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. There was somebody we just couldnt hire recently that is absolutely not known for comedy. Were in a very different time and our priorities are a little different, but it doesnt take away from the pride of it and the love and passion we have for it. If we cant connect its very hard to do our jobs. Lets try it. I mean, that had to have been completely It was all brand new. He once told me, Youre weird too. . Awards. Back in 2019, Jones played. Im getting goosebumps right now just thinking about it. AD: Im sure you cant say anything about the final season, but Im curious if you have a dream guest actor that you think would fit perfectly into the world of the show? Natalies name came up at the very beginning, and she is someone who Liz liked but we were originally told she wasnt available. You dont have to try to crack jokes and just be yourself. But what they dont realize is that not only are they watching closely, they might actually be looking straight into the actors souls. 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. ST: I think thats one of the reasons we love to be in the room with actors and why right now it is really hard with the world of COVID. Casting Director. 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. So, there you have it. We also share information about your use of our website with our social media and web analytics partners. And it worked! Sherry Thomas Lane is on Facebook. Hes not afraid to try things. Will Dominion-Fox News lawsuit be different? Yahya took a leap of faith. Join Facebook to connect with Sherry Thomas Lane and others you may know. [Laughs] I love them, as well as my husband, and we all have fun together. Get to Know the Casting Director: Sherry Thomas Cat Elliott August 2, 2022 It's hard to pick just a handful of credits that cover the breadth and depth of Sherry Thomas' casting rsum. Mindy did, probably, because she had her on The Mindy Project. Three if theres one in there that you just want to give it a shot. In 1974, Sherry joined Talent Associates, as an executive in charge of development. 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. Once the lead was in place, the other puzzle pieces of this ethnically and neuro-diverse cast started to land. Actors often think casting directors hardly even pay attention during their auditions. Jonathan [Masons employer], was the first one. 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. Shifting gears again, I have a true get-to-know-you question. RS: It was a very extensive search. Sharon Bialy: Also, because sometimes youre only getting a couple of pages, so you have to guess and when youre in the room, we can give you context. Fuck yeah!. They tell the story of when they had to call Margolis in New York and ask him to put himself on tape, despite the fact that his character had no lines. Good lighting is typical, and shooting from the right angle, and just be yourself in the slate. And it happens. Casting director Sherry Thomas (The Righteous Gemstones, Better Call Saul) explains if she has any tells when auditioning actors and how she wants them to fe. They also discuss what its like to be casting directors in the middle of a pandemic and if they think their profession is permanently changed by it. Sherry Thomas, Casting Director. We had readings for that part. AD: Before we jump into the new characters of the second season, I wanted to talk about the shocking twist at the beginning of the season; the return of James Marsden with a new character. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter. Everything was requested self-tapes, so we would discuss ideas with them for the series regulars, our main players in the piece. Gohar Gazazyan, Casting Director. AD: Except for Emmy voters for whatever frustrating reason. ST: I think this year is so off kilter. He did come in and audition and just blew everybody away., The most fun bit of casting was the fact that Mo was written as a woman. Were just gonna shove everybody out of the way! So, I was working with Shawn Ryan and Sharon was working with David Mamet, I mean, it was like a big deal. Thomas says of the then-not-so-well-known Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, I kind of always knew Yahya was it. Its when I really first started, when I was having a lot of autonomy with Sharon. Matthew Dodsons father is not a role he typically plays. Once we started to figure out that it was Jordan [Kristine Seamn], Ben was a perfect match. You can see so many more people for a role, because you can take chances because you dont have to slot people in to 15-minute time periods with the producers. ST: Not for us particularly. Two different ways? Were just gonna have a great time.. And also sometimes not having all the producers in the room gives the actor, even on a zoom call back with us, we can play with them more and theyre not trying to please everybody, theyre just concentrating on the work. Legitimately dead? We had no idea that was the plan. Finding actors that can understand the unique tone of the show, one that balances gut-wrenching trauma with unexpected comedy, is an intricate task. They have to be funny and in the moment with so few lines, and that is such a hard thing to do. Now in the shows second season, casting directors Sherry Thomas and Russell Scott were tasked with the challenge of expanding on that world and filling out an ensemble that were able to keep up with Applegate and Cardellini. Its definitely a world that were extremely interested in.. She cites the scenes with Mark Proksch as energy vampire Colin Robinson in his workplace. She is a positive, light person, and that carries into her portrayal of [dancer] Gidget. RT: Can we just put Rhea Seehorn in here? Better Call Saul, were not even allowed to give you anything. 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. 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. It was the biggest casting search weve ever done in our career, says Daniel. Elaine Doremus. 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. Once I opened that door, though, there was no going back. And then, Sherry, you redirected me to do something. For Dead to Mes second season, Scott said the main task was finding the new love interest for Linda Cardellinis character. Sherry was born in Chicago and pursued an acting career after graduating from Northwestern University. Interview: Jeremy Davis on Playing Olaf in Frozen, Costume Mishaps and Making the Role His Own, Interview: Casting Director Kim Coleman on Five Days at Memorial, Self-Tape Tips and Portraying Real People, Interview: David Christopher Wells on His Role in To Kill a Mockingbird, Being an Understudy and Getting His MFA, Interview: Clifton Collins Jr. and Molly Parker on Jockey, Research and Bad Auditions, Ted Lasso Star Phil Dunster on How He Got the Role of Jamie Tartt, Theres No Such Thing As Chemistry In Acting. It was really about getting Devi and her mother cast, as they are the heart of the story, says Greenstein. I mean, its just, its incredible. To say I was enthused was another thing. These are edited excerpts from that conversation. ST: I mean I cant even Its ridiculous. You do a drama and they say you can only do drama. Having her name value in that role grounded the whole office., For Skylars role, we auditioned lots and lots of great people, says Ulrich of the co-worker character with romantic potential. I feel like I get him. What is the craziest audition story that you have? Why Netflix is dabbling in livestreaming. So, we really didnt do any producer sessions over Zoom. Sharon Bialy: I think actors often think, Oh, they only think of me for this. This story first appeared in a January stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Sign up to get must-read entertainment headlines and audition advice delivered to your inbox every weekday. 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. Instead its all of the supporting players, the day players, because you have to have great actors, the majority of who are in scenes with Christina and Linda. But if it is a more substantial role with several scenes, two is fine to send to us. Elarica leads more with vulnerability, and Brandee leads more with strength. gofund.me/2fffe14f Posts Reels Videos Tagged Search Log In Sign Up The Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. 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. Alphonse is truly an incredibly skilled actor, Ingram says. Backstage provides its members with the best tools to grow their careers in the performing arts. Our job is to connect with people to bring out the best performance. Unsurprisingly, the series' casting directors are Sharon Bialy and Sherry Thomas, who have each been nominated for seven Emmy Awards for casting. AD: The biggest addition of the second season was the character of Michelle, who is played by Natalie Morales. Sometimes the nomination day is like Christmas morning, but this year we completely forgot. 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. He put himself on tape, and Tim really responded to his audition [for the beat-cop role].. 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. We actually hit the limit of how many emails Gmail can accept in a day. After Kaling posted the open call on her social media and more than 13,000 submissions poured in, the duo discovered Toronto-based, then-17-year-old Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. Victoria Thomas, who is nominated this year for casting both Insecure (with Matthew Maisto) and Watchmen (with Megan Lewis), said the latter had unusual secrecy concerns: There were dummy sides or fake names on a breakdown. We received a lot of calls from agents and managers who loved the show with their clients who would love to be a part of it. Disclaimer: Daily Actor at times uses affiliate links to sites like Amazon.com, streaming services, and others. Was that something you were both conscious of when originally casting him? Its just a wonderful place to be to be able to cast these amazing actresses from Frances Conroy to Katey Sagal to Valerie Mahaffey. And our associate, Alyssa Morris, did the same with the smaller roles. I think we all miss being in the room with actors and I think a lot of the actors miss it as well, because theres something that you just get from being in the room with someone and the ability to play. Sharon Bialy: I think theres going to be a hybrid. And I think that people know her in one lane and it was very exciting. 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. ST: I dont think any character was as challenging as Natalies. I had the highest hopes and no idea that he could sing as well as he could sing. Shes just perfect. 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. Were they names you wanted from the beginning, and did you go out of your way to reunite Katey and Christina Applegate? When you guys watch a self-tape, how long do you spend on it until you move on. Sauls Rhea Seehorn was one they called in many times before she booked the key Kim Wexler role. ST: We hadnt discussed the idea in general, probably because of the previous relationship with Christina, and we didnt want to pull anybody out of it. 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? (photo: Mark Seliger/FOX) Welcome to tvDownload's " Ask a Casting Director ," a new series in which we talk to the men and women . Send it to the producers. 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. With Tyler as Diamond, when you see him experience that, you dont question whether or not thats his truth., We all loved [Harriett] from the beginning. Alyssa Morris is our associate on this project and it was really, honestly the first time were working on a project where all of us are not together. John Lithgow, for E.B. When we started out, I was her associate for about two years, and then we became partners. She even officiated when my husband and I were married. But filling the role of a Sherman Oaks-grown teenager of South Asian heritage proved harder than expected. 2023 Gold Derby Media, LLC. We had lots of auditions. Survivor Users Leaderboard Coming Soon! Thats how we kept bringing up Natalie Morales. We were so touched that people were really moved by the show and actually watched it. Sign Up. Thomas says, His agent called me: Oh my God, Vicky, we just learned who he was! and they screamed. And I think were all waiting for the moment in time where we can be together again, for sure. Alice Lee was just a discovery. 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. I recently got a perm, Sherry, and its been a real challenge. Contact To get in touch with Sherry, use the contact form below or send her an email at sherry @ sherrythomas.com (w/o spaces). 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Sherry Thomas: Yeah. It seems that reboots are a dime a dozen these days. Sometimes Clement will become inspired by the actors. Bradley Whitford @BradleyWhitford 10 months ago. Get to Know the Casting Director: Sherry Thomas, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. So we can say, No, this is the Bob Odenkirk character youre reading with. And its like, oh, a light bulb goes off, but we cant in email. In this case, its Jane, only in the fact that the public did not know that she was a singer. This interview has been edited and condensed. Id actually liken it to the audition process. Wow. Shes fantastic. Stars Sharon Bialy Theo Park Lucinda Syson See production, box office & company info Add to Watchlist Photos Add photo Top cast It is one of our most rewarding jobs., [John McEnroe] was in the original script, and I remember nobody was dealing with it. And sometimes the sides are fake. Sharon Bialy: Sometimes well know somebody really well and have them read and literally in two lines, Im like, thats it, shes the one. I obviously knew of him, but he was a friend of Austins, so he suggested him, and he is so great on the show., John I also knew because he was in What/If. We really needed someone for that role who would be able to come in and immediately keep up with Linda, Christina, and James who had already gelled. For the full interview, check out the video below or on YouTube. Kay says, I met with [showrunners Jemaine Clement and Paul Simms] in the beginning, and they were like, You know, just bring us good faces. Top Gun: Maverick, Banshees of Inisherin, All Quiet on the Western Front Win at MPSE. Mercedes is the one who draws all the crowds into The Pynk, so you have to have someone that has this magnetism about them., Oh, what can you say? 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. sherrythomaslane Follow 284 posts 5,086 followers 587 following Sherry Thomas Lane Casting Director / Owner @ Bialy Thomas & Associates Blue collar Northampton, MA native who is Livin' the dream. 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.. Hes like 6-foot-5, hes got this huge fro. When you read that someone is meant to be beautiful, what does Luca think beautiful is? says Cuba. 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. Casting Networks uses cookies to analyze our traffic and to personalize content and ads. Scott says Dead to Me is a comedy, but its very down to earth. After appearing in two films, Loving (1970) and Rio Lobo (1970), Sherry decided to leave the acting field. I wrote a brief commentary of why there was only one Emily Dodson [mother of kidnapped boy]. If life begins at conception, why aren't Republicans making sure that the men who cause pregnancies take any responsibility? Her emotional depth and ability, in the scene, to always find the deepest but most surprising way to play it, is amazing and then to be able to sing on top of it. 2023 Oscar Nominee: Director Santiago Mitre on Why the Message Behind Argentina, 1985 Remains More Relevant Than Ever, 2023 Oscar Nominee Fire of Love: How Editors and Co-Writers Erin CasperandJocelyne Chaput Crafted the Krafft Love Story, Double Oscar Nominee & Producer Shane Boris Talks What Fire of Love & Navalny Have in Common, Inaugural Television Publicity Executives Committee (TPEC) Submissions Are Now Open, Amazons Daisy Jones and the Six is the First Great Limited Series of 2023, Melissa Rauch On Presiding Over a New Night Court Era, 'The Morning Show' Director Mimi Leder on Why Cable is Better for Female Characters. Sherry Thomas is represented by the brilliant Kristin Nelson of . I dont know if theres a generic answer that fits every person when it comes to managing work/life balance, though. 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. Sharon Bialy: I think thats the exciting thing about casting, and Ill speak for my partner. Casting Yvonne Strahovskis mother, we needed someone who could be formidable. RS: A lot of times those small roles are the hardest to cast. Hes daring. You also have to believe that that actor is capable of things you havent seen them do before. We were able to find actors like Ericka Kreutz who played Shandys mother, and you had Adora Bricher who played Shandy who is amazing as the dark, dark little girl. 2023 Casting Networks, LLC. 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. Weve always requested self-tapes and explored actors from all over the world. You might look at the character of Lil Murda and think you know this person, but you dont. Sherry Thomas: Yeah, it was. So, I got that part covered. It felt like he was going to be her enemy the whole time, Greenstein says of Lewisons character, Ben Gross. And then we pulled from that to go and seek out the right people for the roles. Skylar is obviously a name, but hes also just a real standout, an extraordinary singer and actor., Michael Thomas Grant, who plays [rival coworker] Leif, I knew from The Glee Project, says the casting director. Luca is a director whos interested in the rawness and the grounding of truth., Because of City of God, [Alice] is somebody Ive always looked at and always been really curious about, says Cuba of the actress, who plays one of protagonist Frasers mothers, both in the military. The second it became Alex, I ran with it, pushed it, said its a way to really enlighten the world. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Stacia Kimler, Casting . And when they feel that support, they just blossom right in front of the camera. One thing I love about casting this show is that its not just a lot of offers. That makes sense. Did it make your job easier or was it challenging having actors come in with a preconceived notion of what the show should be? We wanted the fans to believe this, too, like, Oh my God, hes so cute. Part of our journey is the process of learning about the actor, says Bialy. 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. When youre chasing after an actor with a name, you need them to trust you. But, just like any other season, we got the scripts and then talked with [co-creator/star] Bill [Hader] and [co-creator/showrunner] Alec [Berg] to hear what they were identifying within the new characters. And I said, Yeah, I really feel like it could be really cool, and okay, great. But going into the second season, the world knows the show, and we dont have to explain what it is. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe. Theyre opposite sides of a coin., Skyler has an exuberance that is hard to describe, Ingram says. I forgot to mention Casey Wilson. The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Barry and many, many more, they are one of the top casting offices out there. Its interesting, because I think what happens to actors often happens to casting directors, Bialy explained. 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. I think she had auditioned for Rocky Horror Picture Show several years before, so I knew she could sing. We can explain things like tone. He hadnt done anything either.

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