LUCI LENOX AND CHARLIE MACGECHAN DISCUSS CASTING WORKSHOPS 12/04/2024

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The Actors Home presents an in-depth insight into casting workshops with Luci Lennox and Run At It Shouting founder Charlie MacGechan.

CHARLIE BIO

Charlie is an actor and the founder of Run At It Shouting Ltd and RAIS Studios. He is also a founding member of The Actors Home.

In early 2024 Charlie brought the English language World Premiere of Sergio Blanco’s When You Pass Over My Tomb to the UK.

His other stage productions include Harold Pinter’s The Dwarfs, (Best Ensemble Acting 2022 - Broadwayworld, Standing Ovation Award for Best Ensemble Acting 2022- London Pub Theatre Magazine) and the theatrical World Premiere of Philip Ridley’s The Poltergeist (New York Times Critics Pick, 2023 Offie Award for Best Solo Performance).

Charlie is currently developing a stage adaptation of Danny Scheinmann's best selling novel Random Acts Of Heroic Love.

Within film, Charlie is Associate Producer on the forthcoming feature The World Will Tremble (2024) starring Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Anton Lesser

With Kristen Tarry he produced the short film 'Stella' which is currently enjoying festival success at various BAFTA accredited festivals including BFI Flare.

Charlie and Kristen also exec produced the 2023 award-winning short Incompatible directed by Maxine Peake which screened at multiple BAFTA and Bifa nominated festivals and joined David Harewood as exec producers on the award-winning Monochromatic which has begun it's festival run at the Oscar accredited HollyShorts film festival

Charlie's recent film & TV credits include: The World Will Tremble, A Bad Day At The Office, Pennyworth (HBO, Warner Brothers), Unforgotten (ITV), The Girl From The Song (Netflix), We Die Young (Netflix), Deus, and Squadron 42 (which hosts an all-star cast, including Gary Oldman, Mark Hamill, John Rhys-Davies, Gillian Anderson, Andy Serkis, Ben Mendelsohn, Liam Cunningham and Mark Strong).

He received a Best Actor nomination at the Mammoth Film Festival for his portrayal of Jester in the Lionsgate film "We Die Young," and won multiple awards for his performance as Mark in the theatrical production of Harold Pinter's The Dwarfs (The White Bear Theatre).

Charlie stars alongside Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Anton Lesser in the 2024 feature film The World Will Tremble directed by Emmy and Oscar nominated director Lior Geller.

He also plays opposite John Hannah and Randi Mitchell in the action movie A BAD DAY AT THE OFFICE also scheduled for release in 2024.

LUCI BIO

Luci Lenox is an award winning casting director based in Spain. She has cast over 100 productions and her client list includes Netflix, Fox, Amazon, BBC, Sky, Hulu, Lionsgate, Paramount, ABC, Disney, NBC and MediaPro as well as numerous Spanish independent producers. Films she has cast have won over 250 awards at International Film Festivals.

Luci’s career and education previous to becoming a casting director have given her a unique insight into different worlds. This includes running nightclubs in Barcelona combined with a stint at MTV Europe, tour managing for a rock band and subsequently Europe’s leading avant-garde theatre company, LA FURA DELS BAUS. She was a producer for the Millennium Event in Barcelona as well as producing Barcelona’s alternative fashion week “Circuit” for several years. She has a multi-layered knowledge of urban culture, musicians, fashion and professional actors.

Luci has lived, toured, and worked in many different parts of the world, including Algeria, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ukraine, Namibia and Zambia. Her contact list is truly international which allows her to locate talent from across the globe.

Luci is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion in our industry. In Europe, she was on the board of the CSA and was the head of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She is on the committee for Diversity and Inclusion for both CSA (Europe) and APDICE (Spanish Casting Directors Association). She is also an active participant in ACTORS BEYOND BORDERS to help actors from around the world who are currently refugees.

Luci has been on the jury or panels at numerous film festivals including Sitges, the London Film Festival and Cannes. She is a member of the Catalan and European Film Academies, CSA, ICDN and APDICE.

Most importantly of all, Luci’s true love and passion in life is being a casting director!

TV/FILM DIRECTOR ALICE SEABRIGHT Q&A 16/10/2023

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Get an insight in to the process of Writer / Director ALICE SEABRIGHT!

Alice Seabright is a writer and director based in London who was named as a 2019 Screen International Star of Tomorrow. Alice is currently show running her original series Chloe for the BBC – she will write four out of six episodes, direct the 1st block, and serve as executive producer.

She recently directed episodes 4 and 5 of Sex Education Series 2, which dropped on Netflix earlier this year, as well as writing episode 3 for Sex Education Series 3. Prior to life as a writer/director, Alice has worked in Development at Heyday Films and Brilliant Films.

Q&A WITH 4-TIME EMMY AWARD-WINNING CASTING DIRECTOR JOHN FRANK LEVEY 02/05/2023

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Get an insight in to the process of four time Emmy award-winning casting director John Frank Levy. John recently published his new book RIGHT FOR THE ROLE where he shares his experiences. John hasn't just witnessed some of the greatest acting talents in Hollywood, in many cases, he's had a major hand in it!

100% of all Donations go to Homeboy Industries What began in 1988 as a way of improving the lives of former gang members in East Los Angeles has today become a blueprint for over 400 organizations around the world, from Alabama and Idaho, to Guatemala and Scotland.

John's Bio

John Frank Levey is a four-time Emmy Award-winning casting director. He has cast such iconic television shows as China Beach, ER, The West Wing and Shameless, as well as dozens of other television series, miniseries, TV movies, digital series, video games and feature films. Levey is also a five-time winner of the Casting Society of America’s Artios Award and the recipient of its prestigious Hoyt Bowers Award, given for excellence in casting and outstanding contributions to the casting profession. Right for the Role is his first book. After decades at Warner Bros., Levey became Vice President of Casting for John Wells Productions before launching his own casting company. Throughout his career, he has been a proud collaborator with many great writers, actors, producers and directors—he is most gratified for the friendships he’s forged and the talent he has helped foster.

Buy John's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/John-Frank-Levey/e/B0BBXVH65B/ref=zg_bs_496722_bl_sccl_13/000-0000000-0000000

CASTING DIRECTOR JONNY BOUTWOOD Q&A 26/09/2022

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Jonny is currently an associate at Shaheen Baig Casting. Jonny has worked on TV shows such as Three Girls, I AM series and independent films such as Supernova, Pirates, The Phantom of the Open and most recently Scrapper. Jonny has co-cast with Shaheen on the TV project Hanna and currently the TV series of Boiling Point.

After 12 years of working for some of the most brilliant Casting Directors the UK has. Jonny will be venturing out on his own in 2023.

CASTING DIRECTOR KATE CALDWELL Q&A 10/08/2022

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*After 23 years in Los Angeles, Kate Caldwell packed up and took her casting skills to the UK where she currently works with Emmy-winning Casting Director Suzanne Smith.

Kate has experience in many areas of casting having worked the studio and network side at ABC Television and on both voice-over and live-action feature films at 20th Century Fox Feature Casting.

Her favorite, though, is being in the trenches of independent casting. Her credits include the Netflix series UNBELIEVABLE for which she was nominated alongside Laura Rosenthal, Jodi Angstreich and Melissa Kostenbauder for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting For a Limited Series, Movie or Special, KINGDOM with Frank Grillo and Nick Jonas, HERCULES with Dwayne Johnson, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN with Gerard Butler, the western series HELL ON WHEELS and KRAMPUS.*

CASTING DIRECTOR KATE CALDWELL Q&A 22/10/2022

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*After 23 years in Los Angeles, Kate Caldwell packed up and took her casting skills to the UK where she currently works with Emmy-winning Casting Director Suzanne Smith.

Kate has experience in many areas of casting having worked the studio and network side at ABC Television and on both voice-over and live-action feature films at 20th Century Fox Feature Casting.

Her favorite, though, is being in the trenches of independent casting. Her credits include the Netflix series UNBELIEVABLE for which she was nominated alongside Laura Rosenthal, Jodi Angstreich and Melissa Kostenbauder for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting For a Limited Series, Movie or Special, KINGDOM with Frank Grillo and Nick Jonas, HERCULES with Dwayne Johnson, OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN with Gerard Butler, the western series HELL ON WHEELS and KRAMPUS.*

CASTING DIRECTOR FRANCESCA BRADLEY Q&A 11/01/2023

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Francesca has been working in casting since 2010, with her first job being on Captain America: The First Avenger, since then she worked across multiple genres in both film and television including sci-fi, action, horror, crime and mystery. Her credits include Logan, 6 Underground, Ford vs. Ferrari and Transformers: The Last Knight. More recently she worked on co-casting the third series of the critically-acclaimed Das Boot.

Francesca Bradley is currently a Casting Associate at Casting Pictures, run by Priscilla John and Orla Maxwell.

KELLY VALENTINE HENDRY Q&A 08/12/2022

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Kelly is an award-nominated Casting Director and the founder of her own casting company. Projects include Bridgerton (2020), The Wheel of Time (2021), The Last Kingdom (2015-2023), and Fleabag (2016). Based in London but working internationally, the KVH office fights for diversity across the media.

LUCY ALLEN, TOM PAYNE & CATHERINE GARLICK "Q&A"

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LUCY'S BIO

Lucy is Daniel Edwards Associate. She has worked for a number of well-known Casting Directors including Kate Rhodes James CDG, Laura Scott CDG, Rachel Freck CDG, Lucinda Syson CDG and Daniel Edwards CDG. Lucy has been working for Vicki Thomson CDG since January 2018.

Casting Assistant credits with Daniel Edwards – THE INNOCENTS (New Pictures).

CATHERINE'S BIO

Catherine is a Casting Assistant who worked for Jina Jay Casting from February 2018, and is now currently working for Daniel Edwards Casting since January 2020.

She worked on a variety of Film & TV Projects with Jina Jay that include Emmy award-winning ‘Black Mirror: Bandersnatch’, ‘Black Mirror’ Season 5 (Netflix) and ‘Temple’ (Sky). Also ‘Enola Holmes’ (Netflix/Legendary Pictures) and upcoming films ‘Dune’ (Legendary Pictures) and ‘Operation Mincemeat’ (SeeSaw) to name a few.

TOM'S BIO

Tom worked as an actor, agents assistant and producer before starting his casting career with Daniel Edwards Casting in January 2020.

REBECCA WRIGHT "Q&A"

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Rebecca Wright has been in Casting since 1998 having previously worked as a Second Assistant Director in TV and film. She began her Casting career as Assistant to Joyce Gallie and then Ann Fielden before working with Di Carling. After 10 great years with Di she set up on her own as REBECCA WRIGHT CASTING in November 2011.

She casts for TV and Film. Rebecca has recently finished casting Series 3 of Jez Butterworth's drama Britannia for Sky Atlantic and Series 10 of Call The Midwife for BBC1.

She lives in London and is a member of the Casting Directors' Guild of Great Britain and Ireland.

SETH MASON "Q&A"

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Seth has most recently been co-casting director on The Split 3 (BBC / Sister) and Get Even 2 (Netflix / iPlayer), both due to air in 2022.

As casting associate, he recently worked on Des (New Pictures), Starstruck (HBO Max / BBC Three), Unforgotten 4 (Mainstreet Pictures), Worzel Gummidge (Leopard Pictures), World On Fire (Mammoth), Silent Witness (BBC), Baz Luhrmann’s The Secret Life of Flowers for ERDEM x H&M and the hit feature film Crawl (Paramount).

Upcoming projects as casting associate include Sherwood (House Productions for BBC One), The Bubble (Judd Apatow’s new film for Netflix), Crossfire (Dancing Ledge for BBC One) and The Undeclared War (Playground Productions for Channel 4)

Other past projects with Victor and Andy include The Rook (Starz/Lionsgate), Leonardo (Lux Vide / Big Light), The Watch (BBC America), Innocent II (TXTV for ITV1), Cleaning Up (Sister Pictures), Dark Money (The Forge), Deep Water (Kudos), Unforgotten III (Mainstreet), The Tunnel III (Sky) and Troy: Fall of A City (BBC)

In theatre, Seth was casting director on the Offie-nominated Homos, or Everyone in America at the Finborough Theatre in 2018 and the Southwark Playhouse production of Constellations (sadly curtailed due to the Covid-19 pandemic). He was also casting director on Seven Decades at the V & A in 2019 and the short films Ouzo and Blackcurrant (Mini Productions), Muse (NFTS), Nant (Strike Pictres) and Bus Driver (NFTS).

Seth previously worked as casting assistant at Catherine Willis Casting, on a range of projects from Flowers (Channel 4) and Upstart Crow (BBC Two) to Hetty Feather (CBBC) and Plebs (ITV2). He has also worked for Daniel Edwards on Mr Selfridge (ITV) and Born To Kill (Channel 4). Prior to this, he also worked for Gary Davy and Julie Harkin.

KATY MOYLAN-SHORTEN Q&A

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Katy (or Dedikaty as she is known in the office) joined as Ali’s nimble right hand in 2009 and now is an acclaimed casting director. She’s proud of her roots having recently had her colour refreshed and also her Corkonian heritage. Whilst Ali has always had a personal aversion to formal education she is damn proud of Katy who is a Masters Graduate from Trinity College Dublin and Royal Holloway University of London. Katy’s superpower is recognising any actor any time anywhere no matter how out of context or heavy the blindfold—it really is extraordinary and on that basis we’re happy to say she’s sticking around.ct or questions regarding this workshop should come through the RAIS office. Please do not contact the workshop leader directly with questions**

KATIE MOZUMDER "Q&A"

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Get an Insight into the Process of Casting Director Katie Mozumder!

Katie worked in TV production before moving into casting in 2017. Now a Casting Associate at Crowley Poole Casting, working for Casting Directors Suzanne Crowley and Gilly Poole.

Most notable projects include the Emmy and Bafta award winning Killing Eve seasons 1-4 (BBC America) with Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer; The Durrells (ITV), Trollied (Sky 1), We Hunt Together (UKTV) Finding Alice (ITV) and most recently Hollington Drive (ITV).

Katie has assisted in casting for several theatre projects for Hampstead Theatre and Sunset Limited (Boulevard Theatre) in 2019. In 2021, Katie worked as a Casting Director for Tara Theatre and The Lodger at the Coronet Theatre.

Katie is a probationary member of the CDG and recently became a member of the Equality, Diversity & Inclusion committee.

CAROLYN MCLEOD "Q&A"

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Casting for over 15 years, Carolyn is a freelance Casting Director, who specialises in Film, Theatre, TV and streaming content. She has worked with directors including Paul Schrader, Stephen Herek, Michael Caton-Jones and Sofia Coppola on independent features and projects for Netflix, BBC, Disney, Warner Bros, Hallmark and the Sci-Fi Channel.

She is a Bafta member and is on the board of the European Chapter of the Casting Society of America.

LAUREN EVANS "Q&A"

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Lauren began her casting career working for Kate Dowd. From there she spent six years working with Nina Gold on various feature films and TV series. Notable projects include, Game of Thrones, Star Wars – the Force Awakens, The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game, King Lear, Mr Turner and The Danish Girl. Lauren’s co-casting Director credits with Nina Gold are Paddington 2 and Taboo.

More recently Lauren has independently cast three seasons of Sex Education for Netflix, Season two of Miracle Workers (TBS), The Gavin and Stacey Christmas Special (BBC), The One (Netflix) and Season 3 of the critically acclaimed series The Girlfriend Experience (Starz). Lauren is proud to have been recognised for her work on Sex Education with the ‘Best Casting in a TV Comedy’ award from The Casting Directors’ Guild UK (2020 & 2021), and two BAFTA nominations for ‘Scripted Casting.’

SHARON SORRENTINO "Q&A"

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Sharon is a UK based casting director, she has worked across all mediums of screen and stage on many award-winning productions. She primarily casts for the screen.

Her film credits include: The Journey (multi-award winning), Jericho's Walls Are Falling.

TV credits include: Sugarbabies (pilot); Murdered For Love? Samia Shahid; Elizabeth I’s Secret Agents (RTS award winning and BAFTA nominated). Amongst the many multi-award winning short films she has cast are: Oblivious, The Outer Circle, White, Sticky, Grandfather, The Storyteller, The Chop, Crack, No Playground for Little Cowboys and Invisible. She has cast countless commercials and music videos.

Theatre credits include: Borderlands (Hen & Chickens), 12 Angry Women(Lion and Unicorn), Fragile (Landor), Making Time (Old Red Lion) and Who Killed Wendy (The Malthouse, Nottingham).

ANNA DAWSON "Q&A"

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Anna is a Scotland-based Casting Director and is currently associate Casting Director to Simone Pereira Hind, working from Edinburgh and London. She is a probationary member of the CDG and has worked in casting for over 8 years.

Anna’s associate and assistant television credits include the internationally successful series Outlander, BBC’s The Replacement and CBBC’s teen series Logan High. Simone and Anna have recently cast Lewis-set feature film Nobody has to know for Barry Crerar, Australian/Scottish co-production Falling For Figaro for Black Camel Pictures and from the producer of The Crown, they this year cast ‘Munich' for Netflix starring Jeremy Irons and George Mackay. Welsh comedy ‘The Toll’ will be premiering at this years Glasgow Film Festival and Aberdeen set thriller ‘Repression’ can now be seen on major streaming platforms, Amazon, Sky and Now Tv.

Casting Director credits include CBBC’s Scottish BAFTA winner Last Commanders, BBC’s Pancake and Life Is A Dream for The Royal Lyceum Edinburgh. This year Anna cast the animated adaptation of the much loved Tom Gates books for Sky TV, starring Mark Bonnar and Catherine Tate. Episodes to air on Sky Jan 2021.

Simone and Anna both love working on the many short films they have cast, supporting new talent and helping get people's ambitions onto the screen.

DES HAMILTON Q&A

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Des Hamilton is a Glasgow born, London based, Casting Director. He’s worked in film and television for over twenty years, and recently won a BAFTA for Best Casting on Top Boy (this being the first time scripted casting was recognised as a category).His career began in 2001 when fellow Glaswegian Lynne Ramsay asked him to find a non-actress to play the co-lead opposite Samantha Morton in Morvern Callar. Des went on to cast the whole film, famously street casting Kathleen McDermott, who went on to win a BAFTA for Best Newcomer.

He’s predominantly known for his work on Jojo Rabbit, Four Lions, The King, Bullet Boy, and Claire Denis’ High Life. But it’s his interest in projects regardless of budget or size, as well as his willingness to work with new directors, that sets him apart.

Des and his team have continued to cast via a combination of traditional methods (theatrical agents, drama schools, etc.) and from the street; most notably casting Thomas Turgoose in This is England.

MIKE CATER "Q&A"

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Mike worked at a London agency for 4 years before moving into casting and relocating to Barcelona where he is currently based. He presently works as an associate to Luci Lenox where they cast a variety of projects ranging from independent feature films to international TV series. Recent projects include The One (Netflix), Westworld (HBO), Warrior Nun (Netflix), Hanna (Amazon Prime) among others.

SOPHIE KINGSTON-SMITH "Q&A"

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Sophie primarily works as Co-Casting Director at Rose Wicksteed Casting, whilst also pursuing her own projects under her own company Kingston-Smith Casting. Previously she has worked with Casting Directors including Lucinda Syson, Karen Lindsey-Stewart and Kharmel Cochrane, and was also associate to Alex Johnson on ITV's period drama Beecham House.

Her most notable projects have been with Rose Wicksteed and include TV series Genius: Picasso, (National Geographic), UK casting for Homeland series 8 (Showtime) plus upcoming series The Dropout (Hulu) and Invasion (Apple), both due to air in 2021. Films include The Nun (Warner Bros) and Escape Room (Sony). Sophie has just finished a short film concerning racial stereotypes in modern Britain, and is currently co-casting a socially conscious feature regarding forced marriage and obstetric fistula among young girls. She was also Casting Director on short films Edicius (Crispy Biscuit), Lynch (Oxygene Films) and Mr Whippy (Elation Pictures).