A Casting Director is a person hired by the producers of a show to find talent (or "cast") for the show. These are the people who the agent will send photos and resumes to, and the actor will audition for. Casting Directors ("CDs" for short) have to find the best possible cast out of thousands of available actors, and must always keep up to date on the newest and hottest faces. Many CDs are former actors themselves and pride themselves on knowing just about every working actor in the business.


While it is possible to submit your photo and resume directly to a Casting Director if you know of a role being cast, they usually only seriously consider those submitted by an agent or actors that they already know. How do you get to know a CD? By auditioning for another role or arranging an "interview".

When they're not actively casting a project, Casting Directors will often interview actors that they've never met in order to get to general feeling of what types of roles these people might be good for. Unfortunately, a CD's time is at a premium and just about every actor and their cousin wants an interview, so you'll have to work hard to get an appointment.

If there's a particular Casting Director that you'd like to meet with (perhaps the one who casts your favorite show), it's a good idea to mail them your headshot and resume every few months or so. Also, you can send a photo postcard whenever you have an exciting announcement (such as a role in a film, show, or play). If a CD sees your face on a regular basis, eventually she'll probably want to talk to you.

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Joshua Siegel is an actor and short subject director.
Copyright © Joshua Siegel. All rights reserved. Used with permission of the author. Not to be reproduced or distributed.

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