leads him to believe he can control the local drug trade.
OFFICER THOMAS CARLSON
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 25-35, Caucasian
Description: Fresh out of the academy, he is Officer Santos' young rookie partner.
He is forced to decide where his loyalties lie as Santos pulls him into off-the-books police work.
MARIE DADDARIO
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Female, 25-35, Italian-American
Description: Luca's high school sweetheart and wife. She desires stability and love but cracks
under the pressure of utility shutoff notices and the stress of raising their son, Mario.
DR. STACY DIAZ
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Female, 30-45, Latina
Description: A highly professional, sharply dressed clinician at Evanworth Mental Institution. Secretly affiliated with
a quasi-political utopian group, she weaponizes her authority to manipulate parolees.
ZIO FRANCO
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 40-55, Italian-American
Description: Vinny's uncle. A slick, mob-connected developer transitioning from street-level crime to
white-collar real estate. He uses and manipulates his nephews to carry on the family legacy.
LEO GUSTO
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 30-40, Puerto Rican
Description: An Iraq War veteran suffering from severe PTSD. The wildcard of Vinny's old crew,
he struggles with a heavy drug addiction but remains fiercely loyal to his brothers.
JIMMY MERLIN
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 22-30, Biracial
Description: Luca's anxious B-mechanic and childhood friend.
He provides comic relief and embodies Gen-Z's temperament on the streets.
DAY PLAYERS
BIG SMOKE
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Male, 25-35, African-American
Description: A ruthless drug dealer operating out of Logan Estates, pushing fentanyl and
laced weed into the community.
SKIP CRAVEN
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Male, 55-65, Caucasian
Description: A Vietnam veteran with a 1970s hippie aesthetic. He is Randy's right-hand muscle and trusted confidant.
RITA
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Female, 35-45, Hispanic
Description: The Mayor's dutiful, observant secretary who understands the political machinery of the town better than anyone.
GIOVANNI
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Male, 40-50, Italian-American
Description: The owner of Romo's Cafe and Zio Franco's trusted number two.
ZIO CLAUDIO
Role: Supporting
Demographic: Male, 55-70, Italian-American
Description: The older mob uncle and a stroke victim who walks with a cane.
He holds deep resentment over the family business.
ROBBIE
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Male, 40-50, Italian-American
Description: The local deli owner. A Tannerville resident who witnesses the changing, developing landscape of his neighborhood.
ELOUISE HOPKINS
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Female, 25-35, African-American
Description: Vanessa's cousin and Alfred's daughter. A struggling drug addict desperately trying to get clean and rebuild her life.
MOE REYNOLDS
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Male, 40-50, African-American
Description: Alfred's quiet, physically imposing right-hand man and enforcer.
JALEESA
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Female, 25-35, Open Ethnicity
Description: A local real estate agent navigating the aggressive property buy-ups happening in town.
PAROLE OFFICER GINA RODRIGUEZ
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Female, 40s, Latina
Description: Sharp, authoritative, and highly perceptive. As the parole officer managing Vinny's new and
experimental release program, she answers directly to Albany and holds Vinny's freedom in the palm of her hand.
Unafraid to assert her dominance, she conducts unannounced home visits and strictly enforces the fine print of his parole.
VILLAGE CHARTER MEMBERS
LAURA
Role: Day Player / Recurring
Demographic: Female, 30-40, Open Ethnicity
Description: A highly progressive village charter member. She wholeheartedly believes in waterfront
revitalization and in pushing the town into the modern era.
BILL
Role: Day Player / Recurring
Demographic: Male, 50-70, Caucasian
Description: The retired, blue-collar voice of the charter. He fiercely opposes the Mayor's plans, demanding rent
control and property tax relief rather than new coffee shops.
DARYL
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Male, 40-60, Asian- American
Description: A charter member focused entirely on commercial development, boosting tax revenue, and reducing blight.
HAROLD
Role: Day Player
Demographic: Male, 50-70, African- American
Description: A blue-collar traditionalist who believes the town, not the charter, should decide its future.
PETE & CORY
Role: Day Players
Demographic: Males, 40-60, Caucasian
Description: Randy Van Buren's drinking buddies and loyal charter allies who help plot
aggressive measures against the town's developers.