An open letter from Director Miguel Arteta
Casting Directors
Having just watched the HBO documentary "Casting By", I felt the need to write on behalf of casting directors because I LOVE THEM. They share my love of actors and they are the kind of people who always remind me how much I love what I do! And it's my feeling that we, as a community, have greatly underappreciated their contributions.
You can have the greatest script but you really only have one chance to find the actor that will make that written character unforgettable. Your casting director guides you towards that ultimately purely instinctual decision. They help you distill what are the essential traits of your characters, the part that makes them indispensable to your story. Casting directors help you find the beating heart behind your words.
In the most magical of ways, they also help you tune out the political chatter that often surrounds each decision. They clear the way, out of the dozens of opinions offered, for you to simply focus on what a character REALLY IS. They encourage you to trust what your hunch is of who can best make them immortal. And the working environment they create is a highly creative one. The make the process playful and relaxed in ways that help you feel free and invigorated to use your gut to decide.
Much too often people forget the impact that a casting director had on the film or the show. For it's never just as simple as only creating lists or putting actors in front of you. A casting director, through their love of story and character and most importantly their love of PEOPLE, helps you see what your story is really about: Who EXACTLY Are These People You Want An Audience To Spend Time With? They help you answer that question with precision and integrity and many times in ways that totally surprise you. I love them because they have more love for all kinds of people that I've ever thought possible. And it's that lovely ability to see the humanity in ALL kinds of persons that often helps you, as a director, to open your heart to what a character can be.
The fact that there is no category for Casting in almost all of the award ceremonies we value is in my opinion something we need to rectify as soon as possible. Casting Directors contribute every bit as much as all other department heads and they often are the first collaborators to energize the process. I want to encourage all of us in the Television and Film Community to start recognizing the size of their contributions!!!
Miguel Arteta
June 9, 2013