How to Get Cast on ‘Heated Rivalry’

Jenny Lewis and Sara Kay of Lewis Kay Casting (“Letterkenny,” “What We Do in the Shadows”) are the CDs behind “Heated Rivalry.” Kay told the BBC that she and Lewis hope their casting of unknown actors will start a new trend in Hollywood. “We don’t care how many Instagram followers someone has or whether they can make a TikTok here in Canada,” she said. “We’re not looking to discover the next star, but we’re just looking for the best actors. When you do that, you can find people who you would never expect who can then be propelled into stardom.”

As Lewis told In the Envelope: The Actor’s Podcast, the two had an idea of what passionate BookTok fans wanted to see from the characters. “I think we do know what’s hot. And that might not be just visual. It’s the whole package,” she said. “So when we see it in an actor, we’re like, ‘OK, we know that this person is going to meet the requirements of the audience.’ That’s something we really get and we’re tapped into.” 

“Heated Rivalry” was originally produced for the Canadian streamer Crave, and Toronto-based CDs Lewis and Kay were able to tap into a pool of fresh, local talent—a move that ultimately became their secret sauce.   

“If we are allowed to actually cast Canadians as our leads, then we see everybody.  You’re not tied down to the whole, ‘Oh, there has to be a star who’s going to bring this kind of box office to the show in order for the show to be greenlit or get made,’ ” Lewis told the Ankler. “We get to actually consider any actor…. If you allow yourself to just find the magic and trust the good actors out there, then look at what happens.”   

She told City News Everywhere, “We were a little intimidated, not about the content but the specificity of the roles.” However, things quickly came together when casting for Ilya, as Storrie submitted a self-tape where he appeared shirtless. “It was in a scene where it was appropriate, where most of the actors chose to take their shirt off. I will say we do not ask for that,” Lewis added. But it was ultimately his demeanor that caught their attention. “I definitely called out to Sara right away, like, ‘You’ve got to come watch this,’ ” she said.

With Storrie confirmed as Ilya, the team set out to find the show’s Shane. Storrie told Out, “Hudson was the third actor that I read with. The first two I was like, ‘OK, this is cool,’ and then Hudson came on. Jacob actually texted me directly and was like, ‘What do you think?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, Hudson, for sure.’ Instantly.” 

“[Hudson] was the final one, and it was just head and shoulders above the rest. It was just an organic thing. I feel like also there’s something with acting, there’s something about pace and tone that you can kind of direct into that, but we naturally were on the same pace and tone, which made it click really well,” Storrie told Teen Vogue. “I felt like we were of the same universe, or we had the same understanding of what the moment needed to look and feel like.” 

“I read with one other possible Ilya, and it was good,” Williams told Out. “But something about Connor… There was an inexplicable X-factor that just felt realer than what I thought it could possibly be.”  

As Lewis told City News Everywhere, Williams brought a “depth of emotion” to the audition, with both he and Storrie conveying innate “generosity” toward each other. “Sometimes with group auditions, not everybody is willing to give,” she said. “But [Storrie and Williams] really were there for each other and you could feel that watching. As actors, they were really giving to each other. It felt like they felt safe with each other, even in that initial stage of doing Zoom. I think that has come across in their dynamic when we watch them on social media.”   

“They were essentially cast at the same time. It was very clear to us that we needed to find Shane and Ilya together,” Tierney told Out. “This show lives and dies with them, so we needed to make sure that this worked together. There are terrific actors who are in, you know… They’re just in different shows. You need to find the people who are going to be together in the same show, and that’s what the two of them had quite instantly.” 

Casting duo Lewis and Kay told Casting Networks that the audition process in the U.S. and Canada are entirely different experiences. Lewis said, “In L.A., even when you see self-tapes, [actors] often have their sides. Not Canadians. Just as a rule, they memorize their sides. You’re not told to. You don’t have to; of course, you can have your sides. We often say to an actor [to] just hold them. Like somehow the words will go from that paper through your hand to your brain by osmosis.”   

Yet your location ultimately doesn’t matter—who you are does. And Lewis and Kay just want to see you succeed. “When I do acting workshops, they all want to hear that we’re on their side. I find they’re always surprised when we say we are,” Kay said. “You could ask around in Toronto, you will hear we are probably the most welcoming, nicest, most normal, least crazy casting directors because we really are just about casting the part. We want you to get the part.”

“But you still have to come and bring your best version every time. Put your own stamp on the character,” Lewis said. “It’s that intangible thing you can’t describe that makes a person right for a part. It has nothing to do with how great a read you gave or how prepared [you were]. It could be as simple as your hair color. It can be very random. I think that’s the hardest thing.”

For a project that relies so heavily on chemistry, Lewis told us actors “have to be connecting, listening, and willing to give to the other person” during a chemistry read. She added, “You need people who are really willing to work together, make each other better, and feed off each other.” Of course, Storrie and Williams naturally brought that to their own chemistry read. 

“A lot of the time, people are very like, ‘This is about me.’ Or they’re really nervous, and they cannot see what’s in front of them. They’re just like, ‘I’ve got to do what I prepared,’ ” Kay said. “So we always say to keep it loose and don’t overprepare, because the second you’re in the room with another actor, you have to be open to that process. Which means that you have to be really listening and really engaging.”

Auditioning doesn’t come naturally, though, as Walsh—who plays Shane’s father David on the series—learned during his early days in the business. That’s why he advises up-and-comers to “study, study, study!” As Walsh told Icon vs. Icon, when he was 22, his acting teacher asked the class to commit to the program for two years without auditioning, telling students, “If you rush it, you’ll skip steps and develop bad habits.”  

But of course, Walsh didn’t listen. “I cheated. I went to class and I went to auditions. And more and more, I started to understand what he was saying,” he shared. “When you go to an audition or book a job, you’re expected to go from zero to sixty, and nobody helps you. There’s no teacher there. A director isn’t a teacher. It’s a job, and they need you to deliver. You have to have a process, a technique, a path, and that’s on you.”