How to Get Cast on ‘Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen’

Created by Haley Z. Boston and produced by the Duffer brothers and Hilary Leavitt’s Upside Down Pictures, Netflix’s new psychological horror limited series follows a bride and groom during the week leading up to their “ill-fated” nuptials, and we know little more than that. (The series’ title alone tells us happily ever after isn’t in the cards for these two.) As the Duffers told the streamer, “We were knocked flat when we first read Haley’s script. She is a major new talent with a singular voice—her writing is twisted, terrifying, funny, and just…very Haley. We feel so lucky to be producing her first show, and we can’t wait to share her vision with the rest of the world.” Boston is slated to serve as both showrunner and executive producer.

At the moment, there are no definitive casting announcements to report. But according to Deadline, Camila Morrone (“Daisy Jones & the Six”) and Adam DiMarco (“The White Lotus”) are in talks to play the leads of “Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen.” If cast, Morrone and DiMarco will play the bride and groom whose wedding day appears to be doomed from the start.

As with many of their prior projects, the Duffer brothers have teamed up with CD Carmen Cuba to tackle casting for the limited series. As Cuba told us, “[P]eople are surprised that what I do involves so much more than an actor seeming ‘perfect’ for a role based on how it is described on a character description. A huge part of my job involves being very deliberate in matching an actor to the elements of the piece—the director’s style, the budget of the piece, and the schedule are as important to me as how the actor performs the scene in an audition.” Having been a journalist, Cuba pays special attention to all the little nuances each person brings to the audition room, influencing both present and future projects.

“I’m definitely taking the time to be in the room with them because I think they have a shot at either the thing they are auditioning for or for something in the future that they don’t know about,” Cuba added. “I also watch tons of documentaries, and I realize that when I’m doing that, I’m actively studying human behavior and what people who aren’t actors look and feel like in real situations. This influences me a lot in many aspects of how I do my job.”

From the title alone, we know “Something Very Bad” probably will not have a happy ending, and as Cuba told us, casting for an inevitable death can be tricky. That’s where trust comes into play. “I think probably the thing that speaks most [to casting a character who dies] is that I am always looking for what you feel when the person is not speaking,” Cuba said of her time casting Prime Video’s “Swarm.” “So if [an actor is auditioning for me], it might be that I’m paying more attention, actually, when they’re not talking. What are they doing? How are they listening? Are they compelling in their silence? Am I drawn to them in those moments?

“It's funny that I didn’t really think [when I was casting ‘Swarm’], ‘Oh my God, what are they going to be like when they die?’ The thing is, in my opinion, you can’t audition [the death] scene.… It wouldn’t be what it is,” she added. “So you do have to take this leap of faith and…not only count on the actor but count on the actor they are acting opposite, the director of the episode, and just the energy of the whole project.”

With its main characters still in flux as of November 2024, “Something Very Bad” remains in the early stages of preproduction. However, based on a project listing from the City of Toronto, it seems production will ramp up by mid-January, as the website says filming will begin on Jan. 13, 2025, and wrap on April 24, 2025. Stay tuned here for more information as it becomes available.

Currently, there are no open casting calls available for “Something Very Bad,” but judging by its previous call for a young boy to play “Jude,” it seems like the team has a particular interest in casting local actors, so residents of the Toronto area might want to keep an eye out for audition announcements and casting calls regarding background work.

In the meantime, we recommend finding an agent if you have not yet, as these industry insiders are often critical to landing starring, supporting, or recurring roles. You may also want to explore our guides on how to audition for Netflix and how to get cast on “Stranger Things,” which offer insight into the Duffer brothers’ casting process. We also suggest bookmarking our main Netflix casting page as it regularly updates with the streamer’s latest audition opportunities.

Use anxiety to your advantage. Although DiMarco began his career with TV movies like “Radio Rebel” and Disney Channel's “Zapped,” he became much more of a name when he landed the role of Albie on Max’s “The White Lotus” Season 2. But embracing the level of exposure that came with this high-profile role was not easy—so DiMarco now channels those nerves into his characters. “My way of dealing with a role like this was to channel my anxiety into the character because he’s not the coolest guy,” he told the Winnipeg Free Press. “I found a way to deal with it and accept it as a part of the experience because I subconsciously do that sometimes.… Anxiety and excitement are two sides of the same coin,” he added, noting that this approach allows him to enjoy the moment when anxiety might otherwise pull him away from the present.

Someone will see your potential. Although much hinges on what CDs see in a given actor, for Morrone, the process has not always seemed as progressive as some might believe. As she noted in conversation with her “Gonzo Girl” colleague Patricia Arquette for Wonderland, there’s plenty of preconceived notions in the industry—but if you try hard enough, someone will recognize what you have to offer.

“[W]hen I transitioned to acting, the note I received for the first few years of my career was always that I was too sensual or too Californian,” Morrone explained. “So I did things to try to blend in more, because I wanted to be taken seriously and didn’t want people to look at my history as a swimsuit model and think that I couldn’t play a deep, interesting, and smart character.” But Arquette triggered an “emotional wave” when she cast Morrone in “Gonzo Girl,” the “Daisy Jones” star recalled: “[I thought] ‘Somebody sees something deeper in me and someone believes in me.’ You could have chosen any actor in the world, and it even makes me emotional talking about it now, but for someone to really see you and go, ‘I believe in this person and there’s something here that I like and something here that I can work with,’ those are the moments where you really do feel seen.”

Come prepared, but be flexible. Cuba told us she prefers that actors know nothing about her audition process before they enter the room. “It’s better if I’m a blank slate to them so that they can focus on the audition,” Cuba said. “I have things that I do that I’ve heard are very particular to me, but if I shared them with you they would lose their spontaneity for the actor in the room and defeat the whole point!” But she wants actors to come prepared—to an extent, “[C]oming in unprepared isn’t the best recipe for success. But also coming in so prepared that you can’t be flexible when given direction, even if you don’t agree with it, can also really work against you,” she said. “Be prepared. And be open.”