A Casting Director selects actors for roles, working closely with directors and producers to find talent that fits the characters and vision of a production.
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Working Life
The Casting Director works closely with the director and producer, as head of the casting department. They must find the best available actor for each role based on performance, but also on other factors such as experience, skills, and box-office appeal.
Role and Responsibilities
- Draw on their vast casting knowledge and their networks of both emerging and existing talent and talent pools.
- Work closely with the director and producer during the pre-production, breaking down the script and gaining a strong sense of the creative ambitions of the director.
- Work within the casting budget, planning, and carrying out casting auditions and interviews in various locations or through electronic casting.
- Publicise and manage a scout as required.
- Plan and manage open castings, auditions, and cataloguing talent.
- Keep dialogue open and find solutions to any casting issues that might arise.
Qualities - Casting Director
Is this role right for me?
For this role, you need:
Comprehensive knowledge of a wide range of actors, their specific talents, work, background, industry profile, and representatives.
Skills, instinct, and the ability to find new, as well as established, talent, and a wide network of contacts across the industry.
Understanding of the actors’ salary quotes and the budget of the film.
Ability to understand what director is striving to achieve creatively in the film and how to achieve these goals through casting.
Great communication skills.
Interests - Casting Director
This occupation is typically suited for people with the following Career Interests:
Creative
Creative people are drawn to careers and activities that enable them to take responsibility for the design, layout or sensory impact of something (visual, auditory etc). They may be atrracted to the traditional artistic pursuits such as painting, sculpture, singing, or music. Or they may show more interest in design activities, such as architecture, animation, or craft areas, such as pottery and ceramics.
Creative people use their personal understanding of people and the world they live in to guide their work. Creative people like to work in unstructured workplaces, enjoy taking risks and prefer a minimum of routine.
Enterprising
Enterprising people like situations that involve using resources for personal or corporate economic gain. Such people may have an opportunistic frame of mind, and are drawn to commerce, trade and making deals. Some pursue sales and marketing occupations. Many will eventually end up owning their own business, or in management roles in larger organisations. They tend to be very goal-oriented and work best when focused on a target. Some have an entrepreneurial inclination.
Entry / Progression - Casting Director
Education Route: A qualification in Film Studies can be useful. Regardless of education, several years of experience is essential.
Career Path to Casting Director: There are no usual career paths for the Casting Director. Often, they would have worked their way through the Casting Department.
Career Path from Casting Director: Senior Casting Director/Head of Casting, Executive Producer/Talent Executive, Creative Director.
