The casting director reads the script, contacts agents, and organizes auditions to find the best actor or actress for a role. If you like the idea of vetting actors and having a lot of influence on film productions, this could be a great job for you.
Below, we’ll explain what it takes to become a casting director. Plus, you’ll find everything you need to know about the role, including key responsibilities, education and experience needed, finding work, salary expectations, and more.
What Is a Casting Director?
Casting directors are in charge of the whole casting process. They find, audition, and hire actors for all roles within a film. This includes lead actors, supporting, and background talent.
The casting director starts work in the early stages of pre-production. To start, they read the script and create a script breakdown. This is a list of all actors mentioned throughout the screenplay and details of the characters’ physical features.
Next, the casting director creates character profiles and begins the search for actors. They use their contacts, approach agents, and create ads. They then hold several rounds of auditions, which may be done in person or online. In addition to auditioning the actors, they gather headshots and additional information from them.
Once they’ve found potential actors, the casting director shows them to the director and producer, who have the final say in who gets hired. Their final job is to help oversee the actors’ work agreements.
What Does a Casting Director Do?
| Pre-production | – Create a script breakdown – Find actors for all roles – Hold acting auditions – Work with agents – Oversee contracts |
| Production | N/A |
| Post-production | N/A |
How to Become a Casting Director
Essential casting director skills:
- Full knowledge of filmmaking
- Understanding the art of acting
- Research and planning
- Teamwork
- Communication skills
- Budgeting
- Networking skills
- Contract negotiation and creation
The casting director needs to understand how different factors play a part in hiring an actor for the screen. For example, it’s important that an actor looks right for the role and has star quality. The casting director also has to consider the film’s budget.
Their ability to source the best talent is also a critical component of their job. As a result, they need to be able to make contacts within the industry. So, being well-connected to actors, agents, and producers, and knowing the best places to go to find them — like film festivals and theater shows — is crucial.
As such, casting directors need to master a wide variety of skills in order to do the job well.
This often starts by getting a degree in performing arts, film, or media studies. A college degree isn’t always necessary though. There are a lot of classes and online filmmaking courses that teach the basics of filmmaking and the art of acting.
Another way to master the skills needed for the job is through work experience. Many start as trainees or casting assistants. In fact, many people who end up in this role started in an entry-level position like casting assistant.
Casting assistants help with basic admin tasks. For example, they call agents and book audition rooms. Doing this is beneficial as it will allow you to learn while getting paid. It’s also a great way to make initial contacts.
Finding Casting Director Jobs
At the start of your career, you’ll find entry-level roles on job listing websites for the film industry. These jobs include casting assistants, office runners, and general production assistants. You can also go to casting company websites. Some of them advertise jobs there.
Another way to break into this role is to work as a casting director on small projects. Doing this allows you to get the hang of the job and make contacts, which you can later leverage into working on bigger film sets.
Yet another way to start working as a casting director is to start your own agency. Networking will be especially crucial if you go this route as you’ll need to gain the trust of actors, producers, and directors when you’re new to the industry.
How Much Money Do Casting Directors Make?
Minimum pay rate for casting directors: $34/hour
There are various factors that affect how much production crew members earn. This goes for casting directors as well.
For instance, the type of project, the size of the production, and the budget can all impact your earning potential. Your experience in the industry as well as working as a casting director will also get factored into your pay rate.