page_title: Awake (TV series)
section_title: Casting
hierarchical_section_title: Awake (TV series) / Production / Casting
caption_attribution_description: Jason Isaacs in Leicester Square
context_page_description: Awake is an American police procedural fantasy drama television series that originally aired on NBC for one season from March 1 to May 24, 2012. The pilot episode had an early release on Hulu on February 16, 2012, two weeks before the series' premiere on television. Kyle Killen, the series' creator, was primarily responsible for the program's concept. Killen and David Slade served as executive producers of the pilot episode, and Killen continued producing the series along with Jeffrey Reiner and Howard Gordon.
  The show's central character is Michael Britten, a detective who works for the Los Angeles Police Department. In the first episode, Michael, his wife Hannah, and their son Rex get into a serious car accident. After the accident, he finds himself switching between two "realities" whenever he goes to bed—one in which Hannah was killed in the accident and one in which Rex died instead—and is unable to determine which reality is true. He uses details from each reality to solve cases in the other.
  Awake garnered critical praise, particularly for Isaacs' performance.
context_section_description: Isaacs was the first actor to be cast in the series, playing the role of the central character Michael Britten. "[The main character] was somebody that you couldn't decide if you liked or hated, and I think that [Michael]'s dilemma is something that we're not only sympathetic for, but somehow we want him to win." Producers of the show initially approached Michaela McManus to play Hannah Britten. However, Laura Allen was cast instead; McManus obtained the role of Tara (for which Allen originally auditioned).
  Dylan Minnette was cast as Rex Britten, Michael's son. He stated, "The process of getting the job actually went by really fast because the first audition Kyle Killen[...]was in the room, Jason [Isaacs] was in the room, the cast director was in the room and the director was in the room. David Slade. And they were all there, for the first audition and I was like 'Wow! Okay.'" Minnette received the role two weeks after his audition. Other cast members included Wilmer Valderrama and Steve Harris as Michael's partner in each reality, while Cherry Jones and BD Wong's characters were cast as Michael's therapists in separate realities. Wong left his role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit to join the cast of Awake. Laura Innes and Kevin Weismand had recurring roles as members of LAPD.
caption: Jason Isaacs was the first actor to be cast in the series.
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