To echo the “Barbie” movie’s superb marketing: Greta Gerwig? She’s everything. Thanks to the success of the film, she’s now one of the most in-demand directors of her generation. "Barbie" surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, making Gerwig the first solo female director to achieve this feat.
Gerwig has written and directed two other films, “Lady Bird” (2017) and “Little Women” (2019), both of which earned her Oscar nominations. She also wrote and starred in several others, including the acclaimed 2012 indie “Frances Ha.”) It’s no wonder big-name stars—from Margot Robbie to Laura Dern to Timothée Chalamet—want to work with her. And now, with her feature “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” on the horizon, Gerwig is more in demand than ever.
If you want to act in a future Gerwig production, let this be your go-to resource. From audition advice to an inside look at her casting process, here’s how to land a role in the filmmaker’s next project.
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Gerwig started out as an actor—and still is. But she’s since made her name as a filmmaker. Here are her credits to date:
As a writer-director:
- “Nights and Weekends” (2008)—co-written and co-directed with Joe Swanberg
- “Lady Bird” (2017)
- “Little Women” (2019)—based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott
- “Barbie” (2023)—co-written with Noah Baumbach
- “Narnia: The Magician's Nephew" (2027) —Gerwig will write and direct at least two films based on C.S. Lewis’ “The Chronicles of Narnia” book series for Netflix.
As a writer-star:
- “Hannah Takes the Stairs” (2007)—co-written with Swanberg
- “Nights and Weekends” (2008)—co-written with Swanberg
- “Northern Comfort” (2010)—co-written with Joseph James Bellamy and David T. Grophear
- “Frances Ha” (2012)—co-written with Baumbach
- “Mistress America” (2015)—co-written with Baumbach
Saoirse Ronan in “Lady Bird” Courtesy A24
The Oscar nominee has worked with multiple teams on her three biggest projects.
- “Lady Bird”: Heidi Griffiths (“Saving Face”), Allison Jones (“The Good Place”), and Jordan Thaler (“Great Performances”)
- “Little Women”: Kathy Driscoll (“Creed”) and Francine Maisler (“12 Years a Slave,” "Sinners")
- “Barbie”: Lucy Bevan (“The Batman”) and Jones
- “Narnia: The Magician's Nephew”: Nina Gold (“Hamnet,” “Conclave”) and Maisler
Jones, who is an industry vet, wants actors to know that “tenacity is everything” in this business. “When you walk [into] the room, you’re either right for the role or not. It doesn’t mean you didn’t give a good audition,” the CD told us.
“It’s funny—we’ve worked with some directors who were actors first, and the first thing they always say is, ‘Wow, it really doesn’t matter what your audition is. It’s who you are, if you’re right for the role or wrong for the role.’ That’s why I don’t want people beating themselves up thinking they gave a bad reading, because it’s frequently never that.”
Maisler encourages actors to go in confident and prepared. “When you get an audition, look at who’s directing it and who’s written it, and look at their work. There’s a tone that every director has. There’s so much information to be gotten from doing that research,” she explained.
“Then I would say to try to make some strong choices. I feel bad for actors if they’re self-taping and not getting any direction, because they don’t know what to do. But sometimes people go just in the middle, and the middle never works. Just try to, with what you know, make a choice.”
When tasked with a self-tape, however, Gold recommends keeping things simple. “Some people really go to town and practically make the whole film!” she shared. “It’s pretty impressive, but it’s not necessarily revealing everything you need to know about the performance. It’s fun, and you remember it, I guess. But just a fairly simple, plain [tape] just dealing with the text and the performance, rather than any other stuff, is pretty good.”
Emma Watson, Saoirse Ronan, Eliza Scanlen and Florence Pugh in “Little Women” Credit: Wilson Webb
Eliza Scanlen, who played Beth March in “Little Women,” said her audition for the film was surprisingly casual. “Greta brought a bunch of her friends to play the other sisters. I don’t think they were necessarily actors; they were just her friends. I feel like that explains Greta so well as a person. She wants to make people as comfortable as possible, especially in the audition process,” the actor told us.
“I think because she’s an actor, she has a very good understanding of how actors feel most comfortable on a set and what they need,” she added. “I think it’s really important that directors have some kind of understanding of how actors work in order to make the environment as inclusive and safe as it can be.”
Gerwig often knows ahead of time who she wants to cast in specific roles—and she sometimes refuses to settle. She was so impressed with Florence Pugh’s previous work that she postponed production on “Little Women” until the actor could finish filming Ari Aster’s “Midsommar.” Pugh went on to play Amy March, who has a contentious relationship with her sister Jo (Saoirse Ronan).
“I found evidence in the book that Amy was Jo’s equal, but I had never seen her explored in that way,” Gerwig told the New York Times. “I knew there was no other person who could do it but Florence. She has ‘movie star’ written all over her, but she’s also a character actor, which is the best kind of movie star.”
Gerwig also knew she wanted Emma Watson to play Meg March. “To me, [Watson] embodies everything that I was interested in, in terms of who the March women were,” Gerwig told Entertainment Weekly. “She’s just smart. She’s on multi-governmental organizations that speak to the UN, and she’s so thoughtful and present. She is way out there trying to do everything she can.”
“For me personally, Meg March is a character that is long misunderstood,” she said. “In terms of what [Watson] did with the character, she has so much open-heartedness and so much love. Combined with that much intelligence, it’s heartbreaking and potent. Because she’s absolutely herself with understanding the struggle of who that character is,” Gerwig noted, adding that Watson was “all-in, not just as an actor, but as a mind,” thanks to her extensive reading and research for the role.
Similarly, the filmmaker had her heart set on casting Ryan Gosling as Ken in “Barbie.” After watching Gosling’s “Guy That Just Got a Boat” skit on “Saturday Night Live,” she knew he was “Kenough” to play the role.
She told the podcast “SmartLess” that “[Noah Baumbach and I] actually, in writing it, cast Ryan. Like, we wrote his name into the script and everything…. And then when we handed them the script, the studio was like, ‘Oh, it’s so wonderful that you know Ryan.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Ryan. I’ve never met Ryan; I have no idea,” said the director.
“It was only ever Ryan Gosling, and it was a long journey,” Gerwig said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “Margot [Robbie] and I just wouldn’t take no for an answer. From the moment that Margot came to me and I knew we were making this for Margot, I equally knew we were making this for Ryan.”
Greta Gerwig and Meryl Streep on the set of “Little Women” Credit: Wilson Webb
There are no open casting calls for Gerwig’s next project, as “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew” wrapped filming in January 2026. The film will release in IMAX and theaters on Feb. 12, 2027, and will stream exclusively on Netflix beginning April 2, 2027. Written and directed by Gerwig, this will be the first screen adaptation of Lewis’ 1955 prequel. Gerwig is slated to adapt another of the author’s novels for the streamer, so we recommend checking out our guide on how to audition for Netflix for advice on getting cast in an upcoming project.
Having representation remains the best way to secure an audition for an in-demand project. If you haven’t signed with an agent yet, here’s how to find one. Meanwhile, keep an eye on our main casting page for the latest opportunities.
Margot Robbie, Ana Cruz Kayne, Greta Gerwig, Hari Nef on the set of “Barbie” Credit: Jaap Buitendijk
Don’t be afraid of messing up: As an actor-filmmaker, Gerwig knows what it’s like to work on both sides of the camera. “If you have reverence for the art form, your fear of failure could come from not wanting to muck up something you love,” she told us. “But I think there’s a time when the fear of not ever having tried is bigger than the fear of failure. And that’s when you get to work, because you realize you have fears on both sides; which one would you rather live with?
“You’ll make a bad movie or give a bad performance or write a bad song or make a bad painting. Because if you’re doing it, you’ll get some bad ones. That’s just the price of admission.”
Reach out: If you don’t have representation, Scanlen encourages actors to contact CDs directly. “I was very ambitious and just emailed casting directors straight up, even when I didn’t have an agent. I was like, ‘Please let me audition!’ ” she told us. “I would recommend getting an agent; but if you don’t have enough experience to get an agent yet, I would recommend doing classes.”
It’s normal to get butterflies: Even a celebrated industry vet like Metcalf says she still gets nervous at auditions—but she believes you can use it to your advantage.
“The audition room is tough, and I feel, just speaking for myself, no matter where you are in your career, it’s hard not to have the nerves kick in—probably impossible,” she told us. “So all I’ve ever heard or tried to do is use the nerves, if you can; let your character be in that place instead of trying to shut them down, because that’s impossible and looks [bad]. Just try and say, OK, well, my character’s going in here extremely nervous about something, and try and use it.”
Ride the rollercoaster: Gold recognizes the ups and downs of the acting industry and recommends that actors have a strong stomach. “Only become an actor if you absolutely have to, because it’s pretty difficult to do,” she advised. “You have to get ready to put up with a lot. There must be incredible highs, but also lots of disappointments and rejections, and learning to accept that is part of the whole of the job.”
