What Does A Casting Director Do?

Casting directors play a very important part in the success of a production. They are responsible for finding the best candidates available for filling specific roles in film, television, commercial, theatrical, music video, and print productions. Although they do not have the final say in who is selected for a role, they offer a highly specialized skill in gathering the most suitable actors for projects based on the physical requirements of a character as well as whether or not an actor would be believable playing the character.

Casting directors begin by reading a script and talking to the producers, directors and writers to get a better idea of the type of person the production needs to fill a certain role. Casting directors meet with thousands of actors each year. They rely on their excellent memory to pull from actors they already know who may be good fit for the role, and they are also continuously scouting for new talent and consulting with their networks to find new actors they have not yet seen in action.

Patience and the ability to articulate thoughts and ideas are essential qualities for a casting director to have. Casting directors must be able to recognize an actor’s strengths for a particular role even if their initial audition isn’t perfect and offer tips for pulling an exemplary performance from them. Knowing details about actors’ personal lives can sometimes help casting directors pick the right people for auditions as those personal details may help actors connect with a character’s background story.

A casting director’s contribution to the success of a project is sometimes overlooked. However, history was just made as Lynn Stalmaster became the first casting director to be formally recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2016. Casting directors can create stars out of unknown talent, and they can also push actors who are typically seen in the same types of productions over and over again into delivering outstanding performances in completely different genres.

In Nevada, we have casting directors with several decades of experience and thousands of credits. If you are looking for casting directors for your next project, check out our online Nevada Production Directory for a list of casting directors in Nevada or drop by our office and pick up a free printed directory!

If you are a casting director in Nevada and are not yet listed in our Nevada Production Directory, you can learn more about how to sign up for the NPD here.

Bonus Video

Learn more about some very basic dos and don’ts for making a good first impression on a casting director below:

“Confessions of a Casting Director – Audition Dos and Don’ts” by Dey Street Books

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