Casting Director

A Casting Director oversees the selection of talent for a film, television, or stage production. But while “Director” is right there in the job title, many Casting Directors don’t actually have total authority in Actor choice. Instead, you are given the guidelines for finding a certain kind of person – with a specific gender, age range, ethnicity, etc. – by the Director, and perhaps even the Producer, and must align your casting choices to those specifications.

You work during the pre-production stage of the movie. Day-to-day tasks could include sitting on a panel of Casting Associates and sifting through thousands of people for a select few (or few-hundred, if you’re needing a ton of Extras ), or making a (near) final decision on who’s going to star in the next big blockbuster, then presenting that choice to the Director for approval.

Sometimes the Casting Director doesn’t even have to show up until the last casting call, while all of the preliminary work is done by Casting Assistants. But you’ll be there to decide if it’s Kate, Angelina, or Jennifer who’s ready for her close-up.