Casting (performing arts)

In the performing arts industry such as theatre, film, or television, casting, or a casting call, is a pre-production process for selecting a certain type of actor, dancer, singer, or extra to land the role of a character in a script, screenplay, or teleplay. This process may be used for a motion picture, television program, documentary film, music video, play, or advertisement intended for an audience.
Actors are selected to play various types of roles. A main cast comprises several actors whose appearances are significant in film, theatre, or television. Their roles are often called starring roles. Within a main cast, there is often a male or female lead who plays the largest role, that of the protagonist in a production. When there is no singular lead, the main roles are referred to collectively as an ensemble cast, which comprises several principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal screen time. A supporting actor is one with a role that is important to a play or film, but less so than that of the leading actors. A supporting role is more important than a bit part, which involves direct interaction with the principal actors but no more than five lines of dialogue, often referred to as a "five-or-less" or "under-five" in the United States, or "under-sixes" in British television. When a well-known actor or other celebrity appears in a bit part, it is sometimes called a cameo appearance.
The casting process involves a series of auditions before a casting panel, composed of individuals within a production. Usually, in nearly all areas of show business, a casting director is on this panel, and depending on the type of production it may include a theatrical producer and theater director, a television producer, a film producer and film director, or choreographer. In the early stages of this process performers often may present or are presented with prepared audition pieces such as monologues, songs, choreography, scripts or sides.
These audition pieces are usually videotaped, typically in the form of screen tests and then attached with resumes and head shots, then shared with producers, directors, or studio executives. Later stages may involve groups of actors—both union (SAG-AFTRA) and non-union, depending on the size and scope of the production—attempting to read material from the work under consideration, paired up with other actors. With each actor's overall motivational choices evaluated, the casting panel considers both the individual actors and the chemistry created from combinations of them participating in a read-through.
Casting calls may go out into the general public at large, sometimes referred to as a "cattle call" (a U.S. term), or open audition, in which hundreds or even thousands of performers compete for a number of roles.
Casting character breakdowns, not to be confused with script breakdowns, are often provided by production agents who submit their clients to casting, which provides a brief summary of character (age, gender, race or ethnicity, situations they may be involved in).
Well-known actors or actresses have an advantage when it comes to landing roles. An actor may go through several casting calls before receiving a part, and even though well-known actors or actresses often still go through this very necessary process, some are privileged enough to have well-known writers, screenwriters, directors or producers pitch a project for their intent to be cast in a role. By the time some casting directors finish reading a script they may already have ideas about which actors might be right for the roles. Casting directors know that these actors and actresses can bring in big audiences, enhance audience engagement, and bring in high revenue, making these movies a success.
For major productions, the process of selecting actors for sometimes hundreds of speaking parts and roles often requires specialized staff. While the last word remains with the people in charge such as the director, producer, artistic departments and overall production team, a casting director or CD is in charge of most of the daily work involved in this process during pre-production. A casting director is often assisted by a casting associate; productions with large numbers of extras may have their own extras casting director as well. However, in all aspects of a film or television production's budget, they are all a part of the above-the-line, answering to the director as part of his or her staff.
Most films use either a casting agency or a casting director to find actors to match the roles in the film, apart from the lead actors, who are often chosen by directors and producers. The job of a casting director is to know a lot about a lot of actors, so that they can advise and present to the director the best of the available talent. Casting directors are highly influential and are usually on the project because the director trusts their judgement; they are also the ones who decide who the director does see.
Casting companies are independent organizations which liaise between performers and directors or producers. They need to have detailed knowledge of actors on their books, as they are responsible for putting forward suitable candidates to match specific roles described by producers and directors. The company draws up lists, and interviews are conducted, after which selected candidates attend an audition. If the producer selects one or more actors, the casting professionals negotiate contracts and fees. Casting professionals have to get to know many performers and assess their level of skill, and use a selection process to cut a large number down to a small group to bring to the producer for consideration. They may also represent actors, but not necessarily.
The role of the casting director may include the following:
The casting director remains as a liaison between director, actors and their agents/managers and the studio/network to get the characters in the script cast. Some casting directors build an impressive career working on numerous Hollywood productions, such as Marion Dougherty, Mary Jo Slater, Mary Selway, Lynn Stalmaster, April Webster, Robert J. Ulrich, Tammara Billik, Marci Liroff, Avy Kaufman, Mindy Marin, Robi Reed, and Allison Jones.
Casting directors look for certain things when deciding what actors are the right actors for certain roles. Allison Jones has stated that she looks for charming people, people she knows the audience is going to care for. Casting directors also want to make sure that the actors can handle the rigorous job that is being an actor. Ones that can handle the pressure of constantly improvising during the eighty-hour workweek that shooting may sometimes require.
At least in the early stages of casting and extras casting, the process may be decentralized geographically, often in conjunction with actual shooting planned in different locations. Another reason may be tapping into each home market in the case of an international co-production. However, for the top roles, the choice of one or more actors, whose presence is of enormous commercial importance, may rather follow strictly personal channels, e.g. direct contact with the director. During this time known as the "attachment phase" of a film, the casting director's job is to send out copies of the current script to agents for what is known as "coverage", a one-page summary of the script with a brief set of character descriptions. At this time, if a talent agency agrees to give coverage to a film, they will submit a list of ideas to the casting directors of actors available, capable, and in the price range of the film. Casting directors also create their own idea lists and can "check avails" or call the actor representation to see if they are available and interested in taking on potential projects. If an idea that is generated from a casting director and a subsequent avail check or from an agent's recommendation is "approved" by the director, producers, and financiers (or studio), the casting director sends out what is called an "offer". The offer, usually contains a letter to the actor's representative explaining the role in question, a copy of the script, why the actor has been selected, the length of time commitment, the approximate start date of filming, the filming location, and the proposed salary offering. If the actor does not respond to the material or for whatever reason cannot accept the job, they respond to casting with what is called a "pass." If they accept the offer, the talent representative engages the casting director and a deal memo is sent from casting to the representative. It is at this time when negotiations between agency and production happen to finalize any deal points before the entertainment lawyers step in and draw up the attachment contracts. If this process happens very early on in the development of a movie but the official shoot dates and details are not yet known, a Letter of Intent or "LOI" is drafted, to indicate, if and when the project is "green lit" or begins active production, the actor is already hired to portray that particular role.
After the attachment phase is complete (which depends on many factors, including financial backers, studio heads, availability of other above-the-line personnel), the physical auditions begin for all of the remaining roles. During this time, depending on the budget of the film, they could have what is called "pre-reads" where the actor auditions only for a casting director (or associate) to see if they are right for the material. After pre-reads would be a "callback" or "director/producer session". During this time the actor comes in and auditions (usually with the same material) and performs for the casting director, the film director, and anyone else who has decision-making power. In television, this phase is referred to as a "screen test" and network executives would also be in attendance. Once actors are selected from the pool of available actors, the same booking process that happens in the attachment phase takes place for any actor; extras casting has its own separate process.
The resulting list of actors who were selected to play a character for a production, is called a cast list, which is incorporated into a production company's daily call sheet, and reflected in the projects title sequence especially with film and television.
A common practice of many casting directors and casting associates in the United States have been casting director workshops. The types of workshop practices vary, but typically aspiring actors pay to perform in front of a casting professional who provides feedback on the performance. Actors and industry professionals against workshops argue that casting directors are paid to find talent, not have talent pay to be seen by them. Supporters of the workshops argue that the workshops have classroom like settings and are a good source of feedback and networking.
Because of their mixed reception, casting director workshops have not been met without controversy. Former Criminal Minds casting director Scott David was fired after The Hollywood Reporter published a story about his casting director workshops. In February 2017, five casting director workshops were charged with criminal charges for charging actors to audition for projects. In January 2018, Lindsay Chag, the casting director of films like Robin Hood: Men in Tights and Dracula: Dead and Loving It, was convicted guilty of violating the Talent Scam Prevention Act for her role in casting director workshops.
Readers: This person reads all other character's lines opposite the actor who is currently auditioning. A good reader is someone who has acting skills, but who has no interest in booking a role through that casting director's office at that time. For their audition sessions, casting offices will either bring in trusted actors as readers or will have one of the casting staff read with the actors. A reader will know how to give and take and play with other actors without ever outshining the auditioning actors.
Interns: Interns are more common to commercial casting offices, which host as many as a dozen different casting directors holding different auditions per day. While some commercial casting offices hold permanent casting space, many rent out studios on a project to project basis. A key intern will work with many busy casting directors sorting mail, copying sides and transcribing them onto "cue cards" or large boards to be read off of as prompts in the casting room, help actors sign in, and keep the flow of actors going in and out of the casting room as smooth as possible.
Casting Assistants: This is the entry-level position in the field of casting, but they act as much more than a typical office assistant. They cover the office phones, handle copying and filing, and set up audition (aka "session") equipment like lights, the camera, sound equipment, etc. They often assist in relaying audition appointments, checking actor avails, or in the casting room making sure the recording software is running smoothly so the Casting Director can focus on each actor's performance.
Casting Associates: Associate is the second chain of command in a casting office. After a casting associate has worked for two years in the field of casting, they can apply for membership in Casting Society of America. Typically, they work under a Casting Director running pre-read sessions, prepping deal memos, cutting audition sides, and making calls to talent agents. Many associates begin to take on smaller scale projects so they can amass enough credits to move up in rank to a full-fledged Casting Director.
Equity in representation has been of much discussion in Hollywood for many years. Productions do not always have a certain race or gender in mind for their starring role, but reports show disproportionate underrepresentation for women, people of color, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ actors in most media. UCLA's Hollywood Diversity Report and the Geena Davis Institute publish frequent and extensive research on the portrayal of diverse populations.
The national Canadian Screen Awards has presented an annual award for Best Casting in a Television Series since 2006. A new award for Best Casting in a Film is slated to be introduced in 2021.
The Prix Iris, the regional Canadian film awards for Quebec, introduced the Prix Iris for Best Casting in 2017.
In 2020, the British Academy Film Awards introduced the BAFTA Award for Best Casting.
The highest honor a casting director can receive in the United States is the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting. As of 2024, Junie Lowry-Johnson has won the most casting Emmys as an individual, all in the drama category. She has six awards for her work on NYPD Blue, Six Feet Under, True Blood and Homeland. The only shows to win casting Emmys three times were 30 Rock and Veep, both in the comedy category. In 2017, at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences introduced the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program.
The Casting Society of America members award their peers with the Artios Award, typically held mid-January annually with ceremonies in New York, Los Angeles, and (beginning in 2018) London. Artios comes from the Greek word meaning "perfectly fitted". The Artios Awards recognize excellence in casting for all genres of casting except commercials. At their incarnation in 1985, they were held in November but were moved in the 2013–2014 season to align with the rest of the film and television industry's awards season. The Artios is awarded to those CSA members who receive primary screen (or program) credit for casting on the winning project. Location casting directors, casting executives and department heads who are CSA members and who receive credit on winning projects also receive an Artios Award. CSA Associates on those projects are recognized in the press and with a certificate.
The significant organization of professional screen, television, reality, and theater casting in the US is the Casting Society of America (CSA), but membership is optional. Casting directors organized in 2005 and became members of a collective bargaining unit, the Hollywood Teamsters Local 399 and New York Teamsters Local 817.