The film academy announced last week that casting directors, the people responsible for selecting the right actor for a role, will have their own awards category at the Oscars starting in 2026. And as the group's inclusion was long overdue, The news was happily greeted.
“There has never been a doubt that the contribution of casting directors' tireless and seemingly effortless work is as important as the costumes actors wear, the sets they inhabit and the makeup on their faces,” says Lucy Bevan, based in London, who chose the cast. “Barbie” with Allison Jones, based in Los Angeles. “I know I can speak for my professional colleagues when I say that we are very pleased with the academy's decision to create a new category that will finally reward our impact.”
But instead of waiting for the 2026 Oscar season, The Envelope spoke, via email, phone and Zoom, with the casting directors of the 10 best picture nominees of 2024 to learn more about their work.
What was the biggest challenge in putting together your ensemble?
Cynthia Arra (“Anatomy of a Fall”): Finding an actress who could be both lovable and unlovable, innocent or guilty. Sandra Hüller was absolutely stunning. Also, the need for almost the entire cast to be fluent in French and English.
Lucy Bevan and Allison Jones (“Barbie”): Play the personification of cultural icons who turn out to be dolls, and find in each actor the perfect level of pathos, humor, reality and representation.
Dixie Chassay (“Poor Things”): Putting together the cast was a detailed and precise process: working to cast in new ways, as well as casting all the non-narrative roles from outside the UK.
Ellen Chenoweth and Susanne Scheel (“Past Lives”): Telling the life story of writer-director Celine Song made the process incredibly specific, and we felt more pressure than ever to get it right.
Jennifer Euston (“American Fiction”): The inherent challenge that comes with casting a low-budget film with a first-time director. Fortunately, Cord Jefferson has been a respected writer for years and provided a fantastic script with well-defined characters, ultimately making this a desirable project for actors.
Alexandra Montag (“The Zone of Interest”, with Jacqueline Rietz and the late Simone Bär): Often, when German actors wear a Nazi uniform or play a role in a film from the Nazi era, they tend to evaluate their character negatively, which is expressed in the fact that they often change their posture and intonation. I like to call this “the bark.” For the overall effect of the film, it was very important that everyone maintain a natural tone and not judge or prejudge their character.
John Papsidera (“Oppenheimer”): We had high-profile actors, who weren't necessarily used to being so low on a call sheet, willing to be in the movie. Negotiating those agreements was quite complicated.
Susan Shopmaker (“The Remnants”): We needed the actors to feel of the time (circa 1970), and Alexander [Payne] I never wanted his presence to take us out of that time. We didn't want anyone to be too recognizable.
What was the greatest joy?
Arra: The moment when the young Milo Machado Graner, who plays Sandra Hüller's visually impaired son, was finally found, after months and months of wild casting both in specialized centers for the blind and in agencies.
Chasay: It's enormously rewarding to see the details of a cast come together, role after role. How each piece informs the other and affects the whole. Invest in a scene, a small character, a few lines, land and create a tapestry of human beings. It feels personal, the actors/characters become your children, and when you see the final movie, in your mind, it's one big family.
Chenoweth and Scheel: For the roles of Nora and Hae Sung, we auditioned hundreds of Korean actors, musicians, artists, writers and poets. Choosing Nora was a unique challenge. Because she immigrated to Canada at age 10, as an adult she spoke good English and Korean with a very specific accent. Few actors had the right accent and none as well as Greta Lee.
Euston: Being in sync with Cord throughout the casting process and having actors we both love telling their story was a wonderful experience.
Ellen Lewis (“The Flower Moon Killers”): The greatest joy, always, is choosing a movie for Marty. [Scorsese]. And given the challenge of presenting this important history, it was a gift that we had an open call before the pandemic, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was attended by 2,500 indigenous people and where we met many of the Osage Nation , which appear in the film.
Shayna Markowitz (“Master”): In most cases, Bradley [Cooper] and I were very in sync in terms of the performances that we both responded to, and then those actors jumped in to be part of the film. When you have that trifecta, there is nothing better.
Shopkeeper: Finding that uncut gem: Dominic Sessa.
What's the secret about casting your film that you've never revealed?
Bevan and Jones: The most fun was finding photos of the original dolls, from Allan to the Kens (including Earring Magic Kens) and Barbies, Midges and Skippers, and Barbie Dream Houses, etc. Excellent research that we used as reference when putting together the cast.
Luis: It was exciting to cast Jason Isbell (Bill Smith), one of the film's seven professional musicians. It wasn't until my last conversation with him on Zoom that I confessed: “I haven't told you this because I wanted to keep things very professional, but I have to tell you that I'm a big fan. “
Markowitz: For our Zoom table read, we had almost 100% cast attendance. We were able to hear the entire script read aloud by the actors who were going to play the roles. The film came to life over the course of those two hours. It was an incredible and unforgettable experience.
Mounting: All casting secrets must always remain hidden in the casting rooms. Only then can actors be sure that they will not be exposed and can show their acting skills freely in auditions.
Papsidera: We had conversations with big-name actors who didn't think their role was big or important enough for them. I won't name names, but it always surprises me. You always hope it's about the work, about working with a director and being part of the ensemble.
