How to Mint Stars Beyond Olivia Colman
One would be hard-pressed to find a casting director who doesn’t revel in the joy of discovering brand-new talent. “It’s one of the most exciting parts of the job,” says Robert Sterne, casting director on The Crown, the series that over the course of six seasons has embraced both British national treasures like Imelda Staunton, Olivia Colman and Helena Bonham Carter, and turned lesser-known actors like
Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor into bona fide stars. “With something like The Crown, when you see somebody being given an amazing creative opportunity to really explore and develop their craft in a supportive environment that will then take them to the next stage, it is incredibly satisfying.”
Finding that diamond in the rough is not the easiest task. To cast Prince William, Prince Harry and Catherine Middleton for the final installment of the series, Sterne and his team combed through 15,000 submissions before, five months later, landing on newcomers Ed McVey, Luther Ford and Meg Bellamy for the parts.
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“You go through the [auditions] and start working out who makes a connection with the writing or the character,” says Sterne. “William, for example, had to be a golden boy who had been through a lot of trauma and he was at a point in his life when he was really trying to negotiate his own autonomy. Ed was just out of drama school, but there was just something incredibly compelling, accessible, watchable and connected with what he did. And Luther was studying film at a college and his friend said, ‘You’ve got red hair. I think you should apply as a joke.’ He had nothing to lose, so he wasn’t fearful when he came in. He just went ‘yes and yes,’ and flew with it. You, I suppose, just try to fan the flames.”
When the job itself is going toe to toe with industry veterans of the highest caliber, Sterne does not just hand over a novice after a few good auditions. “You have to spend a lot of time with them, leading up to the decision, and give them lots of opportunities to build their confidence,” he says. Sterne also had a secret weapon in Staunton, who generously came in to read with the finalists. “She worked with the kids we were auditioning, at the last stages, so that they had a sense of what was going to happen when they got on set, and they had one of our finest leading ladies to play opposite,” says Sterne. “Once you’ve seen how they’ve responded to as many different scenarios as possible, you just say, ‘Go for it,’ and see what happens.”
In hiring an already established actor, having someone adapt to the workplace is a variable that is eliminated. Instead, on The Morning Show, with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon as headliners, Victoria Thomas’ challenge is populating their world with actors that shine with the same wattage. “There’s totally a caliber that we’re going for,” says Thomas. “It’s a very high-profile show, and we want more eyeballs on it, so there’s a certain level of actors we’re looking for and we just hope that they are able to do it with our scheduling.”
While Jon Hamm’s or Julianna Margulies’ availability is not a given, Thomas has found that there are not many other roadblocks to landing the who’s-who of Hollywood with this gig. “It’s nice to not have to persuade people,” says the industry vet. “Actors like the show, they appreciate the acting on the show and are raising their hand even for some smaller parts. It makes my life as a casting director a little bit easier, to have a lot more pickings to choose from.” That said, Thomas rarely casts a large net for roles on The Morning Show. In the case of Paul Marks, the tech billionaire trying to buy UBA in the third season, “it really was a list of one,” says Thomas. “[Hamm] fits the profile of a handsome, successful guy that seems to have it all, that we hoped would have good chemistry with Jen as a romantic counterpart.”
While there are benefits to hiring A-listers, Thomas believes these decisions have to be made judiciously – even on a star farm like The Morning Show. “You want people to tune into the show, but there is a delicate balance,” she says. “We have to be careful that we don’t over overcast. In some cases, you just need a really solid supporting actor to play a part. They may not be as well-known as Jon, Jen or Reese, but it is the balance of the known names and the great character actors that ground the show in a certain reality. The two things mesh and create watchability.”
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