In 1974, Sherry joined Talent Associates, as an executive in charge of development. When you work in television and when you work with really great material, you do get excited for this time of year. Casting Networks is a registered trademark of Casting Networks, LLC. But this is definitely a collaboration between Jack and Luca, and who teenagers are today, in this moment., [The character of Sam Pratchett] was really about mixing and matching with whoever [would be playing his girlfriend] Caitlin. She came in and was so natural, so funny. She was kind of in my head when I read it. We really kind of leave it up to the actor. I feel like I get him. She had been around and doing guest star work, but to get a series regular gig was a big step for her., Poorna has for most of her career been a dramatic actress, and she was like, I never get to come in on comedies because nobody thinks Im funny, says Greenstein about the role of Devis mother for Jagannathan. Quickly send your headshot and resume to hundreds of casting directors, agents, and managers. Its also an emotional drama. Good lighting is typical, and shooting from the right angle, and just be yourself in the slate. And our associate, Alyssa Morris, did the same with the smaller roles. TV casting directors receiving multiple nominations include Alexa L. Fogel (The Politician, . Scott says Dead to Me is a comedy, but its very down to earth. He just had a great rawness and innocence., As Sams older brother Craig, Corey had not had any experience. Russell Scott: The show is a comedy, but tonally it is pretty tricky because its also a mystery. Her role in "Barry" came about thanks to its casting director, nine-time Emmy nominee Sherry Thomas, as well as the Hollywood satire's dedication to meta humor. My partner Sherry Thomas, who casts the show with me, and I have a history of colorblind casting, so we're always looking for the best actor. You guys cast this while everything was locked down. A lot of times in these teenage parts, you have 20-year-olds playing 15, and that wasnt the case, says Cuba, who wanted the coming-of-age roles to be occupied by fresh faces. If its a co-star role and its one scene, a few lines, two takes. And were really fing funny! These are edited excerpts from that conversation. Livin' the dream. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. So, I got that part covered. Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. The others laugh a little. Im always thrilled when stunt casting works, because people immediately feel a sense of connection by knowing somebody from the past, he says. Everything was requested self-tapes, so we would discuss ideas with them for the series regulars, our main players in the piece. What kind of challenges are there for a show like that where you are three seasons in already? Those interested in learning more about the stacked list of TV and film titles on her rsum can find them listed on IMDb. Did you specify that in the breakdowns or did you have to redirect people? We were really happy with the outcome of that! Its good to be (Regina) King: The Oscar winner might win her fourth Emmy for her portrayal of Angela Aybar/Sister Night in Watchmen., The Doctor is in: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was a surprise choice to play Dr. Manhattan in HBOs Watchmen.. Listen, come to my office and Ill do your hair youll be fine. You really want to buy into that environment. I started exploring acting once I got to LA and met a casting director named Victoria Burrows, who kind of took me under her wing. Sherry Thomas: Theres an energy. Sorry I had to jump in because he is very humble! Get our L.A. He felt just perfect for Bruce. So, I get an idea for the cadence and tone of the role, which I add to what I already have about it on paper. No. I dont think it took an hour for every creative to say, Shes perfect. , The most exciting thing is taking that actor everybody sees one way and flipping expectations, Bialy says. Deadline Media, Get our free, urgent prediction updates and news, 9 Emmy nominees you didnt know were already on Netflix: , Leaderboards: See All Past Prediction Accuracy Scores, Leaderboards: Best Prediction Accuracy Scores for Film, TV and Music Awards, Leaderboards: Best TV Show Predictions by Gold Derby Users, Find a User or Expert / Download Gold Derbys Free, New App. From encouraging this writer about her questionable hair choices to estimating how many times shes forgotten to pick her kids up from school, Thomas candor in our interview provided an intriguing look into the person behind all the casting credits. The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Barry and many, many more, they are one of the top casting offices out there. We all miss it. And at that time, there were not vaccination mandates in place. Weve always requested self-tapes and explored actors from all over the world. Alice Lee was just a discovery. I dont have to deal with traffic or anything like that, but being in the room, I totally miss. . You were also nominated for your work on the third season of The Handmaids Tale. And then there were some people that we redirected and from the day players up to our more significant roles that were prominent in the piece. Will Dominion-Fox News lawsuit be different? For Lady Sherlock series publicity inquiries (media coverage, review copies, and interviews), please contact Tara O'Connor at Penguin Random House With self-tapes and zoom callbacks. Wow. Sherry Thomas Lane is on Facebook. This is my first experience with Luca, so the process involved me figuring out how he defines a lot of the things in the script. He is so wonderful. Women of that level and age arent coming in to read at that point in their careers, so we kept combing through this huge list. She came in for Mo [Zoeys neighbor, played by gender-fluid actor Alex Newell], and everybody remembered her when we were casting [Zoeys sister-in-law] Emily, says Ulrich. AD: I imagine one of the more interesting challenges of that character is finding someone who can believably portray someone who has both dated Ana (Diana-Maria Riva) and Judy. Oscars 2023: Just How Many Oscars Will Everything, Everywhere All at Once Win? All of a sudden were like, Guys, shouldnt we make sure he wants to do this? recalls Collin Daniel of the role that was part narrator, part Voice of God, and all affectionate snark. The Shield was my favorite show at the time, and its still in my top five. For Dead to Mes second season, Scott said the main task was finding the new love interest for Linda Cardellinis character. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. He was the heart of the show the first season., Andrew is absolutely hilarious. I can tell you that after 22 years of covering the Oscars that they are mostly meaningless. To see somebody with natural comedic timing who really got the nuances of the scenes and really got the multidimensional character she wasnt just reading lines. Required fields are marked *. As for the ladies favorite guest stars over the years, they bring special attention to Charles Baker (Skinny Pete), Matt Jones (Badger) and Daniel and Luis Moncada (the Cousins), but they admit that Emmy nominee Mark Margolis may be their favorite casting scoop for the show. Facebook Icon. We got so many emails from agents asking, Where did you find these actors? Everybody was blown away, says Greenstein. Jonathans secretary. ST: It is a challenge when there are so many components beyond Are they a great actor? and Are they right for the part? The age had to be right so that it felt right appropriate for Diana. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. We discussed a bunch of people [for the role of Caitlins father, an Army lieutenant] and then it just felt natural for Scott and Luca to meet. Sherry was born in Chicago and pursued an acting career after graduating from Northwestern University. We went back to our theatre brains, and Laila Robins is someone I had seen over 25 years ago doing The Real Thing opposite Jeremy Irons. Thats what I did back in 2012 after my second daughter was born. And from there, we would have further discussion or conversation. Then there are recent series like Vanessa Bayers I Love That for You and Danny McBrides The Righteous Gemstones. What is the craziest audition story that you have? We started back in February of 2020, right before everything shut down, so Covid added some new challenges and parameters that we had to work within. Often times we are reading more people for those roles than anything else. In person its almost distracting how gorgeous she is, says Ingram. ST: Russell worked very, very hard on that. As continuing shows, all three series have established universes and tones, says Thomas. (photo: Mark Seliger/FOX) Welcome to tvDownload's " Ask a Casting Director ," a new series in which we talk to the men and women . Kids is the movie that made me recognize that this was something I could do, and the first movie I did on my own as a casting director was a movie called Bully, which was by the same director as Kids [Larry Clark]. Shes the real deal.. This weekend, we'll hear from three more guilds: the ACE (Eddie Awards), the ASC, and the WGA. Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas - casting directors HBO: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: Season 2: Cindy Tolan - casting director Amazon: Russian Doll: Season 1: Christine Kromer - casting director Netflix: Veep: Season 7: Dorian Frankel and Sibby Kirchgessner - casting directors HBO: 2020s. We didnt want someone who would be instantly recognizable to the world. It is how we really modulate a performance. As long as the work doesnt suffer, why cant we also participate in the lives of our kids? Primetime Emmy Awards. Its really wonderful to see that. She and Bialy relied on their stable of talent from decades in the profession. We started talking with her agent, and they basically said to make sure this was the direction we wanted to go in because if Katey found out she would certainly want to do it. I didnt know anyone here, but was a manager at The Gap at the time and got transferred to an LA location of the store. The bar has been set and we set it for ourselves as creative people with high standards. He once told me, Youre weird too. . Sign up to get must-read entertainment headlines and audition advice delivered to your inbox every weekday. Learn more about how we use cookies. I want to get a sense of who they are, and how they handle text, and what they bring to the table in terms of choices, well watch it the whole way through because were educating ourselves. I appreciate that insight into collaborating with such a talented multi-hyphenate. ST: Not for us particularly. Sign up for emails from Casting Networks News. Elaine Doremus. A lot of casting people their choices have shifted to self-tapes and some of them only self-tapes, but for us our choice will always to be in the room with actors. When we started out, I was her associate for about two years, and then we became partners. It seems that reboots are a dime a dozen these days. When you read that someone is meant to be beautiful, what does Luca think beautiful is? says Cuba. We were trying to find the perfect person that would excite Liz to the point where she would want to continue writing for if the character came back. Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. It was really about getting Devi and her mother cast, as they are the heart of the story, says Greenstein. And now jumping to present day, congrats are in order regarding the recent Emmy nomination you received with Sharon Bialy for your teams work casting Barry. We ended up moving the schedule around a little bit for her through communication with her reps and our production team. When Breaking Bad started, we really rebelled and kept looking for stand-up actors. So now, if I leave at one oclock today [at time of interview] to go pick up my kids from camp, its OK. This website uses cookies. The vampire mockumentary series was a surprise Emmys 2020 comedy series nominee, but dont look for hidden meaning behind the fun, say its writers. Did you experience a lot of actors who struggled to nail the specific tone and how did you help them get there in the audition room? Mindy did, probably, because she had her on The Mindy Project. Lets try it. That helps give me the essence of what Bill has in mind, and then as I get him going, hell just start going into the characters dialogue in a voice that reflects how he hears it in his head. He hadnt done anything either. Despite the mega success of Breaking Bad at the Emmys including three acting wins for Bryan Cranston, a pair for Aaron Paul and one for Anna Gunn casting directors Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas have been mysteriously overlooked by the TV Academy year after year. Hes not afraid to try things. I truly love doing hair and have always told people that if I somehow just sh-t the bed and was no longer able to be in casting, I would do hair instead. Specialties: Catastrophe Modeling<br>Portfolio Management<br>Reinsurance Pricing | Learn more about Sherry Thomas's work experience, education, connections & more by visiting their profile on LinkedIn Being in the room with actors is so exciting, especially when youre discovering talent. For the full interview, check out the video below or on YouTube. There were large party scenes, and large office scenes, and so you had to be very, very careful. In the case of Lawrence Gilliard, that role was. For Perry Mason (originally set to star Robert Downey Jr., who serves as executive producer with his wife, Susan), casting directors Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas discussed their suggestions for each role with director and executive producer Timothy Van Patten. To say I was enthused was another thing. Literally, we were all just howling because she just got it., We needed a Jake from Sixteen Candles, someone brooding and obviously swoon-worthy and somebody that Devis going to have a mad crush on, Greenstein says of the protagonists love interest, Paxton Hall-Yoshida. The Commander that Christopher Meloni played [Commander Winslow] was challenging because often times the first script doesnt tell you what the journey is going to be. Sherry Thomas: I think it is a little bit of both. Sherry Thomas: If a reader is really distracting, its not about the reader, its about the actor. I think Chris Meloni brought so much value to that role. Send it to the producers. By Vinnie Mancuso 12/30/15 10:00am. We can explain things like tone. In 1975 she joined MGM as an executive story editor. As part of our inaugural BackstageFest, longtime casting directors Theo Park ("Ted Lasso," "Master of None"), Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas ("Perry Mason," "The Comey Rule," "The. We rely so heavily on the loudness, and the shoutiness, and the calling out ideas and really kind of collaborating in that way. I mean, that had to have been completely It was all brand new. And especially for kids, dont try that hard in the slate to be liked and all of that, its just, Hey, Im Lance Carter, Im five foot 10. Hes being very humble right now, but it took a lot of strategizing and basically producing. Alphonse is truly an incredibly skilled actor, Ingram says. Sharon Bialy: I think thats the exciting thing about casting, and Ill speak for my partner. Shifting gears again, I have a true get-to-know-you question. In some hypothetical situation in which you had to choose a different career, what would your profession be? I personally just do my best to be as organized as possible and stay present in the moment, taking it one day at a time. SB: It will change, but we are hoping once this is over to be able to go back to that mixture of in-person and self-tapes. 2021 Nominee Primetime Emmy: Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series . One of their latest shows, the wonderful The Shrink Next Door, just finished its run on Apple+ and the pair took some time out of their busy schedule to talk about casting the show, their thoughts and advice on self-tapes and much more! It was the soul of the actor and what [showrunner Bruce Miller] was looking for.. Aug. 21, 2020 2 PM PT. RS: A lot of times those small roles are the hardest to cast. Im fully vaxed. Boom. I think actors dont think it happens, and it does. We checked in on her, and the challenging part was convincing producers to take a chance on an actor that youre very familiar with but they might not be. Now, I would never assume that Melissa McCarthy would be so interested in my life that she would say yes to playing me in a series about it. But then she had also read with us on Danny McBrides Vice Principles. But now that the show has cooked its last batch of blue meth and said goodbye to the Albuquerque sunset, Bialy and Thomas finally heard their names called on nominations morning, along with Kiira Arai, in the Best Drama Casting category. It is one of our most rewarding jobs., [John McEnroe] was in the original script, and I remember nobody was dealing with it. RS: We worked through a lot of hard work and cooperation between our production and the movie because she is someone who really understood the tone of the show. And so, were sitting in the session, and he walks in and everybody says, hi. Hes a wonderful actor. He doesnt necessarily work with people twice in a row, so we didnt immediately go to Regina, says Thomas. Weve been able to give multiple women over a certain age really complex material. The Envelope spoke with some of TVs top casting directors about their part in helping stories get told and actors get Emmy nominated. RS: With Katey, we wanted someone who is very special because there is a lot to unpack there with Lindas mother being in prison. But even with such a rsum, the highly sought-after casting director came across as nothing short of a grounded, down-to-earth individual when she sat down with Casting Networks via Zoom. She was shooting a movie here in LA. Every actor that comes in, even if they dont get the job, we keep a lot of notes . Well often write notes like, Remember for BCS because theres a naturalistic approach to the acting on the show; its not showy at all. She read the whole book in like 48 hours. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present, and emerging. Theres a lot of complexity to the role and we needed someone funny. You dont have to drive an hour and a half to two hours for an audition when youre getting the pages two or three days before. The age had to be appropriate so there would be chemistry with Linda. And my sister has had her own salon for about 35 years now its called the Hairspace Salon in Easthampton, Massachusetts. AD: One of the reasons the show has become so popular is because of the way it straddles this really thin line between comedy and drama in ways we rarely see on television. And Sherry was like, Shes so smart. Casting Yvonne Strahovskis mother, we needed someone who could be formidable. Do you guys prefer two takes on the self-tape? With larger roles, you have time to build an arc, but with something so small, the challenge is how to make it memorable. Im in LA. It was a surprise to us. Luckily he did. But if it is a more substantial role with several scenes, two is fine to send to us. It was really sort of a meeting of the minds and people coming together on the choices. Its about finding complex and compelling actors that can bring nuance even to comedy. Moderated by Mara Webster, In Creative Company. RT: Can we just put Rhea Seehorn in here? Thats why the character [club owner Uncle Clifford] is so exciting and real because Nicco is willing to take those risks., Shannon [as dancer Keyshawn] is shockingly gorgeous. In the meantime, make your predictions for Best Drama Series below the interview using our easy drag-and-drop menu. gofund.me/2fffe14f Posts Reels Videos Tagged Search Log In Sign Up It was fun to be able to draw on somebody that I had thought was so talented for so long.. The Emmys may be in September but its never too early to look out for potential nominees, including Succession, Schitts Creek and Phoebe Waller-Bridge. We wanted to see her because we were such huge fans from all the things that shes done, especially The Night Of. Sherry Thomas: Yeah. And I think you can do that because you have more time, youre at home. Over the course of my daughters lives my oldest is going to be 12 in September and my youngest is 10 Ive probably forgotten to pick them up from school about 20 times. So weve always cast in a broad, worldly way. Sherry Lansing. How do you like the way casting is right now? And so I said, Oh my God, oh my God, Michael Rispoli is going to be in town from New York and we need to get him in. Our approach to that is a direct line of communication. Of course she would have a crush on him. Darren was somebody who had this quality that was a little mysterious, obviously very handsome and surprisingly funny., We never really expected there to be a love triangle, because in the pilot Devi and Ben are just so nasty and mean toward each other.