Casting directors play a crucial role in shaping the films audiences love, yet their work often happens behind the scenes. In this short audio profile, New York City casting director Stella Tompkins offers a glimpse into how she came to her position and the role she plays in helping actors land on the big screen. From reading scripts and preparing audition materials to scouting talent in unexpected places, Tompkins explains the process of discovering new faces and matching actors with the right roles.
But the job isn’t always straightforward. Tompkins also discusses the challenges of casting, such as the pressure from studios to hire big-name talent to ensure profits, alongside the occasional risks that come with scouting in the field. Through her story, listeners gain insight into the often unseen work that helps bring films to life and the opportunities casting directors create for emerging actors.
TRANSCRIPT BELOW:
My job, I’ve like scouted people in the grocery store, walking, you know, just down the street, whatever, in the train, in strip clubs, nights out, whatever. And I was thinking, I mean like, yeah, the only things I haven’t really done is like a funeral or a church–everywhere else, I pretty much have probably like approached someone and spoken to them.
Host Intro (Caitlin Whisby):
Have you ever wondered how new talent ends up on the big screen? I’m Caitlin Whisby, one half of Disjoint, and this is a Disjoint production. Today, we’re taking a look behind the scenes of the film industry through the eyes of a New York City casting director –someone who plays a vital role in discovering new talent and helping actors land roles on the big screen.
Stella:
Okay, hi, my name is Stella Tompkins, and I’ve been in casting for around six years.
And I first got into casting when I moved to New York. I was just working in a restaurant when I first moved here.
Caitlin:
Stella grew up outside San Francisco.
When she was younger, she made clothes for fun and recruited people she thought looked cool to model them, an early glimpse of what would later become her career in casting.
Stella:
My girlfriend actually found an internship for me. I can’t remember the website she found it on.
I applied for the internship when I first moved here. And, you know, I was like, I had no experience at all. So it’s like, I don’t know if I’m going to get this, put myself out there.
Caitlin:
Stella felt hopeful about the internship. But six long months passed without a word. She had almost forgotten about it until New York casting director Kate Antognini, whose credits include A24’s upcoming film, The Drama, finally reached out.
Stella got the role.
Stella:
I did a really long internship. I did like a almost a year internship, which is not common, unpaid.
But, you know, the grind, it was – it ended up being worth it.
Caitlin:
The internship taught Stella the ins and outs of casting. The tasks vary depending on what she’s working on – a commercial, a film, or something else.
But the overall process usually follows the same basic steps. Step one: receive the script and read through it. Step two: make sides for the script.
Stella:
The sides are what the actors will be reading when they’re auditioning.
Caitlin:
Step three: make character descriptions.
Stella:
Sometimes the director does that, which is incredible, but otherwise you’re pulling it from the script and making them.
Caitlin:
Occasionally, here’s the fourth step in the process.
Stella:
Sometimes the director will ask for lists of options for larger name talent for, you know, the principal actors. So then I’ll put together lists.
The list is really fun because you’re just kind of thinking of like who you picture, you know, these people to be.
Caitlin:
Step five, putting together emails for outreach.
Stella:
There’s a lot of research that goes into it depending on the role.
So if it’s for real people, or non-actors, we put together research sheets and then we’ll start researching online.
Caitlin:
Sometimes this step requires street scouting. Stella fills her Instagram feed with candid portraits of people she spots in public.
Some old, some young, some short, some tall. They’re a mix of faces and styles, but they all have one thing in common. They stand out.
Stella:
It is more expensive and like super labor intensive to scout. So usually they need to have a budget for scouting.
Caitlin:
While Stella loves her job as a casting director, she says it has its downsides and can sometimes be dangerous.
Stella:
A director has kissed my mom, which, you know, was really weird. I’ve almost gotten kidnapped by a fixer.
Caitlin:
A fixer is someone filmmakers hire to scout locations in a specific area.
Stella says the man was supposed to take her to the Teamsters Union, but he had other plans.
Stella:
He just drove me somewhere else to lock the doors. I had to like call my boss. Finally, he like let me out because he knew people were like tracking me and wondering where I was. So he let me out just like in the city. That was maybe just really terrifying.
Caitlin:
Casting can also spark public backlash when audiences feel a role a has been miscast. Stella says the issue is more nuanced than it might seem.
Stella:
Financing is a really big thing that I think people maybe don’t think about because if they got like, you know, Jacob Elordi or whatever, that really helps with the promotion of the film.
And even if he’s not right for the role, they’re still going to generate more money, whatever. That’s probably what they’re thinking. Good casting should feel very seamless.
It should, you know, feel emotional, feel funny. You should feel all the things that you’re supposed to feel without the discomfort of like knowing that person isn’t right. And I think audiences can feel that.
Caitlin:
But it’s not all drama. Stella says that her work is mostly positive and she loves what she does. Kota Johan was cast in the 2024 film “Tendaberry” and says the experience was a great one.
A reminder of the opportunities casting directors can create.
She was the first casting director I met, but I feel like I think her approach is like just really close to how she is like so original and refreshing. Yeah, being on set on Tendaberry was like kind of a blur because it was like such a, it was a really lengthy project.
But I’ve been on set for different films that Stella has casted in. I feel as if the more myself I was, I would feel that support by her in that way.
Caitlin:
For Disjoint, I’m Caitlin Whisby.
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