The Role of a Casting Director and Skills Required

The Role of a Casting Director and Skills Required

As with most entertainment jobs, if you want to be a casting director, you’ll need to start low, aim high, network and have some luck along the way. Let’s check to The Role of a Casting Director and Skills Required.

And while no specific training is required to be a casting director. You’ll be more likely to succeed with some education, experience and the right personal skills.

Education

To understand the industry, you’ll probably want to study at a two- or four-year college that offers classes in film and theatre arts, such as acting and directing, as well as business management. Casting directors need to know how to negotiate contracts and understand the complexities of working with union employees

Experience

Becoming a casting director usually means starting at the bottom of the industry. Look for an internship with a casting agency or a casting director who would take on another assistant or low-level helper.

From there, you can work your way up to associate casting director. Remember that producers, directors and studios won’t be willing to hire you unless you can show you have the experience to do the job well.

For an updated list of casting directors and agencies, go to Breakdown Services. The Casting Society of America, a professional association for casting directors, offers a member directory and a glossary of casting and film production terms.

Networking

More than other entertainment jobs, this one is about who you know. Making connections will help you move up in your career. And it’ll give you the contacts you need to make good casting decisions. You’ll need to be able to quickly and easily find the right actors for the roles. Which means knowing the actors and keeping good relationships with talent agents.

Personality

Is being a casting director a woman’s job? Casting director Juliet Taylor makes the argument in the book “Women in American Theatre” that women may be especially suited for it.
But as a casting director, you’ll also need:

Excellent communication skills to work with both sides — studios and directors, and actors and talent agents

negotiation skills

organizational skills to juggle projects and keep them all on track

good memory for script details, actor abilities and contact names

careful attention to detail

patience and persistence

For lots more information about casting directors and related topics, check out the links below